# Optimizely Unlocks Template-Based Banner & Ad Creation for 1,000+ Customers - Without Hiring Designers with IMG.LY

Learn how Optimizely saw significant improvements in key performance indicators by using the brand template editor built on IMG.LYâs SDK.

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*July 19, 2024*

*4*

*min read*

#### On this Page

We sat down with Rob Driscoll, Principal Product Manager at Optimizely, a company synonymous with A/B testing since the beginnings of web 2.0. Optimizely has evolved to offer a broader suite of tools for marketers to experiment with and personalize their websites and apps. With more than 1,000 customers, including Gap, StubHub, IBM, and The Wall Street Journal, Optimizely continues to be a leading name in the industry.

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In 2020, Optimizely was acquired by Episerver, a company founded in Stockholm in 1994 that offers tools for marketers to manage their digital content. In a joint statement, they expressed: âEpiserver and Optimizely have a shared vision to optimize every customer touchpoint through the use of experimentation. Together, we will enable our customers to do more testing, in more places, with greater ease than ever before.â

## The Challenge

Optimizely had been a long-time customer of PE.SDK for image editing. However, simple image editing fell short of customer demand. Their sales team started missing out on deals because their prospects RFPs included support for templating, specifically for brand designs such as banner ads. Competitors, such as Bynder, have their own brand template editor, putting Optimizely at a disadvantage.

Rob Driscoll noted:

`âOne of the biggest things for us was that we wanted to enable our smaller customers to be able to build and use templates, people without expertise, people without design teams.â`

To address this gap, Optimizely needed to quickly implement a professional brand template editor to reach parity with competitors, while managing time and budget constraints.

## The Solution

Optimizelyâs Content Marketing Platform (CMP) is a comprehensive solution for the entire content and campaign lifecycleâfrom planning and creation to storage, distribution, and analysisâgeared towards the needs of marketing teams. One of its unique selling points is the collaborative creation and ideation process. Teams can collaborate on ideas, assign workflow steps, leave annotations and comments, and supplement content production with AI.

Once a brand template has been finalized and agreed upon by all key stakeholders, assets can be stored in Optimizelyâs DAM, a centralized repository, enabling easy reuse of brand-approved assets.

IMG.LYâs editor integrates seamlessly with this workflow. Optimizelyâs roles and permissions concept can be mapped onto CE.SDK placeholders and constraints, enabling fine-grained control over what elements of a template others can edit . This ensures more stakeholders can collaborate without compromising on brand integrity.

Rob Driscoll praised the integration process:

`âYeah, so I think it was one of the quickest projects we've worked on. Our engineers found the documentation super helpful, and anytime they needed support, they got the answers quickly. It was a super smooth process for us, and not all of our processes are super smooth.â`

## Adoption and Customer Success

For any feature to be successful, user empowerment is crucial. Optimizely promoted adoption of their brand template feature by tightly integrating it into the CMP. Users could access brand templates within the asset library and the task manager, reinforcing them as reusable design assets rather than one-off creatives.

The task manager seamlessly integrates template creation into the project planning module, assigning responsibilities for the design and deployment phases, such as adapting and approving designs for publication, into the core workflow. This ensures that users cannot overlook this feature as a hidden add-on but can instead unlock its value during their regular work processes.

The publication and adaptation workflow integrates smoothly with CE.SDK's editor rules for adopters and creators. 'Creators' have access to advanced design features and can design without constraints, while 'adopters' work within creator-defined constraints, making smaller edits and filling placeholders with content.

In addition to making the new feature easily accessible, Optimizely proactively educated customers on its best uses by providing an in-depth walk-through video and detailed documentation . Design editing can be daunting for users who are not professional designers or have not been exposed to design tools. IMG.LYâs SDK is tailored for these use cases, making design intuitive and accessible without the need for explicit training.

However, users often require the reassurance of a handbook and knowledge base when tackling specific tasks, as not everyone is comfortable exploring software capabilities through trial and error. This is where Optimizelyâs user support help center excels, offering concise yet comprehensive documentation of the core features users need. This is supported by product graphics and examples that reflect common tasks their users need to solve.

## Results

The brand template editor built on IMG.LYâs SDK led to significant improvements in key performance indicators for Optimizely. The closing rate of deals increased as the new feature met prospects' RFP requirements, and customer retention rates went up . Customers now have a library of adaptable templates, making content more reusable and reducing the need for design team intervention.

Optimizelyâs success with the CreativeEditor SDK is a testament to their understanding of their product and customer needs. Rob Driscoll echoed this sentiment:

`"I really appreciated the collaboration in helping me get it signed off internally. I was very passionate about IMG.LY because it fulfilled a crucial part of the brief that I didnât think would be feasible. This collaboration enabled us to integrate template creation into the platform, something I didn't think was possible. It was great to work collaboratively with the IMG.LY team."`

Interested in revolutionizing your workflows? [Get in touch](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales) or start a [free trial](https://img.ly/forms/free-trial) today!

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[Source](https://img.ly/case-studies/postbuddy)