System Design - Pfizer AV Studio

I worked as content architecture lead on a process change team of 17 building out an internal video content production studio for Pfizer. We reduced production costs of dynamic content assets by more than 50% and accelerated project delivery times by 600%, while delivering higher-quality content.

Situation

Pfizer, one of the world's premier pharmaceutical companies, had fifty-five global brands in 2021. Most of them were operating autonomously in terms of content marketing–outsourcing production to dozens (and dozens) of vendors, there were issues with inconsistent branding, unnecessarily long production timelines, and redundancies. 

Task

Establish an internal production studio focused on creating audio and video assets. Offer a baseline menu and content strategy of “80% solutions” effectively addressing shared challenges between Pfizer brands. Provide a customizable and extensible foundation of high quality and consistent assets and strategies to build on, meeting each brand's individual needs on a project-by-project basis.

Goals

• Handle all aspects of content creation: ideation, production, and distribution.
• Ensure a unified brand voice.
• Reduce costs by eliminating duplicate work and overlapping efforts.
• Improve time to market.

Action

Assessment & Planning

1. Conduct a analysis of current content production processes, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
2. Benchmark against current market research and industry best practices to inform the studio's design and operation.
3. Make a business case highlighting an internal studio's potential cost savings, efficiency gains, and strategic benefits.

Studio Design & Setup

1. Secure buy-in from critical stakeholders and allocate budget for the project.
2. Utilize don't repeat yourself (DRY) and keep it simple, silly (KISS) principles in developing automated workflows.
3. Create a content calendar to plan and prioritize projects, aligning with product launches, campaigns, and other key marketing activities.

Process Implementation

• Establish a branded shared asset library to eliminate cost overlap while maintaining support for high-quality content production.
• Establish clear documentation of workflows and guidelines for content creation.
• Implement a project triage and management system to streamline content production, track progress, and supervise deadlines effectively.

Training & Development

1. Provide training documentation and instruction for the new studio team on Pfizer's style guide, values, product portfolio, and compliance requirements.
2. Foster a culture of continuous improvement through recurring feedback sessions, professional development opportunities, and industry trend analysis.

Launch & Evaluation

1. Launch the studio with a phased approach, starting with pilot projects to refine processes and address any initial challenges.
2. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the studio's cost, efficiency, and quality impact.
3. Conduct regular performance reviews and adjust strategies based on data-driven insights.

Results

• Reduced production costs by more than 50% through decreased reliance on external agencies, streamlined workflows, and effort redundancy elimination.
• Accelerated content turnaround times by 600%, enabling faster response to market opportunities.
• Achieved a consistent brand voice and higher-quality content, leading to increased engagement and positive feedback from both internal stakeholders and external audiences.

My Role

Content Architecture Lead on a team of 17

Timeline

Six Months

Skills

• Marketing Strategy
• Content Marketing
• Automated Workflow Development
• Process Change Management
• User Experience Design (Internal Tooling)
• Market Research
• Systems Design
• Branding

Tooling

• Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)
• Adobe Digital Asset Manager (ADAM)
• Adobe Indesign
• Atlassian Confluence Platform
• Microsoft O365
  • Excel
  • Powerpoint
• Figma