A diverse content ecosystem built for scale
WaterBear hired Represent to rebuild the platform in Sanity CMS and deliver a powerful marketing site. The solution gave them the flexibility to optimise for growth and reduced content curation time by 90%.
Who is WaterBear
Often referred to as the “Netflix for Nature”, WaterBear is more than a streaming platform. At its core are inspiring documentaries tackling today’s environmental and social challenges. But beyond film, WaterBear is a community hub, connecting audiences to campaigns, actions, and articles that inspire real-world change.
WaterBear hired Represent to rebuild the platform in Sanity CMS and deliver a powerful marketing site. The solution gave us the flexibility to optimise for growth and reduced content curation time by 90%.
The Problem
By 2023, WaterBear was struggling with outdated infrastructure:
- Three separate CMS platforms that didn’t integrate
- Hours lost to manual content curation
- Frequent bugs and inefficiencies holding back campaigns
- No flexibility for customisation or testing
- Teams spending 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.
Craft CMS was considered, but lacked the 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.
The next decision: finding the right partner to implement it.
Represent stood out. While other agencies promised to deliver what was asked, Represent challenged assumptions, guided strategy, and even made it clear they’d step 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
Represent rebuilt WaterBear’s marketing site and delivered a structured Sanity headless CMS integrated into the streaming platform.
Editorial efficiencies
- Campaign build time dropped from days to minutes
- Content scheduling workload reduced by 90%
Conversion Rate Optimisation
- New ideas could be tested and launched in under 24 hours
Focus on Growth
- Teams finally shifted focus to growth and engagement instead of maintenance
The Results & Next Steps
Results so far
- Built Campus, a corporate learning platform, powered by the same Sanity Studio, proving the solutions flexibility and scalability
- Freed internal teams to focus on growth, creativity, and audience engagement
- Reduced time-to-market for campaigns, boosting both efficiency and community connection
But the unexpected value was the partnership itself. How many agencies impress you so much that you end up joining them?