Maria Arroyo

Challenge:  Working at a media agency, there is nothing more important than understanding targets. As a part  of the Knowledge and Research department, it was important to supply employees/planners with  relevant information. The company always relied on quantitative data to propose media plans for  big brands. But employees were usually afraid of data or they got lost in the inﬁnite pdfs and excel  tables, not knowing how to read vertical and horizontal percentages or how to link one information  to the other, losing the greater meaning of the data itself. The company had already designed a  study to cover most of the information need of clients, but this data was really hard to work with, as  it came in a non-friendly format for employees, resulting in a wasting of time and efforts of our  employees/planners. Employees received raw data on a monthly basis, having to search for their  own insights in order to complete their work every month.

Application: To understand the ﬂow of data, our team got together with two planners to understand the process  of media planning and how the information ﬂowed inside the company and got to the clients. We  identiﬁed all the touch-points and drew a map + timeline which clearly showed how much time was  being spent on each task, and what were the ﬁnal results for the clients. We then brainstormed a  whole new process, which took into consideration all of the details that came in touch with our main  challenge. One important fact was time, as in the original process every employee had to go  through the data too look for the same. As we visualized this, it was easier to understand that we  could centralize this process into an automatic report. Seeing every step and touchpoint versus  times was really eye-opening. So for the solution we created automatic reports customized to what  planners were expecting to see from the data. By having them involved in the process, we were  able to come up with a solution that included their vision and their real needs, instead of only  supplying the information that we thought they needed (which is what we as a Research  department used to do before). We visualized again how this new report could look, what  information it could have and how we could create value from data through it. We then used  storytelling to present the new proposals and prototype to the head of the company, who approved  immediately the new changes.

Insight:  Thanks to the visualization process, we were able to see beyond the main challenge, and add  more value to the same solution. For example, we created a report template that connected data  that the planners thought it was important, to data that we as a research department also saw  important from the market. For example, to see only how your brand and category are doing is not  as useful as to see how the market is ﬂowing in that same time, because you get a better overview  of any change your brand has had. This could also help to see these reports as part of a  timeframe, and notice season ﬂows. Another thing we came up with was a user friendly report. Of  course, reports should always be in pdf to assure no manipulation of the data outside of the  department/company, but to make data understandable was a huge step-up. The new report came  in an infographic manner, speciﬁcally designed so that the planners could use them in their own  presentations. This helped with data visualization and also saving time for the planners, while  improving the image of the company in front of the clients.

Approach:  The results were really impressive for both our internal clients (employees) and our external  clients. As part of an evaluation process, I think it would’ve been great to have integrated the IT  department, because we struggled a bit trying to come up with the prototype of the report. We  could have saved a couple of months if we could have visualized our new tool as an  interdisciplinary project, were experts within the company could also have helped with their  expertise. Of course, our project needs to be continuously revised, so we have set a revision  meeting for every year. It is impressive as a research department to be able to bring value to  employees through a good design.


Maria Arroyo Challenge : Working at a media agency , there is nothing more important than understanding targets . As a part of the Knowledge and Research department , it was important to supply employees / planners with relevant information . The company always relied on quantitative data to propose media plans for big brands . But employees were usually afraid of data or they got lost in the inﬁnite pdfs and excel tables , not knowing how to read vertical and horizontal percentages or how to link one information to the other , losing the greater meaning of the data itself . The company had already designed a study to cover most of the information need of clients , but this data was really hard to work with , as it came in a non - friendly format for employees , resulting in a wasting of time and efforts of our employees / planners . Employees received raw data on a monthly basis , having to search for their own insights in order to complete their work every month . Application : To understand the ﬂow of data , our team got together with two planners to understand the process of media planning and how the information ﬂowed inside the company and got to the clients . We identiﬁed all the touch - points and drew a map + timeline which clearly showed how much time was being spent on each task , and what were the ﬁnal results for the clients . We then brainstormed a whole new process , which took into consideration all of the details that came in touch with our main challenge . One important fact was time , as in the original process every employee had to go through the data too look for the same . As we visualized this , it was easier to understand that we could centralize this process into an automatic report . Seeing every step and touchpoint versus times was really eye - opening . So for the solution we created automatic reports customized to what planners were expecting to see from the data . By having them involved in the process , we were able to come up with a solution that included their vision and their real needs , instead of only supplying the information that we thought they needed ( which is what we as a Research department used to do before ) . We visualized again how this new report could look , what information it could have and how we could create value from data through it . We then used storytelling to present the new proposals and prototype to the head of the company , who approved immediately the new changes . Insight : Thanks to the visualization process , we were able to see beyond the main challenge , and add more value to the same solution . For example , we created a report template that connected data that the planners thought it was important , to data that we as a research department also saw important from the market . For example , to see only how your brand and category are doing is not as useful as to see how the market is ﬂowing in that same time , because you get a better overview of any change your brand has had . This could also help to see these reports as part of a timeframe , and notice season ﬂows . Another thing we came up with was a user friendly report . Of course , reports should always be in pdf to assure no manipulation of the data outside of the department / company , but to make data understandable was a huge step - up . The new report came in an infographic manner , speciﬁcally designed so that the planners could use them in their own presentations . This helped with data visualization and also saving time for the planners , while improving the image of the company in front of the clients . Approach : The results were really impressive for both our internal clients ( employees ) and our external clients . As part of an evaluation process , I think it would ’ve been great to have integrated the IT department , because we struggled a bit trying to come up with the prototype of the report . We could have saved a couple of months if we could have visualized our new tool as an interdisciplinary project , were experts within the company could also have helped with their expertise . Of course , our project needs to be continuously revised , so we have set a revision meeting for every year . It is impressive as a research department to be able to bring value to employees through a good design .