Insights

Scaling a Global Media Network to 350M Monthly Views

Client: Deutsche Welle (Global YouTube Lead)

The Challenge

Managing a fragmented network of over 60 channels in 27 languages presents a massive strategic challenge. The primary goal was to shift the organization’s focus from “vanity metrics” (views at any cost) to sustainable audience retention and to standardize workflows across diverse editorial teams.

The Solution

As Global YouTube Lead, I implemented a data-driven “Digital-First” culture. Key strategic measures included:

Strategic Shift: Replacing vague KPIs with strict Click-Through-Rate (CTR) and Retention benchmarks to identify high-potential formats and reallocate media budgets.
Enablement: Designing and leading training programs on algorithm triggers (e.g., ‘3-Second Hooks’) for over 100 journalists to increase average view duration.
Infrastructure: Centralizing the global YouTube CMS management and rights management to ensure technical asset hygiene and policy enforcement across the network.
Innovation: Pioneering the network’s short-form strategy on TikTok and Instagram, achieving up to 940k organic views per asset through agile batch-production.

The Result

We successfully transformed the network’s performance, scaling organic viewership from 75 million to 350 million monthly views. During this period, we successfully launched 37 new channels and expanded the digital footprint to platforms like Twitch and Reddit.