[Whitepaper] VML: Controlling Content Chaos

VML and Contentful conducted research among 1000 players in the USA, UK, Germany and the Netherlands on content management on a global scale.

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Global brand consistency requires strategic governance . 81 percent of brands find it difficult to project a uniform brand identity across markets. With a strong content governance strategy and clear guidelines, you can vary content locally and ensure global consistency.

Make content supply chains more efficient by creating more cohesion . Fragmented efforts and siloed teams hinder the agility and impact of your content. Align your content supply chains, identify workflows and responsibilities—and focus on all phases, from planning to measurement. This will streamline your content operations and increase efficiency.

Content as a valuable asset . View content as a valuable asset that is closely linked to your business goals and customer experiences. By aligning your strategy with this, your content contributes to measurable business results and valuable customer experiences.

Collaboration leads to seamless omnichannel content . By breaking down silos, you foster a culture of collaboration. The result: effective omnichannel content. Many executives (83%) see a lack of communication as a major challenge. By defining clear roles, offering relevant training and setting up effective communication channels, you stimulate collaboration.

Deliver personalized experiences with data-driven solutions . Personalized content is a weapon. But delivering truly personalized experiences is still difficult with many traditional CMS systems. By integrating data platforms and analytics into your content system, you can effectively personalize content at scale.

Move to a MACH architecture for agile content . Legacy systems lack the agility and scalability you need today. Move to a composable content stack based on MACH principles: microservices, APIfirst, cloud-native, and headless. Such a stack is much more agile, integrates seamlessly with other systems, and easily adapts to new technologies.

The ROI of content can only be measured with thorough analyses . Many managers (84%) find it difficult to express the impact of content in figures. And that's right: it requires robust measurements. By tracking KPIs – aligned with business objectives – you substantiate the value of content and create support.

Enrich human creativity with strategic AI use . A majority of companies (88%) use some form of AI. To truly benefit from this, a strategic approach is key. Use AI primarily to enhance human capabilities, for example in governance, taxonomy and workflow optimization – rather than focusing solely on speed, which can come at the expense of quality.

Optimize asset management with centralized DAM systems . Isolated asset management hinders efficiency and collaboration. A centralized DAM system ensures that
teams can easily find, share, and reuse assets. This requires clear governance and metadata guidelines. This maximizes the value of your assets and streamlines your efforts.

Integrate design systems for brand consistency and efficiency . When design systems aren’t connected, your content production becomes inconsistent and slow. Incorporating these systems into your content workflow ensures consistency, streamlined production, and efficiency by allowing content creators to work with pre-approved design elements.

The full report is available here

About VML

Connecting brands and stimulating growth. That is what VML proves to be a leader in time and again. Our advanced and creative house excels at the intersection of Brand Experience , Customer Experience and Commerce, a playing field in which we reap a lot of praise for our innovative projects. For example for organizations such as AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Hästens, Ford, Dyson, Microsoft, Nestlé, Rituals and The Coca-Cola Company. How do we make a difference for them and all our other customers? Simple: our more than 30,000 talented colleagues – makers, doers, innovators and thinkers – active on five continents and in more than sixty markets. We have headquarters in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Amsterdam and Sydney. That makes VML the largest creative player in the world. VML is part of WPP, which has been named a leader in Commerce Services , Global Digital Experience Services , Global Marketing Services, and Marketing Measurement & Optimization by Forrester Wave .

www.vml.com