How WaterBear reduced content work by 90% with Sanity CMS
WaterBear hired Represent to build one streamlined CMS for their video platform and marketing site. The Sanity solution allowed for better retention strategies and a reduction in content curation time by 90%.
The Challenge
By 2023, WaterBear was struggling with outdated infrastructure:
- Three separate CMS platforms that didn’t integrate (Craft CMS, Webflow & Ediflo)
- Hours lost to manual content curation
- Frequent bugs and inefficiencies holding back content launches and campaigns on a weekly basis
- No flexibility for customisation or testing
- Teams spending much more time on maintenance than optimisation
In short: Technology was holding WaterBear back from scaling impact and growing engagement.
The Choice
The WaterBear team knew a headless CMS was the only way forward.
Sticking with Craft CMS was considered, but it lacked the level of flexibility needed. Sanity CMS kept coming up as the industry’s most recommended option for scalable, flexible content management. It quickly became the clear choice.
Their next decision: finding the right partner to implement it.
So why Represent? Where other agencies had promised to deliver what was asked, Represent challenged assumptions and guided strategy, also being firm on stepping away if the wrong approach was insisted on.
That honesty and expertise built trust. WaterBear partnered with Represent, and the results validated the decision.
The Solution
WaterBear now runs on a single, structured Sanity CMS, with both the streaming platform and marketing site being operated from one, custom-built editing studio.
Editorial efficiencies
- Content scheduling workload reduced by 90%
- Reduced time-to-market for campaigns, reducing resource requirements and increasing the ability to provide real-time updates & reactive reporting
Conversion Rate Optimisation
- New ideas could be tested and launched in under 24 hours
- Increased creativity and motivation around product iterations because of modern, composable architecture that can support (almost) any new functionality
Focus on Growth
- Tech budget could be spent on development relating to growth and engagement instead of maintenance
- Growth mindset unlocked by future-proof stack that no longer acts as a blocker
Multi-tenant Architecture
- Built Campus, a corporate learning platform, powered by the same Sanity Studio, proving the solutions flexibility and scalability
Next Steps
What Now?
- Developing more interactivity in the WaterBear platform to increase stickiness
- Continuing to copy WaterBear code over to Campus to utilise relevant functionality across both platforms
- Testing D2C monetisation strategies within the WaterBear platform
Ready to modernise your distribution platform?
If you're limited by outdated systems or losing control over digital channels, a headless architecture with AI-powered tools can transform your operations. Get in touch to talk about a custom scalable solution for your business.
START A PROJECT WITH US