Discover how a scalable email templating system at PPG Architectural Coatings streamlined design and development, saving 2,000 hours annually and enhancing efficiency across 13 brands.
Client: PPG Architectural Coatings
Tools: HTML, ExactTarget
Role: Strategy
Timeline: One Month
In 2017, PPG Architectural Coatings managed approximately 13 consumer and professional paint and stain brands across the US and Canada. Each brand had its unique identity, typography, color palette, target audience, and voice. Despite these differences, all brands utilized email marketing to engage their respective demographics. However, this entire operation was managed by a single email marketing professional, supported by a small team of designers and developers.
Throughout the year, each brand sent multiple email campaigns for major painting and staining holidays such as Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day, as well as for periodic sales promotions. Each email required significant effort, taking a minimum of eight hours to design, code in ExactTarget, and rigorously test across various email clients.
The complexity was further exacerbated by the inexperience of the junior full-stack developers who were unfamiliar with the antiquated tabular HTML methods required for email development. As someone with expertise in email coding, I frequently assisted these developers, adding to the workload and inefficiencies.
For every email request:
This process was highly inefficient, leading to long turnaround times and unnecessary development overhead.
To address these inefficiencies, I proposed and implemented a robust templating system in ExactTarget, allowing:
By introducing a scalable email template system, we transformed a labor-intensive, error-prone process into an efficient, self-sustaining workflow. This case study highlights how strategic UX thinking and automation can drive significant operational efficiencies and improve marketing execution.