Marketing Technology Solutions for the rapidly growing global business - T6 Case Study

Our blog today focuses on the challenges of a rapidly growing business when it comes to marketing operations and content management, and how Team6ix deciphered and advised on which Marketing Technology Solutions (MarTech) would streamline and simplify the aforementioned processes on an increasingly global scale.

Background

Our client is a global premium automotive manufacturer, producing and marketing some of the highest profile and most successful automotive products in the world.

In 2011 the client came together with a team of renowned executives from the media and advertising industry to form a new creative and marketing execution agency.

Between 2011-2016 the client and the new agency achieved phenomenal success together, launching award winning campaigns and marketing programs, supporting award winning products – further establishing our client as a global automotive powerhouse.

The Problem

As a by-product the creative and marketing execution agency were experiencing incredibly rapid growth and expansion simultaneously, growing from 25 people to over 800 employees in little over 5 years, and operating in over 18 countries.

As by product of this growth, and aside of the obvious benefits, the agency were struggling with their process, control, efficiency and management challenges in marketing operations and content management, including -

-          Maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction

-         Implementing robust repeatable processes

-          Developing and controlling market-sensitive product information (often embargoed for long periods)

-          Generating, managing, curating, versioning vast amounts of marketing content

-          Delivering world-class creative advertising and marketing in over 50 markets efficiently and within controlled tasks

In addition to their core services, the client had requested the newly formed agency lead a major technology program, helping them transition to a new global MRM & DAM technology provider.

The existing platforms the client used were well-established, and deeply embedded into many areas of the organisation beyond their original design - supporting over 15,000 users in more than 52 countries, however after identifying various issues and challenges with the current technology, the agency and the client started the process of sourcing a new solution.

Specific challenges the new technology program needed to support and help address were -

• Regional and departmental differences in ways of working

• Multiple, disparate technologies in use – often locally sourced, not integrated and lacking in fitness-for-purpose

• No single source for digital content/Asset Management – files on servers, shared drives, Google docs and other SaaS tools

• No workflow or online approvals management

• No globally accessible project management tools

• Requirement to deliver a single MRM and DAM technology for the creative and marketing execution agency, our client and other partners

• Frequent changes of staff personnel and an inexperienced, youthful workforce

• Exponential growing demand of content creation across media/communication channels

The Solution

Recognising this operating model was unsustainable, the agency and the client initiated a project to define and implement a new operating model, with the goals of delivering sustainable, consistent global processes, extensive leverage of strategic technology, and building a platform for growth for the subsequent 5-year plan.

This now renowned creative and marketing execution agency, appointed Team6ix as the lead consultancy for technology program management, transformation and technology delivery.

The project had the following scope:

• Provision of a Global MRM platform for planning, workflow, approval, production management and global digital asset management for the agency and the client globally

• Configuration of standard Ways of Working (WOWs) and defined operational procedures

• Technology phases including:

• Requirements management, prioritisation, roadmap delivery for MRM, Production Workflow and DAM technology

• Vendor sourcing and selection

• Development, integration, configuration and implementation

• Comms, stakeholder management, on-boarding and training

• People and talent management - technology support and BAU service provision

• Client technology operating model transformation

The project was to deliver the following benefits:

• Improved efficiency and digital asset re-use and execution

• User experience and advocacy within the user base

• Ease of content management (the process of administering content at scale)

• Globalised and integrated workflows and controls

• Ease of integration with the client and 3rd party tools

• Enable a clear line of sight of all stages of the global production workflow

• Move from off-line to online approval for all marcomms / advertising

• Maximise language management

• Implement a global platform, fully scalable, using a cloud approach

• On-board over 1,000 agencies users in 18 countries and over 15,000 client and Supply Chain users in over 50 countries

• Full continuity of current services and technology with a seamless transition to new technology

• A fit-for-purpose and scalable technology operations model

Working in partnership with the agency’s CTO and the client’s Management - Team6ix set up a global program team, made up of key client management, client SMEs and Team6ix consultants, to manage and deliver the program.

Over an 18-month period we delivered the following activities and launched the new technology globally –

·         Program and project leadership and day-to-day management

·         Identification, coordination and management of all key / core stakeholders

·         Set up of project operations team and executive steering group

·         Establish and signed off all program goals, measurables and CSFs (critical success factors)

·         Identification and securing ‘Key Users’ and SME engagement / commitment

·         Sign off of a phased, multi-country program and implementation plan covering all core aspects of the program (comms., engagement, requirements, technical config. and development, test, roll out, training, on-boarding)

·         Source, selection and commercial support for a global MRM and DAM platform

·         Project and on-going management of all vendors and supply parties (tech manufacturers, cloud providers, systems integrators, internal technology partners)

·         Managed and delivered a multi-country / multi-company discovery process and user-centred engagement program to establish core requirements

·         Delivered a strategic technology roadmap, and managed, prioritised and capture all low-level requirements and acceptance criteria

·         Implemented a recurring sentiment analysis / user research program to determine business value and technology program advocacy (pre and post implementation)

·         Configuration management services

·         Launched, on-boarded and implemented the chosen technology platform to 10s of 1,000s of users in over 50 countries

·         Delivered several significant innovations and operational efficiencies / improvements over the prior technology implementation

·         Set up of a multi-person / multi-location support team to manage 1st line support, provide content management & digital asset management support services

·         Design and implementation of a new technology operating model, including source and selection of key staff / skills

The results

·         Implementation of a truly fit-for-purpose global MRM and DAM solution in under 9 months from selection to BAU

·         Optimised and improved processes for the content creation, production, approval and content distribution

·         Full visibility of all activities, workflow and latest / correctly versioned content

·         Significantly improved user experience and deeper / broader capabilities, delivering multiple improvements for the existing global DAM user base

·         Transitioned global production to online approval, delivering much-improved review cycle times, significant operational efficiencies and user experience / advocacy improvements

·         Significant improvements in asset re-use and cost avoidance (reduction in unnecessary asset re-creation)

·         Seamless transition from legacy tech to new global platform, including full continuity and parity for all on-going services with no disruption

·         Significant reductions in TCO (total cost of ownership) for technology

·         Implementation of cloud and caching capabilities to rapidly improve global content distribution and lower transactional costs

·         Delivered a global digital backbone enabling / supporting growth and significant operational efficiencies and associated cost reductions

All-in-all this project was deemed highly successful and transformative for what is now a global business, and was voted by the client’s CMO office as the most successful IT project during the last 3-year period.

Interested in finding out how we could assist your rapidly growing company, brand or business when it comes to your marketing technology?

Get in touch with Team6ix today to discuss your MarTech needs, and have a read of our blog for more case study examples of how we’ve helped other businesses.