2. About me!
• About Me:
• Associate Experience
Director, Content Strategy at
Razorfish NY
• Founded content strategy
group at HUGE in 2008
• “The Content Strategist as
Digital Curator” in A List Apart
• NYC bike commuter
5. A little about this company:
• Headquarters in Miami
• 75+ international digital marketers
• Publish campaigns using 1 platform to all
markets
• Goal of increasing direct online sales
6. They planned for everything but content
✔ Design
✔ Technology platform
✔ Monetization plan
Content strategy
Most businesses’
trouble spot
Operational plan
12. No content owner
No content strategy
No translation plan
No publishing plan
13. No content owner
No content strategy
No translation plan
No publishing plan
No job descriptions
14. No content owner
No content strategy
No translation plan
No publishing plan
No job descriptions
No expectations
Discarded translated
copy
15. No content owner
No content strategy
No translation plan
No publishing plan
No job descriptions
Reactive, ad hoc
No expectations publishing
Discarded translated
copy 1 super-human that ties
the whole “system”
together
16. People problems: No content owner
No content strategy
No translation plan
No publishing plan
No job descriptions
Reactive, ad hoc
No expectations publishing
Discarded translated
copy 1 super-human that ties
the whole “system”
together
17. Hosted listening labs & share sessions to quell
these fears:
Will my position be
I fear losing eliminated with this
ownership over new structure, design?
my ideas.
I’m concerned I’m
I am afraid of going to lose ownership
being micro- over this area of the site.
managed
I like the way we
My department organize the content in
has a process. I my area of the site. I
don’t want to don’t want to change
change. If I don’t own the
content, I can’t
justify my budget.
22. New design or site expansion:
New titles/roles
New areas of site to manage
New patterns for distribution
New way of integrating into larger
advertising ecosystem
23. New design or site expansion:
New titles/roles
New areas of site to manage
politics
New patterns for distribution
&
New way of integrating into larger
advertising ecosystem process.
24. You can anticipate resistance and solve for
most definite “people problems”
operations (structure)
management (politics)
http://www.bonkersworld.net/organizational-charts/
33. Most often, there is 1 key player missing
Digital owner (CEO, CMO)
?
CMS owner Code owner Content owner Design owner
34. The digital content owner is your evangelist &
content czar
Senior-level position (VP, Director) responsible for:
• Digital content product overall
• Long-term strategy / vision
• Oversees publishing factions including
staffing, process & P&L
• Top-level communicator with business
owners, sister brands & partners
• Content lead on high-profile initiatives
• Relationships with key business owners
such as marketing & technology
36. Who in your organization could this be?
Depending on the skill-set, experience and desire for being
a change agent, this role could come from:
• Senior-level marketing executive
• Editor-in-Chief (if they are of strategic mindset)
• Strategist
• Content Operations Manager
• Hire out for it (Senior strategist with content background)
38. Like content, digital teams must be nimble
Many companies will say they’re nimble, but few actually
are. Being nimble is about the ability to adapt quickly to
the new challenges and opportunities in today’s
ecosystem…
..Being nimble is not just about organization. It’s about
the industry’s business models.
-Rachel Lovinger on nimble content, Razorfish Nimble Report, 2010
39. Problem! businesses are not focusing enough
on their people
People
10%
Tools
90%
Typical business focus
*compare to http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/the-10-90-rule-for-magnificient-web-analytics-success/
40. Digital infrastructures demand nimble employees
Print Team Digital Team
Fixed: Nimble:
Team structure: produce same product in able to adapt to ever-changing
same medium over time technologies & market needs
Flexible:
Narrow:
Skillsets: expert skillsets
skillsets & responsibilities to work on
cross-disciplinary solutions
Medium: Single Multi-format
Model: Assembly line / Waterfall Collaboration
41. Hire & cultivate nimble digital employees
The Digital Employee:
~70% expert
~30% “talent”
ü Flexible/embraces change
ü Contributes in creative solutions
ü Understanding of major
platforms
ü Can think on their feet
42. Grow & stimulate: integrate roles into
employee evaluations
ü Incentivize based on new/
updated KPIs or site goals
ü Rewrite job descriptions to
reflect new site operations
every time you shift your
process
ü Set expectations that roles will
be defined, but that the
flexibility is where the self-
motivated employee picks up
43.
Nimble employees does not
warrant the absence of process.
Without process & infrastructure
you lose scope, direction &
control.
44. Nimble teams work well with 1 central owner at
the helm with a ring of flexible experts
Publishing
Lead
CMS/ Creative
Tech
Lead Lead
Digital
Owner
Product UX
Lead
Experts who
Lead
collaborate in flexible
roles when necessary
45. A collaborative model has been implemented
by Disney and Apple
Courtesy Delphine Hirasuna: .Atissuejournal.com/2009/08/07
46. With responsive design becoming dominant,
nimble teams structure must be considered
• Co-located workspace
Front end
developer
• Shared deliverables
• Prototypes for sign-off
Content Interaction
Strategist Designer • Cross-over in job
descriptions
• Knowledge of multiple
CMS technologies/platforms
developer
48. Most often, a disconnect between goals & tactics !
Vision VP level
Plan / Strategy
Disconnect
Editors CMS / Asset
Process Manager
Tactics
Asset
Writers
Producers
49. Most often, a disconnect between goals & tactics !
Vision VP level
Plan / Strategy
Disconnect à buy-in & training
Editors CMS / Asset
Process Manager
Tactics
Asset
Writers
Producers
50. There’s no better role to take on
socialization than a digital marketer
I know how to market an
idea to a defined
audience.
Socializing my plan is no
different.
51. Gaining momentum is different for every
business
ü How large or small business is
ü How old/resistant to change
ü Start grassroots or top-down
ü Who is must vs. nice-to-have for backing
ü Who will be change agents
52. Get the right-buy in, by the right person,
at the right time
Digital Content Owner Content Creator
Marketing
Editor-in-Chief
Product
Entire digital CMS Ad/Sales
stakeholder team
53. Map your socialization plan to business levels
Stage 1:
VP level
Gain Momentum
Stage 2:
Editors CMS / Asset
Operationalize Manager
Stage 3: Asset
Writers
Execute Producers
54. Map your socialization plan to business levels
Stage 1: • Digital vision / site & content goals
• KPIs / success metrics
Gain Momentum • Designs
• Digital vision / site & content goals
Stage 2: • Biz unit ownership areas
Operationalize • Prototypes / working pilots
• Research results
• Digital vision / site & content goals
Stage 3: • Training docs
Execute • Content templates
• Production workflows
57. A little about this auto maker
• Goal: increase engagement post-sales
through customer support content & features
• Large, global and siloed organization
• New local CMS
• Future enterprise CMS plans in the works
58. Their people problems:
No content owner (had a digital owner)
Turf wars
Micro-focused business units
Outdated roles/responsibilities
59. Plan of attack:
1. Positioned content owner
2. Content vision: socialized to business units
3. Standardized content production
4. Customized CMS for responsive content
5. Redefined existing roles / set expectations
6. Socialized (“state of the unions”) & trained some more
61. Reversed the ratio of request types
Previous expenditure Resulting expenditure
60% 10%
emergency requests emergency requests
40% 90%
standard requests standard requests
64. A pilot project for an iPad app to garner
adoption with initial set of users
Test out major impacts:
• Content (inventory)
• Back-end systems
• Asset sourcing
Training
Make Model Year
•
• Sizzle reel & support videos
Outcome:
• Exceeded enrollment prior
to set deadline
• More business units want
their products in the app
• Momentum and
excitement for product
66. 2012 +: Nimble teams will need to be organized
around customer lifecycle, not channel silos
Internal
organization
External Touch
Points
(apps, sites, mobile,
social)
User/
Customer
67. Attention to people problems = time to spend
growing your business / content
+ Predictive marketing / personalization easier
+ Expandable/retractable team growth
+ Optimized/responsive content
+ Focus on your campaigns, not process & politics
+ Shared business goals
+ Saved $$
