DC Thomson Media

DC Thomson Media: Transforming Strategy Management with ClearPoint

Executive Summary

DC Thomson Media, one of the UK's leading content creators, changed its strategy management process by implementing ClearPoint. That cut board meeting preparation time by 75% and created a unified system for tracking objectives, KPIs, and projects across its business portfolio.

About DC Thomson Media

DC Thomson Media publishes newspapers, magazines, and comics, with brands that have been part of everyday life for generations. It keeps expanding into new areas and aims to create, deliver, and fulfil content that improves consumer experiences while meeting strategic goals across its business portfolio.

DC Thomson is headquartered in Scotland, with a presence in London and worldwide, and was founded in 1905. It has always embraced new ways of working. DC Thomson is home to some of the UK's best loved media brands and events. Its titles and brands include The Courier, The Press & Journal, The Sunday Post and Original 106. The People's Friend, the world's oldest women's weekly magazine, marked its 150th year in 2019. More about the company is on the DC Thomson website.

The Challenge: Manual Strategy Management

Before ClearPoint, DC Thomson Media's strategy management was labor-intensive and fragmented. Amanda Sangster, Head of Strategy (formerly Head of Business Programme), and Jacqui Gray, Project Manager, manually managed Excel spreadsheets of up to 200 rows that served as roadmaps for business projects.

Their monthly process involved:

• Individual 30-minute meetings with approximately 20 senior team members
• Manual updates to multiple Excel spreadsheets
• 4 days per month spent by two team members on preparation
• PowerPoint presentations created separately for board meetings
• Action items tracked in disconnected Excel documents
• Limited visibility between monthly meetings
• Version control issues and formula errors in spreadsheets

The system worked, but it lacked automation and real-time visibility. Leaders could see progress only once a month and had no easily digestible view of how projects affected strategic objectives.

The Solution: ClearPoint Implementation

DC Thomson Media partnered with ClearPoint to automate and centralize its strategy management. The implementation evolved through several phases:

Initial Implementation: Project Management Focus

DC Thomson first used ClearPoint mainly for project and milestone tracking, as a foundation for broader strategy management.

Expansion Following ClearPoint Summit

After attending the ClearPoint Summit in Fort Lauderdale, Amanda Sangster saw the platform's broader potential, particularly for KPI tracking. That led to an expanded implementation covering:

• Strategic objectives tracking
• Project alignment with objectives
• KPI dashboards
• Milestone monitoring
• Action reports
• Meeting management

Advanced Automation Features

Working with the ClearPoint team, DC Thomson implemented:

• Data Loader: Automated scheduled data transfers from Excel to ClearPoint
• Advanced Calculations: Automatic computation of KPIs and metrics
• Custom Dashboards: Department-specific views for targeted insights
• Red-Alert Summary Reports: Quick identification and explanation of underperforming measures

Transformational Results

Time Savings

• 75% reduction in board meeting preparation time
• From 4 days to just 8 hours per month for report preparation
• Only 10-15 minutes per business to export and distribute pre-reads

Operational Improvements

• Unified Platform: All strategy information now lives in one centralized location
• Real-Time Visibility: Leaders can access performance data anytime, not just monthly
• Direct Meeting Management: Both departmental and Senior Operating Board meetings run directly from ClearPoint
• Automated Reporting: Elimination of manual data entry and formula errors
• Enhanced Accountability: Clear tracking of action items and project ownership

Strategic Benefits

• Alignment: Projects directly linked to business objectives, showing clear impact
• Transparency: All leaders have access to the same up-to-date information
• Scalability: Easy addition of new scorecards for acquired businesses
• Focus Shift: Strategy team now concentrates on helping businesses meet goals rather than administrative tasks

Meeting Management Excellence

DC Thomson Media now runs meetings directly from ClearPoint, utilizing:

• Interactive agendas with document links
• Live KPI dashboards providing pre-meeting insights
• Real-time activity and project updates
• Integrated action item tracking
• Supplemental presentations uploaded for context

This approach eliminates the need to jump between applications during meetings.

Looking Forward: Continuous Growth

As DC Thomson Media continues to grow and acquire businesses, ClearPoint remains central to their strategy management approach. Each new business integration involves:

• Creation of a new scorecard in ClearPoint
• Development of specific KPI dashboards
• Project tracking aligned with business objectives
• Integration into the overall strategic reporting framework

The company continues to find ways to improve its process each year, and ClearPoint is an essential part of day-to-day strategy operations.

Key Takeaways

DC Thomson Media's partnership with ClearPoint shows what automated strategy management can do. By moving from manual spreadsheets to an integrated platform, they achieved:

• Time savings that free up time for strategic initiatives
• Enhanced visibility and accountability across the organization
• Improved decision-making through real-time data access
• Scalable processes supporting business growth
• A unified source of truth for strategic information

DC Thomson Media's story shows how a strategy management tool can free time from administration for strategic thinking and execution.