System rebuild: Making it digital, unified, scalable

We use tools in our work so casually, they become invisible. You’ve perfected the grip on the handle, but what happens if the blade grows dull? You’re still chopping but progressively need more pressure, strength to cut.

My fast-paced, effective and lean traditional agency optimized its processes year over year for print production. When the content began to mushroom for online use, a new tactic became necessary. The creative was on pointe, but the broader ability was in communications—gathering, curating, publishing large quantities of marketing assets. Images, copy, clean and vetted data meant creating a scalable system for current needs and company growth. Not simple, but simply necessary. Working with a software engineer, I led the charge to build a 3-pronged digital infrastructure which included:

• Partner portal to gather assets and approvals. Geared toward all levels of users: those new to the program or returning hotels YOY, hotel owners to executive directors, from Los Angeles to Azerbaijan to Fiji.

• Searchable client asset library. Search by brand, location, date of impression, specific benefit or lifestyle theme: it was its own little google of beautiful hotel imagery.

• Internal database and communications system: revising a 10+ year old bandaided Filemaker system with cloud-based custom platform building interdepartment process integration, client data import and visual proofing mechanism proved to be an enormous undertaking, but worth every invested moment. This had been the first time the three systems were interrelated providing dynamic content to all user personas and the strategy and time it took for architecture has schooled me on the religion of Ruby.

Respect the Ruby.

A solid foundation is everything.