Overview:

The American Heart Association (AHA), established in 1924, stands as the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. With over 33 million volunteers and supporters, and more than 3,400 employees, AHA's commitment to cardiovascular health is steadfast. The organization's mission is not only to reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease but also to educate the public, advocate for healthy living, and fund groundbreaking research. In an increasingly digital world, AHA recognized the need to modernize and unify its digital presence to maximize its outreach and enhance engagement.

Challenge: Unifying a Fragmented Digital Landscape

While AHA's digital presence is a crucial tool in fulfilling its mission, the organization faced several challenges. Its existing content management system (CMS) had not been redesigned in over a decade, which made managing and updating content a cumbersome and inefficient process. As the demands of the digital landscape evolved, AHA found itself limited by an outdated infrastructure that hindered the organization’s ability to respond quickly to the needs of its audience.

Moreover, AHA sought a more sophisticated way to leverage data and analytics for personalization. Understanding and delivering relevant content based on user behavior and preferences was critical to meeting the expectations of both their supporters and those seeking health information. However, the organization was also mindful of the need to maintain privacy and comply with regulations like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), which governs the use of personally identifiable health information.

Solution: A Horizon of New Possibilities with Sitecore and Salesforce

Recognizing the need for a comprehensive and innovative solution, AHA turned to XCentium, a trusted digital experience agency, to modernize its web infrastructure and enhance its digital capabilities. XCentium's expertise in enterprise-level CMS solutions was key to the transformation.

Unifying Digital Presence with Sitecore

The first step in the digital transformation was to deploy Sitecore, a robust content management system that allowed AHA to consolidate its disparate digital platforms. Sitecore was the perfect solution to bring a unified, cohesive approach to managing digital content, providing AHA with a streamlined way to build, optimize, and personalize web pages across its ecosystem.

One of the primary goals for AHA was to ensure that users across all digital touchpoints had a consistent, seamless experience. Sitecore facilitated this by offering a flexible platform capable of scaling to meet the organization's growing digital needs. The unified platform also improved internal workflows, allowing the AHA’s team to efficiently manage content without the complexity and limitations of their previous CMS.

Personalization Powered by Data Analytics

A key part of AHA's strategy was to leverage personalization to engage users more effectively. Using Sitecore, AHA could personalize content based on user behavior, such as browsing habits and interactions on the site. This personalized approach allowed AHA to deliver targeted content that was more relevant and valuable to its audience.

For example, Sitecore enabled AHA to serve users with tailored health information based on their specific interests or needs. If a user indicated they had high blood pressure, the website could present personalized content, such as heart-healthy recipes, tips for managing blood pressure, or lifestyle changes that could reduce health risks. This kind of customization helped ensure that visitors received the most relevant information without the need to collect personally identifiable information, which ensured compliance with HIPAA regulations.

Automation and Integration with Salesforce Marketing Cloud

To maximize the effectiveness of its digital campaigns, AHA also integrated Sitecore with Salesforce Marketing Cloud. This integration allowed the organization to deliver automated, personalized email campaigns at scale. By automating the delivery of messages based on users' actions, AHA could engage supporters in real-time, ensuring timely and relevant communication.

The integration with Salesforce Marketing Cloud also allowed AHA to track the performance of email campaigns, ensuring that the messages resonated with recipients and delivered measurable results. The platform's data-driven insights provided AHA with the necessary tools to continuously refine and improve their digital communication strategies.

Cloud Migration for Scalability and Security

Given the increasing demands on AHA's digital infrastructure, it became clear that a more scalable and reliable environment was needed. AHA migrated its website to a multi-region Azure Cloud to enhance both security and performance. The cloud environment provided the scalability AHA required to handle spikes in traffic and ensured a seamless experience for users, even during high-traffic periods.

As Todd LeCocq, Director of Digital Solutions at AHA, explained: “We’ve been down this road for years of buying, patching, and managing infrastructure. We wanted to get out of this business, the cloud offers that benefit.” By migrating to the Azure Cloud, AHA not only reduced the complexity of managing its infrastructure but also improved the overall reliability and security of its digital operations.

Outcome: Delivering a More Personalized, Efficient, and Scalable Experience

With the new digital strategy in place, AHA achieved several significant outcomes that directly contributed to the organization's mission and goals:

Enhanced User Experience Through Personalization

The integration of personalization features allowed AHA to better understand its supporters and website visitors. By tailoring content to individual users' health concerns or interests, AHA was able to deliver more relevant information without violating privacy standards. The ability to serve personalized content not only helped increase engagement but also ensured that users found the information they needed quickly and efficiently.

Efficient Content Management and Workflow

With Sitecore in place, AHA’s internal teams could update and manage content much more efficiently. The unified platform eliminated the complexity of maintaining multiple digital touchpoints, reducing the time spent on manual content updates. As a result, AHA could respond to the needs of its audience more effectively, with fewer bottlenecks and delays.

Scalability and Security

The transition to a multi-region Azure Cloud environment provided the scalability needed to handle high traffic volumes during critical campaigns or events. Furthermore, the cloud migration ensured that AHA’s website remained secure, reliable, and responsive, offering peace of mind to both the organization and its users.

Streamlined Email Campaigns at Scale

By integrating Sitecore with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, AHA was able to automate its email campaigns, delivering messages to supporters at scale without compromising on personalization. This integration not only improved the efficiency of email marketing efforts but also provided valuable data that helped AHA refine and optimize its campaigns over time.

Data-Driven Insights for Continuous Improvement

With the ability to collect and analyze data through Sitecore and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, AHA gained valuable insights into user behavior and campaign performance. These insights empowered the organization to continuously optimize its digital strategy, ensuring that future efforts would be even more effective.

Conclusion

The collaboration between the American Heart Association and XCentium marked a significant step forward in the organization’s digital transformation. By unifying its digital presence through Sitecore and leveraging powerful personalization tools, AHA was able to engage users more effectively, deliver relevant content, and streamline its operations. With the added benefits of cloud migration and email automation, AHA is now better positioned to reach and support its mission of combating heart disease and stroke on a larger scale.

As the American Heart Association continues to grow and evolve, its enhanced digital presence will serve as a cornerstone for future outreach, education, and engagement, ensuring that cardiovascular health remains at the forefront of the national conversation.