With extensive experience in helping organizations navigate their content automation journeys, one thing has become clear: the gap between ambition and execution is often wider than most companies expect. While many understand the need to transform their content operations, few realize just how much effort and planning it takes to get it right.
The real challenge isn’t technology—it’s transformation
Change management—shifting mindsets, establishing new workflows, and embedding new practices—is arguably the most challenging aspect of content automation. It requires careful orchestration of people, processes, and technology, often across multiple teams and departments. This is precisely why partner selection through your RFP process is so crucial. Your primary focus shouldn’t be on getting the most advanced technology stack, but rather on finding a partner who can guide you through this complex change journey.
When companies begin exploring content automation, they typically focus on the obvious pain points: slow production times, inconsistent messaging across channels, or the growing demand for personalized content. These are excellent starting points for your transformation journey—they provide tangible problems to solve and clear metrics for improvement. However, focusing solely on these immediate challenges can cause organizations to lose sight of the bigger picture.
The real challenge lies in orchestrating a complete operational transformation that touches every aspect of your content lifecycle—from planning and creation to storage, activation, and optimization. At its core, this is a people challenge, not a technology one. While any organization can purchase sophisticated automation tools, successfully implementing them requires fundamental changes in behavior and ways of working. This is where most organizations stumble.
The most successful transformations we’ve seen are organizations prioritizing change management expertise in their partner selection. But what does that mean? Well, it means finding a partner that can help you:
- Navigate the cultural shifts required for successful automation.
- Build internal capabilities gradually and systematically.
- Create buy-in across all levels of the organization.
- Design and implement new workflows that stick.
- Measure and communicate progress effectively.
This is why a well-crafted RFP can make or break your automation journey. The key is to evaluate potential partners not just on their technical capabilities, but on their proven ability to drive organizational change and their methodologies for ensuring successful adoption.
3 critical areas often overlooked in content automation RFPs
The stakes for getting content automation right have never been higher. 75% of marketing leaders say they are being asked to do more with less (Gartner). Still, recent studies show that 90% of globally developed content and toolkits never see the light of day in local markets, with 45% of core global assets going unused. For Fortune 500 companies, this translates to tens of millions wasted annually on unused assets. This waste isn’t just about money—it represents missed opportunities to engage customers, delayed time-to-market, and frustrated teams both globally and locally. (Implement)
The root cause often lies in the disconnect between global and local teams’ needs: while global teams focus on long-term strategic positioning and brand consistency, local teams prioritize tactical, sales-driven content that resonates in their specific markets. A well-planned content automation initiative can bridge this gap, but only if your RFP addresses these crucial aspects that many organizations overlook:
1. Quantifiable objectives beyond speed and cost
While most organizations set basic efficiency targets like “faster content production” or “reduced costs,” the most successful transformations are anchored in specific, measurable objectives across multiple dimensions:
- Customer Experience Impact: How will automation enable true 1:1 personalization at scale?
- Efficiency Metrics: Beyond basic cost reduction, how will automation improve resource allocation and content reusability?
- Time-to-Market Goals: What specific improvements in campaign launch times and market adaptation capabilities are you targeting?
For example, working with a Nordic research company, Avaus helped to reduce wasted time caused by disorganized content workflows and unclear priorities. By conducting a data maturity audit and overhauling content processes, we delivered six months’ worth of insights in six weeks, giving the client a clear roadmap for both immediate actions and long-term transformation goals. This streamlined approach set the foundation for measurable, sustainable success.
In an RFP, this is how you give a good executive summary of what you are aiming to achieve.
2. The integration of human and machine capabilities
A common pitfall is viewing content automation purely as a technology implementation. The reality is that successful automation requires a delicate balance between automated systems and human expertise.
Your RFP should explicitly address:
- Which content tasks should be automated versus enhanced?
- How will creative teams be empowered rather than replaced?
- The capability-building journey for your existing workforce.
For instance, working with the Nordic Telecommunications provider Telia, helping them move into content automation, illustrates the transformative potential of balancing automation and human input. By automating the generation of 12,000 personalized email variations, Telia significantly reduced content production time—freeing up creative teams to focus on high-value tasks. This shift not only improved scalability and efficiency but also enhanced customer experience through tailored, engaging content that drives satisfaction and loyalty.
Content automation includes many processes. Map out and get a sense of what’s important for you. This and other templates are available in the downloadable material.
3. Scalability beyond current needs
Too often, organizations focus on solving today’s content challenges without considering future scalability. A truly transformative RFP should address:
- How the solution will adapt to growing content volumes.
- The framework for expanding across new markets and channels.
- The ability to incorporate emerging technologies and content formats.
As demonstrated by working with McDonald’s, true transformation isn’t about optimizing the current state—it’s about building a future-ready way of working. This requires aligning teams around shared objectives, embracing agile collaboration, and fostering a culture prepared for change.
Kim Jørgensen, Nordic Head of Media & Digital Customer Experience at McDonald’s, summed it up perfectly:
“There are no surprises as to why change management fails… keeping these challenges top of mind allowed us to take a structured approach and ensure success across all areas”.
To gain deeper insights into McDonald’s content automation journey with Avaus, watch Kim’s full presentation from Avaus Expert Talks.
The path forward: a more comprehensive approach
Based on our experience, organizations that achieve the most impressive results approach their content automation RFPs with a broader perspective. They:
- Start with a detailed assessment of their current content landscape, including specific metrics around volume, complexity, and resource allocation.
- Define success across multiple dimensions—customer experience, operational efficiency, and market agility.
- Seek partners who can demonstrate both technical expertise and transformation experience.
- Include clear evaluation criteria that go beyond technical capabilities to assess cultural fit and long-term scalability.
Why this matters now more than ever
In today’s digital landscape, content isn’t just king—it’s the entire kingdom. Organizations that can’t scale their content operations efficiently will struggle to maintain relevance in an increasingly personalized, multi-channel world. The right automation partner can help bridge this gap, but finding them requires a well-crafted RFP that addresses both current challenges and future opportunities.
Crafting your RFP for content automation: key questions to ask and an RFP template
As you begin your content automation journey, consider these essential questions:
- How will you measure success beyond basic efficiency metrics?
- What capabilities do you need to build internally to support automation?
- How will your content automation solution scale as your organization grows?
- What change management considerations need to be addressed?
The answers to these questions will shape your RFP and set the foundation for a successful content automation transformation.
Remember, content automation isn’t just about working faster—it’s about changing how your organization creates, manages, and delivers content to meet growing customer expectations. Your RFP should reflect this big-picture goal while giving potential partners clear and actionable criteria to address.
As you move forward, make sure your RFP covers both the immediate problems you need to solve and the long-term changes you want to achieve. The future of content is automated, personalized, and scalable—choose a partner who can help you succeed in this new landscape.
To help you craft a comprehensive and strategic RFP for content automation, we’ve created an RFP template to support you through the process – we highly recommend downloading it for yourself by clicking the button!
If this blog resonates with you and you’re looking to move toward a more data-driven and customer-centric future, or if you need support in scoping your RFP, don’t hesitate to reach out! We’re here to help guide you through your transformation journey.
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