MARRIOTT Photo Management Program

THE CHALLENGE

Siloed departments operated independently, each negotiating separate vendor contracts without leveraging quantities of scale. Standard Getty royalty-free images retailed at $575 each. Associates lacked education on licensing and usage rights, leading to compliance violations. The existing corporate DAM housed 4,000+ images with limited usage rights erroneously uploaded, creating ongoing litigation exposure. Post-merger, acquisition assets needed integration but had different usage rights requiring unique handling. Lack of budget or access to a global library, left some associates without needed assets.

MY ROLE 

Working beyond my Art Director/Photo Editor scope, I pioneered an enterprise-wide photography program:  

• Conceived of single point of contact vendor strategy - making Marriott easier to work with while unlocking volume leverage 
• Negotiated corporate-wide usage rights contract (not department-specific) building a globally accessible library 
• Partnered with Legal team, resolving infractions through vendor negotiation and education program implementation 
• Created educational programs and documentation, training associates globally on licensing, compliance, and best practices 
• Integrated post-merger digital assets with unique usage rights into new corporate library 
• Penned complex 2020 custom photoshoot contract spanning 3 departments and 2 budget years, attracting Getty CEO/VP attendance

THE STRATEGY

I identified an opportunity others missed: consolidating fractured departmental purchasing into enterprise leverage. Rather than competing for internal budget or authority, I positioned this as vendor relationship optimization—a single point of contact simplified their operations while unlocking volume discounts for Marriott. My insight: different departments cared about different benefits (compliance, cost, convenience), but all benefited from a corporate-wide usage rights contract. By structuring licensing as corporate (not departmental), I built a library accessible to everyone—including those without budget who were creating compliance risks by "borrowing" unlicensed images. I sold my vision  to stakeholders by addressing their unique priorities while at the same time architecting a unified solution. This high-level strategic thinking transformed purchasing behavior and supported our corporate initiative to move into a more matrix'd structure.

THE EXECUTION

• Identified opportunity to consolidate siloed departmental purchasing  into enterprise-wide program 
• Pitched Getty on single-point-of-contact model benefiting both organizations; secured access to all Marriott internal contacts for conversion outreach
• Converted departments individually by addressing their unique motivations: compliance risk reduction, cost savings, workflow efficiency 
• Negotiated corporate-wide usage rights enabling global library accessible to all associates and franchises - regardless of original purchaser 
• Resolved $50K compliance infraction by demonstrating education program commitment to vendor, preventing future violations 
• Integrated Starwood assets with differing usage rights into unified corporate library 
• Identified 4,000+ non-compliant images in existing DAM; documented risks for stakeholders and negotiated vendor conversion rates
• Built a cost-free Getty Media Manager-based program that delivered global access to assets for all associates 
• Secured groundbreaking 2020 custom photoshoot contract spanning 3 departments over 2 budget years 

THE IMPACT

• Delivered $1.5M+ in cumulative enterprise savings through strategic vendor consolidation and volume leverage over program lifecycle 
• Achieved 81-97% discount rates by negotiating bulk purchasing options
• Reduced compliance violations - saving money on fines and litigation, including $50K infraction resolution
• Built corporate asset library accessible across all departments regardless of budget, reducing litigation exposure
• Transformed vendor relationship from fragmented departmental contacts to strategic enterprise partnership attracting C-suite engagement 
• Influenced vendor product innovation— Getty developed platform features (duplicate purchase detection, corporate library access) based on program needs
• Successfully consolidated and integrated all existing assets into an accessible, vendor based system 
• Supported  change management within emerging matrix organization  - converting siloed departments into a to unified program that delivered collective value