OpenX | Improving Marketing Work with Asana

Client

OpenX

Platform

Asana

Focus

Optimization &

Workflow Improvement

Duration

6 months

Project Overview

OpenX is a global advertising technology company and one of the world’s largest supply-side platforms (SSPs), helping advertisers, publishers, and partners navigate digital advertising through data-driven technology and infrastructure.

OpenX first partnered with Manage it Pros several years earlier to establish their Marketing team's Asana environment and foundational workflows.

At the time, the structure was intentionally designed to support the size and complexity of the organization.

But a lot had changed since then.

The Marketing team had nearly tripled in size. New stakeholders, new initiatives, evolving priorities, and major programs had significantly increased the complexity of how work moved across the organization.

As the team grew, the original structure was being stretched beyond what it had been designed to support.

While Asana remained the team's primary project management platform, adoption had become inconsistent. Teams increasingly relied on Google Sheets, Docs, Slack, email, meetings and manual coordination to fill workflow gaps. Requests entered through multiple channels, ownership wasn't always clear, and leadership visibility became more difficult as work expanded across functions.

Marketing needed to better connect strategy, execution, approvals, reporting, and communication as the organization continued to scale.

The opportunity was clear: build on an existing foundation and create a system that could better support the scale, speed, and complexity of a growing Marketing organization.

The Goal

OpenX engaged Manage it Pros to optimize how work moved through the Marketing team.

The objective wasn't simply to improve Asana adoption.

The engagement focused on:

One source of truth for status, ownership, and decisions
Clear workflows from intake through execution
Better visibility across initiatives and teams
Reduced manual coordination and duplicate tracking
A system aligned to how Marketing actually works

Our Approach

Using the Manage it Method™, we guided OpenX through a phased transformation.

The engagement took place during an exceptionally busy period for their Marketing organization, including a major corporate rebrand and several high-profile initiatives. Rather than pausing critical work, the implementation was designed to move alongside those priorities, adjusting timelines, using active projects as learning opportunities, and working around the team's evolving workload. Leadership recognized the long-term value of strengthening how work gets done and remained committed to the implementation despite an already demanding roadmap.

MAP: Understanding the Current State

We began with discovery interviews across the Marketing team, surveys, and a comprehensive audit of the existing environment.

This surfaced several recurring challenges:

Requests entering through multiple channels
Incomplete project briefs and unclear goals
Confusion around ownership and approvals
Inconsistent project structures across teams
Limited reporting due to inconsistent data practices
Low perceived value despite a willingness to adopt new processes

None of these challenges were unusual for a team growing as quickly as OpenX. In many ways, they were signs of a successful organization whose processes needed to evolve alongside its expanding team, priorities, and ambitions.

MAKE: Designing the Foundation

Rather than forcing teams into a rigid structure, we designed a system around how OpenX Marketing already operated.

We introduced a new architecture that separated strategic initiatives from executional work while keeping both connected.

This included:

Initiative portfolios for strategic visibility
Standardized execution projects for deliverables
Centralized intake and triage processes
Consistent templates and naming conventions
Routing automations to reduce manual work
Governance standards to support long-term sustainability

MANAGE - MODIFY - METABOLIZE: Support Adoption and Continuous Improvement

Technology alone doesn't change behavior. Successful adoption required more than configuration.

The engagement combined Asana optimization with structured change management and practical team enablement, including:

Live team trainings
Office hours
Individual coaching
Process documentation
Recorded walkthroughs
Frequently asked questions
Internal ambassador coaching
Opportunities to refine workflows using active marketing projects

Rather than treating implementation as a one-time event, the engagement created opportunities for continuous learning, feedback, and refinement before long-term ownership transitioned fully to the OpenX team.

“Working with Manage It Pros was like watching two experts disentangle a giant ball of twine and weave the strands into a tapestry.

Jenelle and Ava have the rare ability (read: ceaseless patience) to observe complex workflows, translate them into an effective system, and create more transparency and communication across silos. Their genuine curiosity and can-do attitude made the whole process feel possible."

The Solution

At the center of the redesign was a simple principle: Create a clear connection between strategy and execution.

We implemented:

A New Portfolio Structure

A scalable hierarchy connecting strategic initiatives to execution workstreams.
This created a clear relationship between:

Why work was happening
What needed to be delivered
Who owned it
How progress would be measured

A Single Front Door for Work

A standardized intake process ensured requests entered the system consistently and could be evaluated, prioritized, and routed appropriately.

Automated Routing & Ownership

Work was automatically directed to the appropriate teams through predefined rules and governance structures, reducing manual coordination and improving accountability.

Visibility & Reporting Foundations

Standardized fields, status updates, and reporting practices created stronger visibility for team leads while keeping the contributor experience lightweight and manageable.

A Sustainable Governance Model

We established an Ambassador program to ensure ownership of the system remained within the organization and could continue evolving after implementation.

Early Adoption

A voluntary pulse survey conducted during the stabilization period highlighted encouraging early adoption trends.

Among respondents:

Two-thirds reported using Asana more frequently than before the optimization.
Easier tracking of project status and progress was the most commonly reported improvement.
Team members appreciated having one place to find work and take action.

"Nice to have one spot to find everything going on and take action from there."

These responses represent early feedback from survey participants and are shared as examples of adoption rather than organization-wide measures.

Results at a Glance

Standardized how work enters the Marketing organization
Improved visibility into project ownership and progress
Connected strategic planning with day-to-day execution
Established governance practices to support future growth
Created an internal ambassador model to sustain adoption
Built a foundation for continuous improvement

Business Impact

By the conclusion of the engagement, OpenX had strengthened the foundation for managing marketing work across the organization.

Improved Visibility

Clearer project ownership
More consistent project tracking
Stronger connections between strategic initiatives and execution
Improved reporting foundations

More Consistent Ways of Working

Shared templates and project structures
Standardized intake and workflow practices
Clear governance standards
More repeatable project management practices

Long-Term Adoption

Increased confidence using Asana
Team training and self-service documentation
Internal ambassador network
Resources designed to support continued improvement

Perhaps most importantly, the engagement helped establish a more consistent way for teams to plan, manage, and move marketing work forward together.

"The Manage It Pros team played a critical role in helping us build the foundation we needed to get started with Asana quickly and effectively. They took the time to understand our workflows and translated them into practical templates that reflected how our team actually works.
Throughout the process, they were responsive, knowledgeable, and always available to answer questions and provide guidance. Our transition from Asana implementation to actually using Asana as an integral part of our daily operations would not have been possible without the support of Manage It Pros."

Ryan Bazler
Product Marketing Director, OpenX

Positioned for Continued Success

Long-term sustainability was a guiding principle throughout the engagement.

Documentation, governance standards, templates, training, and an internal ambassador network were intentionally established to help the OpenX Marketing team confidently manage and continue evolving its project management practices over time.

The engagement delivered more than an optimized Asana environment. It established a stronger foundation for managing marketing work designed to support collaboration, improve visibility, and evolve alongside the organization's future needs.

How OpenX Improved the Way Marketing Work Gets Done