After a long week at Sitecore Symposium, I’m leaving Nashville with a sense of optimism, feeling inspired by the recent innovations and the introduction of new products.
I am blown away by all the use cases and success achieved by brands using the Sitecore platform. Digital Experience leaders like Shure microphones, L’Oréal, Pet Supplies Plus, and United Airlines are all pushing the boundaries of engaging experiences that resonate with their customers. Leading brands shared rapid-fire stories from the main stage, highlighting revenue growth, operational cost savings, and productivity improvements—showcasing the power of building experiences on Sitecore’s solutions.
One announcement stole the show: Sitecore Stream, which introduced a new suite of generative marketing capabilities.
Sitecore Stream takes all the tasks in a marketing workflow and uses AI to make them faster, easier and more consistent. This new category of software is notably ahead of the wider DXP market and it will enable marketers to harness the power of AI systems much like OpenAI’s ChatGPT within the strategic context of your own brand. I’ll outline more details on how Sitecore Stream will unlock marketing potential in a dedicated post.
This was my fifth Symposium. The authenticity of Dave O’Flannigan, Sitecore’s CEO, and his strategic clarity of vision cut through the noise this year. I watched Sitecore’s C-Suite talk transparently with an elite group of Sitecore MVPs during their Monday summit. After clearing security on the way out of Nashville I ran into Dave at the airport and thanked him for a wonderful week. I cannot understate the evidence of passionate and enthusiastic leadership Sitecore has in place now.
Conferences are often held in tough, windowless environments, but this year’s Symposium stood out. Natural light, an indoor river with curated garden greenery, and dozens of fountains and water features in the Gaylord Opryland venue made it relatively easy to spend a week indoor inside of the a large conference center.
Eric Stine and Kathie Johnson, Sitecore’s COO and CMO respectively, announced this year’s Experience Award Winners winners from stage. Eric posed thoughtful, probing questions to a panel of executives from top brands, clearly demonstrating the time and care he put into preparation and research. Sitecore showed up with a coordinated message in honest and consistent ways this year and it was genuinely refreshing.
Here are statistics from standout Sitecore customers this year, showcasing measurable business outcomes. Stats were shared from the main stage or breakouts:
- Bayer (Case Study): improved communications by unifying 300 distinct portals into a single solution in called BayerNet which improved internal communication leading to success in other parts of the business
- 46% cost reduction ($600k annual cost savings)
- 70% reduction in duplicative content
- Suncoast Credit Union (Velir Case Study): Florida’s largest credit union ($12B in assets) unveils a new personalized digital presence built on XM Cloud
- Comprehensive redesign of Suncoast’s website with personalization at the center, and clever new “express lane” ux
- 14% uplift in engaged users per session
- 8-26% increase in key conversions including New member applications New memberships
- United Airlines (American Eagle Case Study): Personalized gate signage for one of the largest airlines in the world
- 36M passengers a year get an improved travel experience (~2k personalized signs in airports)
- 82% of travelers found the rebranded and personalized experiences to ease their travel experience
- 70k Employees worldwide get easy access to intranet information
- Foodstuffs NZ (Case Study): XM Cloud + AI powered autotagging in Content Hub enabled this supermarket retailer to enhance marketing productivity and support digital growth.
- 7x higher website traffic supported
- 25-30% reduced launch time to launch sites and omnichannel campaigns
- 50% improvement on asset reuse
Read my next article is ‘Anticipating Sitecore Stream’ outlining the transformational capabilities of the upcoming solution.