Ferring Pharmaceuticals: Managing FertilityOutloud.com
FertilityOutloud.com was more than just a website — it was a social awareness platform designed to support and inform people navigating the IVF journey. The campaign brought together creative agencies, endocrinologist content creators, and Ferring’s own Marketing and Legal, Medical, and Regulatory (LMR) teams to publish meaningful, accurate content. Articles ranged from dietary guidance and employer coverage to access challenges and the latest medical breakthroughs. To keep the platform dynamic and responsive, we operated on a content calendar with quarterly breakouts. But behind the scenes, the challenge was clear: how could we manage a complex web of contributors, approvals, and regulations, all without slowing down or compromising quality?
My Role
Project Manager
Team
Marketing Operations
Timeline
Feb 2022 - Dec 2022
My Responsibilities:
In this project, I served as the key coordinator, ensuring that every moving part stayed aligned. I orchestrated schedules across multiple creative agencies, consolidated their timelines into a master calendar, and tracked each piece of content through its full lifecycle. One of my critical roles was optimizing the review process with Ferring’s LMR teams. Historically, content passed through multiple — sometimes up to six — rounds of revisions because it was handed off to LMR only after being fully developed. My aim was to reduce these cycles, helping teams avoid unnecessary back-and-forth while keeping everything compliant and on-brand.
Tools and Methodologies Used:
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I used MS Project to combine all agency timelines into a unified, year-long content calendar.
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We primarily followed a Waterfall methodology, since content creation followed a linear, phase-based process. However, when delays occurred, we borrowed from Agile principles to adjust plans in real time and keep delivery on track.
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One of the most important project artifacts I introduced was the RACI matrix. By clearly mapping out roles and responsibilities, we gave everyone (from marketing leads to LMR reviewers) visibility into who was accountable at each touchpoint. This matrix became a cornerstone for minimizing review cycles and aligning expectations.
Challenges & Solutions
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One of the biggest challenges we faced was breaking the cycle of endless creative reviews. Previously, marketing teams would decide when assets were “ready” for LMR — but this decision was often subjective, leading to variability and uncertainty. Sometimes, an asset would go through as many as six rounds of revisions, making it nearly impossible to accurately forecast delivery timelines.
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My solution was to bring LMR into the process earlier. Instead of waiting for polished assets, we invited LMR to weigh in on early-stage content frameworks. This shift allowed potential issues — like conflicting dietary advice or language that risked regulatory noncompliance — to be flagged early. For example, articles on diet required delicate balancing: medical teams validated scientific claims, legal teams checked liability exposure, and regulatory teams ensured FDA compliance. With early input, creative teams could course-correct before investing too heavily in final assets.
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The result? Fewer surprises, fewer revisions, and much smoother approvals.
Key Outcomes & Metrics:
The outcomes of this project didn’t just improve process efficiency, it reshaped team culture. The governance structure shifted from a marketing-only decision to a shared responsibility model between marketing and LMR.
Whereas before the flow looked like:
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Creative planned → Creative developed → Reviewed by Marketing lead → Sent to LMR → Approved/Denied,
the new flow became:
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Creative planned → Shared early with LMR & Marketing → Feedback provided → Creative developed with feedback in mind → Joint review → Sent to LMR → Approved/Denied.
The impact was significant:
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66% reduction in review rounds.
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80% of content approved in the first round.
Lessons Learned:
This project taught me a powerful lesson about governance: just because a process exists doesn’t mean it’s the best way forward. When I asked, “Why are decisions made this way?” the answer was often, “That’s how we’ve always done it.” By focusing on improving the accuracy of delivery forecasting — not on diluting anyone’s decision-making power — we were able to build a more collaborative, confident system.
The shift to shared approval responsibility didn’t just improve timelines; it transformed how teams worked together. With better forecasting, we could plan content deployment more strategically, deliver on key cultural moments, and, most importantly, provide IVF patients with timely, reliable information they could trust.
Project Artifacts
