Case Study: How Daxko’s CMO Drives Global Marketing Agility with a “Follow the Sun” Strategy

Background:

Wendy White, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Daxko, brings over 25 years of experience in high-tech and SaaS marketing, including roles at major companies like Intel, Motorola, and Microsoft. With a solid foundation in managing global teams and delivering marketing at scale, Wendy applies this expertise to transform marketing operations at Daxko, a midmarket B2B SaaS company.

Daxko is a powerhouse in the SaaS world, overseeing a portfolio of brands and generating multi-billion-dollar revenues. With nearly 1,000 employees worldwide, Daxko serves over 30% of the North American gym market, including everything from local fitness businesses to some of the biggest gym chains. They are also a key player in the nonprofit sector, helping organisations optimise operations with cutting-edge tools.

Challenge:

When Wendy joined Daxko, the challenge was clear,

How do you scale a marketing team’s output without scaling the budget?

As Daxko continues to grow, with its portfolio of brands and a global customer base, the need for round-the-clock marketing became evident. Wendy needed to maximise efficiency, speed, and the ability to execute campaigns 24/7, whilst leveraging global talent across time zones without sacrificing quality.

Wendy recalls, “I’ve always run into the situation where there’s never enough budget. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach in terms of what I want to accomplish versus the headcount I have.” This is a common challenge for fast-growing companies, especially ones with the ambition and scale of Daxko. But Wendy had a solution—a strategy she calls “Follow the Sun.”

Solution:

Wendy implemented a “Follow the Sun” model by establishing marketing teams across multiple time zones. This strategy ensures that work on key projects, such as video production or digital content, continues uninterrupted as it moves from one team to another across the globe. Her team spans three time zones in the U.S., with additional teams in Manila. This continuous workflow allows the company to produce deliverables overnight, leading to faster turnaround times and improved efficiency.

“I’m literally staffing across the time zones,” Wendy explains “My current team, for example, is in all three time zones in the US. In the afternoon, our Manila Team comes on and then overnight, our team in India comes on.”.

This kind of agility means projects, like video production or digital content, can be completed in record time without requiring late-night hours from U.S.-based employees, “We did a bunch of quick recordings in the US, tossed it to our team in India overnight, came back in this morning and it was 90% done. Our team here said let’s make this tweak, that tweak and we were done.” The introduction of a global team ensures that the workload is completed efficiently and in a timely manner, optimising the use of all the resources available.

To make this strategy successful, Wendy partners with Flat Planet, an organisation that helps her forward-locate talent in regions like Manila. These teams are empowered to handle the tactical execution of marketing tasks, freeing up Daxko’s senior marketers in the U.S. to focus on high-value strategic initiatives. By following a robust process involving clear project briefs, disciplined handoffs, and tools like Asana, Daxko’s marketing operation maintains agility and high performance.

Results:

This approach has transformed Daxko’s marketing operations:

• Increased Output: By operating 24/7, Daxko can deliver marketing assets in record time. A project that might have taken days or even weeks under a traditional model can now be completed overnight. As Wendy stated, “That agility and speed of execution creates a high-performing team.”.
• Cost-Effective Talent Utilisation: Wendy hired senior-level talent for business intelligence and data analytics at a quarter of the cost compared to U.S. rates, delivering significant cost savings without compromising quality.
• Empowered Global Teams: By integrating employees across geographies into Daxko’s core operations, Wendy has built a global team that feels valued and engaged. With Flat Planet managing office logistics and helping foster team cohesion, Daxko’s global workforce is as much a part of the company as the teams in the U.S.

Key Takeaways:

Wendy White’s “Follow the Sun” strategy demonstrates the power of leveraging global teams to drive marketing agility. By using clear processes and forward-locating talent, Daxko has successfully increased its marketing output and operational speed while keeping costs in check. This case study illustrates how companies, even at midmarket scales, can adapt large-scale global strategies to fuel growth and efficiency.

About Flat Planet:

Established in 2010, Flat Planet® is a family-owned, Australian-operated leading provider of high-value outsourced staffing solutions. Connecting businesses worldwide with skilled talent in Southeast Asia, offering a competitive edge through cost-effective, high-quality staffing solutions. With offices in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia, we employ over 400 staff serving global clients. Our state-of-the-art infrastructure and blend of local and Australian management practices ensure excellence in service delivery. At Flat Planet, we’re committed to creating pathways to a brighter future – not only by providing businesses access to a globally competitive workforce but also by supporting initiatives like our Gift of Life project, which funds critical heart surgeries for children in need.

For more information on how Flat Planet can empower your business while making a positive impact, visit flatplanet.com.au or email us on info@flatplanet.com