Industry: Consumer Goods | Marketing Operations
Executive Summary
I led a marketing operations improvement programme for a global consumer goods organisation to reduce delivery delays and rework across several markets. By redesigning briefing templates and improving internal workflows, I addressed systemic issues rather than resourcing constraints. The outcome was faster delivery, clearer collaboration, and improved predictability for marketing and production teams.
My Role: End-to-end ownership of discovery, process design, template standardisation, and internal tool optimisation.
Context and Challenge
Content requests were managed through multiple internal tools, but briefing templates relied heavily on free text. Critical information was often missing at submission, leading to repeated clarification, rework, and missed deadlines.
The business needed to improve speed and reliability without introducing new tools or increasing headcount.
Approach
I focused on fixing the system rather than individual behaviours.
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Stakeholder interviews across local markets, production teams, and agencies
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End-to-end process mapping to identify friction points
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Analysis of request data to quantify delays and rework
Key insight: This was a systems problem, not a people problem.
Solution
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Redesigned briefing templates to capture objectives, audience, messaging, technical specifications, and approvals upfront
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Standardised request structures across markets
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Treated internal tools as products, with a clear roadmap and prioritised backlog
Templates were designed to guide better thinking, not just collect information.
Results
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Reduced cycle time for content requests
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Fewer clarification rounds and lower rework
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Improved delivery predictability for campaigns
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Reduced administrative overhead for production teams
Key Learnings
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Well-designed templates are a strategic lever, not an admin task
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Standardisation enables scale and consistency
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Internal tools benefit from product-led ownership and continuous improvement