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Local first content
Faster, more direct formats led by trusted voices, not banner ads.
Case study
Cancha. Rebuilding a sports media business around AI
AI strategy, editorial transformation, partnerships, operating model design
← All workA Mexican sports media and gaming business needed to move faster than its structure allowed. Editorial, product, gaming and commercial were working hard, but separately.
We worked alongside leadership and key teams to redesign how the business made content, made decisions and made money, with AI running through all of it.
Overview
Helping leadership turn AI from an experiment into the way the business operates.
As strategic advisors, we partnered with the CEO, editorial leads, product, gaming and commercial teams to rethink the business for a local audience and an AI first future.
The work covered editorial structure, audience behaviour, partnerships and a shared operating layer that brought every team's data into one place.
The challenge
A global playbook in a local market, with teams working in silos.
The business had grown on models borrowed from Europe and the US. They didn't fit Mexican audiences, and the organisation wasn't set up to learn fast.
5+ days
Average time for performance insight to reach the teams who could act on it.
As a result
- Content felt overproduced for an audience that wanted speed
- Editorial costs were high and output was capped by headcount
- Teams reported separately and rarely acted together
- Too much was being built in house that could be licensed faster
Our role
Working directly with leadership and the people closest to the work.
We didn't design from a distance. We sat with stakeholders across every department to understand how decisions were really made, then shaped the new model with them rather than handing it over.
- Advising the CEO and leadership team on AI strategy and team design
- Running workshops with editorial, product, gaming and commercial leads
- Redesigning the editorial workflow around AI
- Mapping what to build, what to partner on and what to license
- Designing collaborative AI dashboards as the shared operating layer
- Supporting teams through the World Cup as a live test of the new model
The vision
One connected system instead of separate departments.
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Data streams unified into one operating layer, from editorial to commercial.
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AI powered editorial
AI across research, drafting, translation, optimisation and distribution.
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Partner led capability
Sports data, streaming, gaming tech and distribution accessed through partners.
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Shared intelligence
Collaborative dashboards where teams ask questions and act together.
Key lessons
What the work taught us, and the business.
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Local behaviour beats global playbooks
Creator led campaigns delivered 3.4x the conversion of display. Local payment methods cut checkout drop off by 38%. Less polished content drove 52% more engagement.
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AI changed the economics of editorial
Output rose from 40 to 180+ articles a day and cost per article fell 70%. The lesson wasn't replacing people. It was redesigning the team around people who can train, direct and improve AI.
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Big moments expose what really works
The World Cup pushed traffic to 6x the monthly average. Match reports went live within 90 seconds, and gaming registrations grew 210%. It only worked because teams ran as one system.
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Partnerships move faster than builds
5 new capabilities launched in 6 months, against an estimated 18 to 24 months to build internally.
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Dashboards became the operating layer
Weekly reporting dropped from 12 hours to under 2. Decisions moved from days to hours.
Impact
A business that learns faster than its market moves.
- Rebuilt editorial around AI, lifting output 4.5x
- Reduced production costs by 70% per article
- Delivered the business's biggest ever traffic event during the World Cup
- Brought new capabilities to market 3x faster through partnerships
- Gave every team one shared, live view of performance
- Created a clear plan for rebuilding specialist editorial capability
Stakeholder feedback
“NORD didn't just advise us, they worked alongside our teams to rebuild how we operate. We came out faster, more connected and ready for what's next.”
Reflection
Transformation happens with people, not to them.
The biggest shift wasn't the technology. It was getting leadership and teams to see the business as one system and make decisions together. AI made that possible, but working alongside the people who run the business every day is what made it stick.
01Cancha
Performance Hub
Editorial, search, social, gaming, product and commercial data in one shared view, with AI insights that flag changes and recommend what to do next.
