William Reed: AI Strategy Audit

‍Business Context

A global media publishing house, operating across multiple continents and digital platforms, sought to strengthen its competitive edge through artificial intelligence. Despite a wealth of data and digital operations, leadership lacked a unified view of where AI could deliver measurable value and how to implement it effectively across editorial, marketing, and operational teams.

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The Challenge

The business faced fragmented data systems, inconsistent AI experimentation, and uncertainty over ROI. Leadership needed an independent audit to assess readiness, benchmark against industry leaders, and build an actionable, organization-wide AI strategy within a short timeframe.

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Passion Labs’ Process

Over 4 intensive weeks, Passion Labs conducted:

• In-person leadership and team workshops (5 sessions across 3 global hubs)
• A company-wide AI readiness survey (250+ participants)
• Competitor benchmarking across 6 peer media companies
• Data and tool due diligence, reviewing 40+ systems
• A state-of-the-art review of emerging media AI applications

This culminated in a 30-page strategic report detailing 8 AI recommendations and use cases, a 3-year implementation roadmap, and a full impact and capability assessment.

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The Outcome & Impact

The audit established a clear AI maturity baseline and identified opportunities projected to deliver a 20–25% efficiency gain across content production and audience analytics. The board adopted all recommendations, allocating budget for phased rollout. Within three months, the company initiated pilots in automated tagging, ad optimisation and personalised content, targeting a 2.5x ROI over 3 months.

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