Central Oregon Community College Streamlines Photo Workflows and Saves Time with PhotoShelter

Central Oregon Community College (COCC) provides high-quality, equitable, and accessible lifelong education to residents across their nearly 10,000-square-mile district. To showcase all the campus has to offer, the College Relations department is responsible for sharing high-quality content that attracts applicants and donors. 

However, the team faced challenges managing the vast collection of photos essential for telling COCC’s story.

The Challenge: Assets Everywhere Meant Work Went Nowhere

Aimee Metcalf, Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations at COCC oversees the college’s communication strategies. While she understands the importance of visual storytelling to connect with the school’s audience – their photo management system was a major obstacle. 

• No single source of truth. “When I moved to our Marketing and Public Relations department, our photos were in boxes, and our photos were in filing cabinets, and our digital photos were on everybody’s hard drive,” explained Aimee. “[We didn’t have] one archive, one library where we could go for all of those photos.”
• Time wasted on image searches. Press releases, website updates, or designing a single flyer meant time wasted digging for images. Aimee stated, “If we wanted to share [photos], we had to email them. And if you had a photo in mind, you [would have to ask], ‘Who has this photo on their computer?’” These delays made it challenging to keep up with deadlines.
• An uncertain path forward. The team knew their disorganized system wasn’t working, but the idea of switching to a whole new way of managing photos seemed daunting. Where would they even start? They needed guidance and support on their path to  better digital asset management.

“Everybody had a different naming protocol, so it made it really challenging to even find the images, if we could all remember what the image was. Bottom line, it was a mess. Once we got PhotoShelter, it was so much easier.”

Aimee Metcalf, Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations

The Solution: Streamline Process and Organized Storage

After discovering PhotoShelter, COCC’s workflow was transformed. Here’s how Aimee and team was able to leverage the digital asset management platform take control of their content workflow: 

• A centralized digital library. One, single, searchable source for all of COCC’s digital files changed the game for Aimee. “It’s really improved things a lot,” Aimee confirms, “Now we are able to upload all of our images into one place.” No more wasted time hunting in hard drives means her team can focus more time and energy on strategic work.
• A+ collaboration means more work gets done. From internal team members to external partners, everyone has the access they need to find and use photos efficiently. Aimee highlights the benefits, “Our writer, web designer, graphic designer, everyone uses it almost every day – even our marketing agency!” The result?  Projects now move smoothly, and deadlines are met with less stress.
• The right support sets you up for success. PhotoShelter’s onboarding and ongoing support gave the team the confidence to tackle the change to a new platform. Aimee emphasizes, “Their support is incredible!  It wasn’t overwhelming, and we weren’t doing it on our own.” PhotoShelter went beyond software, providing the guidance COCC needed to maximize its investment.

“What we’ve really found with PhotoShelter is that they help you. It wasn’t overwhelming and we weren’t doing it on our own. They helped us connect with other colleges that were doing the same thing, so it made such a difference for our team.”

Aimee Metcalf, Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations

Photo by Rosie Day

COCC Streamlines Photo Management with PhotoShelter

Central Oregon Community College overcame digital disarray and now their team has a winning workflow that helps their Marketing and Public Relations department get more done. With a centralized library, streamlined collaboration, and ongoing support from PhotoShelter, the team now has the tools to tell the college’s story effectively.

If your institution faces similar challenges with managing and sharing photos and videos, let PhotoShelter help you transform your digital asset management.

“[PhotoShelter]  is going to set people up for years to come… it feels like you’re preparing those who come after you to also be set up for success.”

Aimee Metcalf, Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations

Cover image by Timothy Park