Case Study: Scalable Design System Growth for a Fortune 500 Energy Company
*Anonymized for Non-Disclosure Agreements
Client Overview
I was approached by a team within a large energy sector leader in the US in late 2022 to help streamline and scale their technology team's marketing engagement strategy. The company, a major player in the energy sector, was facing increasing demands for more efficient systems related to marketing coordination, data collection, and internal collaboration related to the increased output of software system updates, customer service needs, and ongoing customer questions as they use the software. In short, as they software grew, they were struggling to reach their customers with needed information that would help them use the software.
I began working with the technology team, in a live-in Full-Time Equivalent role (one that replaces the need for outside hire), to develop these updated processes and establish key performance indicators that would assist in defining success. From there, we worked hand in hand to identify what information needed to be clarified, and built systems around the creative, web, and inbound marketing platforms (email, social, etc…).
In 2024, this company underwent a significant corporate transition, being acquired by another major energy infrastructure firm. My work played a key role in supporting the software through this transition, ensuring the brand for the software remained clear and distinct amongst the backdrop of other changes that were taking place.
Objectives
Marketing System Optimization: Develop and enhance marketing coordination, design systems, data tracking, and process clarity for the commercial technology team.
Data Collection & Tracking: Implement systems to streamline data collection and analysis to inform decision-making.
Team Input: Support the team’s ability to work together, building processes and clarifying needed stages in the production of marketing assets to ensure information, messaging, and data are clear while ensuring the right hands touch the work in an efficient and meaningful manner.
Challenges
Disjointed Systems: Team responsible for marketing, design, and data collection were working in silos, leading to inefficiencies and inconsistent branding.
Scalability: Existing processes were outdated and dated for old versions of software/communications needs.
Coordination Across Teams: A lack of process clarity and coordination between teams created bottlenecks in campaign rollouts and data tracking.
Solution Approach
Marketing Systems & Design Implementation:
Improved design system that unified the product’s marketing assets across channels and regions, ensuring consistency and scalability.
Streamlined the company's workflows to enhance collaboration and accountability between marketing, design, and data teams.
Process Optimization & Data Tracking:
Introduced automated systems for data collection and real-time performance tracking of marketing campaigns, leading to more accurate insights and faster decision-making.
Improved communication and collaboration by setting up clear project management processes and centralized asset repositories.
Project managed resources related to marketing amongst 4 teams and 3-4 departments.
Brand Update Acquisition Strategy (2024):
As the company was acquired, we ensured a smooth transition by integrating marketing systems and design elements with incoming brand changes, ensuring equal representation while not losing the trust for the current brand.
Harmonized amongst expectations and needs for brand expectations amongst both brands and identified clearly where the software product suite lands within both organizations.
Defined a new and refined brand presentation for clarity amongst users and internal stakeholders.
Results
Enhanced Efficiency: The implementation of new processes and systems reduced the time spent on campaign rollouts, allowing the company to respond more swiftly to market changes.
Improved Data Accuracy: The updated data tracking system provided an improvement in data accuracy, enabling more informed marketing decisions.
Increased Scalability: The scalable systems allowed the company to handle an increase in marketing campaigns without additional strain on resources. This would later be used by additional teams as well.
Cross-Team Alignment: Improved coordination between teams reduced silos, boosting productivity, and aligning vision for an increased expansion in the teams being managed and governed by our team.
Conclusion:
This project demonstrates the importance of building scalable and flexible marketing systems that can adapt to significant organizational changes, such as mergers and acquisitions. By enhancing processes, improving data tracking, and developing a robust design system, we helped this team within a Fortune 500 energy company evolve its marketing engagement and prepare for future growth during and after a major acquisition.
