1. Problem Identification & Research

Challenge:

eBay faced the dual challenge of increasing customer engagement and conversions while maintaining brand consistency and quality. This had to be achieved at scale through AI-driven content, reducing manual effort but without compromising the user experience or brand alignment, particularly for campaigns like the Vogue feature.

Research Process:

• Conducted a comprehensive audit of existing email and landing page templates to identify gaps in personalization and scalability.

• Collaborated with marketing and data teams to understand user preferences and behaviors, defining key opportunities for personalization.

• Benchmarked competitors leveraging AI in personalized marketing to identify best practices.

Key Insights:

• Customers responded best to highly relevant, visually engaging content tailored to their interests.

• Campaign alignment (e.g., Vogue) required a sophisticated blend of automation and curated content to maintain a high-fashion aesthetic.

2. Defining Goals and Success Metrics

Primary Goals:

• Drive customer engagement through tailored email and landing page content.

• Ensure seamless integration of AI-driven content while maintaining eBay's brand consistency.

• Align personalization efforts with high-profile campaigns like Vogue.

Success Metrics:

• Increase in email engagement rates (e.g., opens, clicks).

• Improvement in landing page conversions.

• Reduction in manual content creation workload.

3. Ideation and Strategic Planning

Approach:

• Defined a vision for AI-driven marketing with an emphasis on customer-centric personalization and brand consistency.

• Developed personas to guide AI content creation, ensuring relevance across diverse segments. For example:

  • Jen: Gen Z fashion enthusiast interested in unique, trendy pieces.

  • Matt: Millennial collectibles aficionado looking for rare finds.

• Designed flexible templates to dynamically incorporate AI-generated content.

Key Concepts:

• AI-generated content must feel human and aligned with eBay’s tone.

• Templates should seamlessly adapt to highlight curated collections like Vogue’s high-fashion finds.

4. Design Development

Content Frameworks and Guidelines:

• Created content frameworks for emails and landing pages to ensure consistency in tone, messaging, and design.

• Developed modular templates for flexibility, allowing AI-generated elements to integrate without compromising visual appeal.

Design Specifications:

• Defined technical requirements for engineering to ensure dynamic content populated correctly.

• Designed templates to mirror the sophisticated visual style of the Vogue campaign, incorporating high-quality imagery, fashion-forward typography, and a clean, modern layout.

5. Collaboration and AI Integration

Partnering with Engineering:

• Worked closely with engineering to define AI requirements, ensuring algorithms analyzed user data effectively to generate relevant content.

• Conducted regular design and technical reviews to refine AI outputs and troubleshoot any issues with integration.

Campaign Alignment:

• Designed templates to align with the Vogue feature, emphasizing curated collections and high-fashion items.

• Ensured the AI-generated content highlighted similar high-value items to maintain cohesion with the campaign.

6. Testing and Iteration

A/B Testing:

• Conducted A/B tests comparing AI-generated content against static, manually created templates to evaluate performance.

• Tested variations in messaging, imagery, and layouts to optimize engagement and conversion rates.

Optimization:

• Used insights from tests to refine AI algorithms, adjusting the tone, style, and content generation rules to better resonate with user segments.

• Incorporated user feedback to further tailor templates and improve overall functionality.

7. Final Implementation

Execution:

• Deployed AI-driven templates across email and landing pages, ensuring a seamless integration of dynamic content.

• Aligned designs with ongoing high-visibility campaigns, including the Vogue feature, to ensure a cohesive user experience.

Handoff:

• Delivered finalized templates and design specifications to the engineering team, enabling efficient deployment and future scalability.

8. Results and Impact

18% Increase in Email Engagement Rates:

• Personalized content resonated with individual user segments, leading to higher opens and clicks.

12% Boost in Landing Page Conversion Rates:

• Highly relevant and visually aligned content resulted in improved conversions.

35% Reduction in Manual Workload:

• Automation freed up the team to focus on other strategic initiatives, such as new partnerships and high-impact campaigns.