Powering global sales: Knog’s journey to smarter asset management

The challenge:

Knog, an Australian cycling and outdoor accessories brand, began in 2002 when two friends, a product designer and a mechanical engineer, joined forces to create beautifully designed products that were incredibly functional and intuitive. Over the past two decades, the brand has grown from a two-person startup into a team of more than 20 designers, engineers, marketers, and operations staff, with products sold by thousands of retailers in over 40 countries.

As Knog scaled, so did the complexity of managing and sharing digital content. Assets were shared via local servers, Dropbox, and Google Drive — a situation Knog had drifted into over time without a true system in place. Despite heavy investment in high-quality photography and marketing materials, distributors and team members became frustrated with broken links, unsearchable folders, and outdated files. 

The tipping point came when frustrations with content access were identified as a key challenge in Knog’s regular distributor survey. Both sides were feeling the strain: Knog wanted its carefully produced assets to be used, while distributors couldn’t find files due to lost links and limited searchability.

It became clear that Knog needed a solution to streamline access, centralize content, and protect brand integrity worldwide.

The solution: a central hub for a global brand

When Knog decided it was time to overhaul its asset management, Digital Director Clem Robin led the evaluation of five digital asset management (DAM) solutions. The goal was to find a platform that “ticked all the boxes” without unnecessary complexity. 

“We liked that Canto did everything we needed it to do, intuitively. It was just easy to envision how our brand could work in the platform,” Clem shared.

Canto soon became Knog’s single source of truth. Its intuitive design allowed the team to store and manage all assets in one place while tailoring access for different audiences through Canto Portals. Internal staff have full library access, distributors can view sensitive info like pricing and upcoming launches, and dealers access a public hub of images, videos, and sales materials.

Under Clem’s guidance, the library was built for speed. A single SKU search pulls up every asset tied to a product — renders, packaging, lifestyle shots, guides, and social content. Tag filters let users drill down by type, campaign, or dimensions, and past campaigns are reviewed to identify high-performing assets worth reusing. 

“If I search a SKU, I can see renders, packaging, quick-start guides, social assets — every relevant and current asset on a single screen,” Clem says. 

Collaboration has never been easier. Bulky attachments are gone, replaced by simple Canto share links. PR teams access password-protected launch folders, creative agencies pull materials for campaigns, and partners worldwide work from the same approved assets, keeping everything on-brand.

Structure that scales

From day one, assets were meticulously organized for clarity and efficiency. First by category — Bike and Outdoor — then by product-level SKU folders, with a strict naming convention: Knog_ProductName_SKU_AssetType_Dimensions. Detailed tagging ensures every user can find exactly what they need, regardless of technical expertise.

Clem shares, “Now we’re set up, we’re making every effort to keep it current and accurate. Every other asset manager we’ve used in the past has slowly gotten out of hand, and we aren’t going to let that happen with Canto.”

To maintain this level of organization, the team focuses on careful upkeep. They add only finished, approved assets, clear out outdated files, and rely on version control to keep everything current while preserving distributor bookmarks.

Results and ROI

Since implementing Canto, Knog has seen measurable gains across its marketing and digital operations. Clem estimates at least a 20% productivity improvement for the team, thanks to instant asset search, fewer manual distributor requests, and easier asset reuse. “We haven’t had a single asset-related complaint since rolling it out,” Clem shares. “In fact, we’re getting more and more requests for access as our distribution partners use it, and share it with their wider team.”

A stronger brand presence worldwide

Distributors around the globe have called Knog’s Portal “the best asset manager” they’ve used, even among dozens of other top-tier brands. Major retailers like REI now display comprehensive Knog galleries that mix product renders, lifestyle images, and campaign videos to better engage shoppers. From Japan to the U.S., local bike shops are amplifying Knog’s reach with branded social content pulled straight from the portal, a practice that rarely happened before. By centralizing assets and providing clear guidelines, Canto helps ensure that Knog’s brand is presented consistently across every market.

Easier access, increased sales

By removing friction from the selling process, Canto gives distributors everything they need at their fingertips—making it easier to sell, launch campaigns faster, and ultimately boost product visibility and sales.

Amplifying past successes

Canto has also helped Knog get more mileage out of past campaigns. Each major launch produces dozens of assets, but with systematic tagging, the team can quickly review what performed well and apply those insights to new initiatives. This ability to reuse proven content not only speeds up campaign planning but also strengthens brand consistency across markets.

Laying the groundwork for future growth

Clem credits Knog’s success to meticulous upfront planning, user-specific portal design, a finished-assets-only policy, and effective distributor training videos — easily found on Canto. Together, these elements have created a system that works smoothly today and can scale with the brand’s growth tomorrow. The success has also sparked interest from other departments within Knog, with teams recognizing the potential for broader applications.

“It’s become part of how we work,” says Clem. “Every seller is speaking as one and amplifying the brand together. That consistency makes all the difference — for us, for our partners, and ultimately for our customers.”

Conclusion

Knog’s transformation from decentralized, often frustrating asset management to a unified, streamlined system has eliminated inefficiencies, empowered distributors and retailers, and ensured consistent brand presentation in more than 40 countries. 

With thoughtful planning and Clem’s careful setup, Canto has given Knog a scalable foundation for growth, supporting new markets and product lines while keeping brand consistency at the center. The result is more than operational efficiency: Knog has positioned itself as a technology leader in the bike accessories industry, driving global sales growth and empowering every partner to tell the brand’s story with confidence.