In today’s crowded business landscape, it’s not enough to simply produce content. With clients and colleagues inundated with information from countless sources, even the most insightful reports or thought leadership pieces risk being lost in the noise.
Content resonates most when it reflects the realities people are dealing with in their own markets, such as the regulatory environment, commercial pressures and local context. When insight is grounded in those realities, it becomes easier to understand, more relevant and far more likely to be acted upon.
Yet focusing solely on local detail risks losing the bigger picture. Global perspectives provide the macro insight that helps businesses understand long-term trends, shared challenges and emerging risks that cut across borders. For firms operating internationally, that wider view is essential.
For global organisations like Aon, the challenge is therefore not a choice between global or local, but how to bring the two together effectively.
That’s where Sara Lane, EMEA content leader at Aon, comes in. Since her role was created in May 2024, Lane has become the bridge between global strategy and regional execution, connecting the dots to ensure Aon’s content delivers maximum impact.
Her job isn’t just about distributing information; it’s about making it relevant, actionable and meaningful for the people who receive it both internally and externally.
Global ideas, local impact
For a global firm like Aon, distributing content on a worldwide scale is essential. It reinforces the firm’s position as a major international player, tackling big themes that resonate across markets rather than appearing fragmented or region-specific.
In that context, it makes more sense for Aon to develop content centrally, rather than relying on materials produced independently in different regions, Lane explains.
But that global approach also has its limits. Each region has its own commercial priorities and regulatory realities, meaning a single message often needs careful adjustment to truly connect with local audiences.
Pensions is a clear example. Regulation varies significantly from country to country, making the UK pensions landscape markedly different from those in France, Germany or North America. As a result, while global narratives still matter, content tied to Aon’s pensions offering must be tailored at a country level – and that’s where Lane’s role comes in.
“My role is helping regional and in-country marketing teams to navigate the path with that global content, making sure it resonates in a region and that it is activated and made best use of,” she says.
Rather than creating entirely new material, she works closely with regional teams to apply a local lens to global themes, ensuring the message lands effectively.
That localisation often happens through execution, such as adapting how content is activated via emails, social media posts or on-site tiles, so global ideas feel relevant and meaningful in each market.
From volume to value
Since Lane’s role was only created in May 2024, she says it’s been a learning curve, with her responsibilities evolving as the team has reflected on what has – and hasn’t – worked.
For example, in some cases, she says the team created derivative content from a bigger piece of global content and then realised that sometimes the amount of work involved in that is disproportionate to the benefit received from that.
Instead, Lane has honed an approach that carefully balances global messaging with regional relevance. Rather than creating multiple new pieces, she focuses on sharing a single, strong global asset while adding context or signposting for each region.
In practice, that might look like a covering email reading: “Here’s our global content piece. If you’re reading this in EMEA, you’ll be particularly interested in the findings in chapter three.”
“Sometimes it’s not around creating reams and reams of more granular content because people often like to see the big picture, instead it can just be signposting people,” she says.
“Whether that’s internally in terms of colleagues so that they can help their clients find the most relevant parts of that content or in assets like emails or social media posts without cutting out the bigger message.”
By applying this approach, Lane ensures that regional teams can tailor content without losing sight of the global narrative. Local teams’ time is used efficiently and audiences receive content that resonates in their market while still reflecting the original purpose and integrity of the global message. It’s a method that both respects regional differences and preserves the impact of Aon’s overarching content strategy, she adds.
Collaboration at heart
Another important element of Lane’s role is collaboration. Her work depends on coordinating not only with the global content team to understand what’s coming, but also with regional teams to see how content can be adapted to meet local needs.
Therefore, success hinges on clear and efficient communication, she says.
To support this, Lane established a monthly content call for all EMEA marcomms teams, bringing together colleagues from global content as well as regional risk capital and human capital teams.
“The idea is that they hear ‘from the horse’s mouth’ what’s coming in terms of global content,” she says. “They can also share regional plans for how they’re going to activate – or have already activated – best practice examples of that content.”
These sessions allow regional teams to replicate best practices and plan ahead, integrating global content with local initiatives. Collaboration also extends to internal sales teams, who receive a high volume of messages every day.
Lane has worked to create consistency, so that when a client-facing colleague sees a communication from marketing in a particular channel – perhaps badged in a certain way or coming from a specific person – they know what’s expected of them.
“Building that consistency over time is helpful so that people know what to expect and that if they’re getting a communication from marcomms internally, it’s going to be something that is going to help them take content to their clients,” she says.
Lane also emphasises the need to meet people where they are. Everyone has different preferences for how they consume information, so she creates internal videos alongside emails and Teams posts to ensure key messages reach colleagues in the way that works best for them.
Being adaptable comes from listening to feedback from business and client-facing teams and evolving communication methods to suit their needs, she adds.
The value of localisation
The value of tailoring global content for regional audiences is clear, Lane says. Internally, it helps colleagues quickly understand which pieces are most relevant to them and their clients, guiding them toward content that delivers the most insight.
“Everyone’s really busy in today’s world, so it helps if you can cut through some of that and help people understand what they will be particularly interested in,” she says.
Externally, the same principle applies. In a crowded marketplace, helping clients focus on the core issues Aon is addressing adds value.
“There’s real value in helping people to understand the ideas we’re trying to take to them and the ways we’re trying to help them in a really clear way,” she says.
Providing regional teams with visibility of upcoming global content also improves efficiency. Rather than creating local content to fill perceived gaps, teams can plan ahead, integrating global pieces with their own regional initiatives. This reduces duplication, ensures content is fully leveraged and allows marketers to focus on areas that truly require bespoke material.
“If something is sent out internally and people weren’t expecting it, or if they’ve already created a local version covering a similar topic, then it’s not going to be used to the best effect,” she notes.
This approach also supports a two-tiered content strategy. Large thought leadership pieces allow Aon to share forward-looking, macro insights with clients – ideas they may not have the time or capacity to explore themselves. At the same time, more granular, locally tailored content addresses specific regional needs, from regulatory differences to market nuances.
“That approach enables us to do both of those things. We can share that big thinking with clients and prospects but we can also have a more granular piece of thought leadership that plays to the local needs and more specific requirements,” Lane says.
By combining global vision with local insight in this way, the content becomes more than just information. Instead, it serves as a tool to help colleagues work smarter and more efficiently, giving them clarity on what to prioritise and how to engage clients effectively.
It ensures that global pieces are not only seen, but also fully leveraged, while regional nuances are addressed without creating unnecessary duplication.
At the same time, it allows clients to see both the bigger picture and the specific insights most relevant to their market, helping them act with confidence in an increasingly complex world.
This story appeared in Issue 15 of the Financial Promoter magazine. To be one of the first to read it, subscribe here: Subscribe – Financial Promoter