Unified all Disney brands under AdVisor, previously exclusive to ESPN. Streamlined ad sales process, leading to millions of dollars in bookings. Led a team and laid foundation for future design system.
Disney had several brands under its umbrella, including ESPN, Freeform, FX Networks, National Geographic Networks, ABC, Hulu, and ABC News, each with its own ad sales platform. This created a lack of standardization and collaboration across the organization, making it difficult for users to perform tasks and book ads efficiently.
Challenges: The main challenge was to unify all the brands under one platform while keeping in mind their individual needs and requirements. Additionally, the lack of resources made it difficult to conduct comprehensive research.
Through my design efforts, we were able to unify all Disney brands under the AdVisor platform, including Freeform, FX Networks, and National Geographic Networks. We designed the platform with the intent to later use the React components to plug into the Adapt design system, making it easier for the company to standardize the process for ad sales throughout the organization, which created better visibility and collaboration across Disney brands.
The KPIs of the project were successfully met, as we gave users the ability to perform the tasks needed for their specific business segment while not sacrificing the old functionality for ESPN. We unified the brands not only under one platform but also one unified language, at least on the product side. As a bonus, UX and engineering started the Ad Sales design system, updated documentation, and React components. I laid the foundation for us to flip the switch on the design system when we are ready.
Before the release, even though we have yet to onboard some users for Freeform, all other users have already started using the application and maximizing their productivity compared to their old system. All feedback is being collected, and follow-up user interviews have also taken place, which have already been turned into user stories.
Understanding my limitations as a researcher and knowing when to hand off a concept was very important for me. Resources were scarce in the beginning of the project, but once they came in, it became a cornucopia of ideas and perspectives. There is still lots of work that needs to be done to bring AdVisor into the 21st century, but with the strong foundation we have established, I am confident that Disney will continue to succeed in its ad sales efforts.
