Challenge: A century-old consumer goods company, known for its extensive portfolio of recognizable brands, faced a significant challenge in the digital age. Despite having a 97% household penetration rate, the company struggled with a fragmented digital presence. Hundreds of disconnected microsites, managed by various agencies, resulted in a lack of unified data and inefficient marketing spend. The company had no direct relationships with its consumers and could not leverage first-party data effectively, which became a pressing issue with the rise of digital-native generations like Millennials and Gen Z.
Solution: A comprehensive digital transformation strategy was developed to address these challenges. The primary focus was on defining an overarching experience for the entire digital experience platform (DXP) to ensure a cohesive feel for consumers across all touchpoints.
Key Actions:
- Consumer-Centric Design:
- Conducted extensive consumer research to understand behaviors, preferences, and expectations.
- Designed engaging digital experiences that encouraged data sharing through personalized content, quizzes, surveys, and interactive activities, fostering a deeper connection with consumers.
- Unified Digital Platform:
- Implemented a modular platform based on MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) principles to ensure flexibility, scalability, and stability.
- Created a Strategic Architecture Map (SAM) to align all digital initiatives with the company’s vision, mission, and strategic objectives, ensuring a consistent consumer experience.
- Data-Driven Insights:
- Established a robust data architecture to capture and share first-party data across all digital properties, creating comprehensive consumer profiles.
- Enabled real-time data analytics to inform marketing strategies and product development, enhancing the personalization of consumer interactions.
- Enhanced Consumer Engagement:
- Developed a tiered engagement model to convert product affinity into brand loyalty through personalized experiences and rewards.
- Launched new digital initiatives such as an AI-powered recipe engine and a dedicated social platform for food creators and influencers, enriching the consumer experience.
Outcomes: Within the first year of implementation, the company saw significant improvements:
- Reduced the number of microsites from over 100 to 7 unified platforms, dramatically cutting overhead costs.
- Captured over 4 million first-party data points, with a target of 6 million in the following year.
- Achieved a dramatic increase in consumer engagement through personalized content and experiences, leading to higher retention rates and increased brand loyalty.
Key Takeaways: This digital transformation case study highlights how a strategic, consumer-centric approach, combined with advanced technology and data insights, can modernize a traditional brand and enhance its digital footprint. By integrating all digital properties under a unified platform, the company not only improved operational efficiencies but also built stronger, data-driven relationships with its consumers.