From campaign planning to localization and measurement, here are the creative automation tools every creative lead should know about.

Managing complex marketing projects, especially across multiple channels, markets, and teams, requires more than just good creative and grit. It takes the right tech stack to turn chaos into clarity.

At Sherlock, we’ve worked with global brands to streamline production, reduce timelines, and increase ROI on creative. These are the tools we—and our clients—reach for again and again.

1. Sherlock Pipeline™ – For end-to-end creative workflow automation

Sherlock Pipeline™ is built for scale. Whether you’re producing five assets or five thousand, this platform lets you automate key steps in the creative process—from brief intake to review and localization to delivery.

It includes:

  • A built-in editing and review tool
  • A digital asset library with version control
  • Automated localization features
  • A customizable data dashboard for tracking performance

Sherlock Pipeline™ isn’t just a tool—it’s a managed service, so our expert team works alongside you to handle the complexity and keep your projects on track.

2. Airtable – For visual project tracking and automation capabilities

Airtable’s flexibility makes it a favorite for marketing teams juggling lots of moving parts. It’s great for:

  • Multi-channel campaign tracking
  • Creative briefs and production timelines
  • Custom views for different teams or stakeholders

At Sherlock, we help clients optimize Airtable, building custom dashboards that reflect localization workflows, approvals, and delivery progress in real time.

3. Asana – For day-to-day task management

When you need to turn big-picture campaign goals into actionable to-do lists, Asana delivers.

  • Break down work into tasks and milestones
  • Assign roles, add deadlines, and monitor progress
  • Use Timeline View to keep your entire project on track

Asana’s marketing templates make it especially useful for campaign production. However, some teams get caught up in creating more manual work in tools like Asana. At Sherlock, we help our clients optimize the project management tools they use to boost useful automation and reduce manual work.

4. Miro – For brainstorms, retros, and campaign mapping

Need to align a global team on creative strategy? Miro makes it easy to collaborate visually.

  • Ideal for brainstorming, campaign planning, and retrospectives
  • Supports async participation across time zones
  • Great for mapping out brand pillars, audience insights, or rollout plan

5. Google Looker Studio – For campaign performance dashboards

Data is only useful if you can see it clearly. Looker Studio makes it possible to:

  • Track campaign performance across regions and channels
  • Share custom dashboards with execs or regional leads
  • Visualize ROI from creative investments

6. Air – For digital asset management (DAM)

Brand consistency starts with centralization. There are many DAMs out there to choose from, but Air offers some unique features for organizing creative assets.

  • Store, organize, and version-control all your creative assets
  • Control who can access or download what
  • Make it easier for regional teams to reuse and adapt creative

7. Slack – For real-time creative collaboration

Slack has become the backbone of cross-functional marketing teams.

  • Use channels to track campaigns, assets, or regions
  • Share files, provide feedback, and coordinate on the fly
  • Integrates with most other tools listed here, including Sherlock Pipeline™ 

8. Figma – For collaborative design and rapid iteration

Figma is a go-to for modern creative teams.

  • Real-time collaboration between designers, marketers, and PMs
  • Built-in feedback and comment tools
  • Version control and component libraries for faster iteration

Figma is also an ideal pairing with Sherlock Pipeline™. Designers can create campaign templates that are ready to localize and scale in just a few clicks.

It's Elementary, My Dear Reader...

Your tools are only as powerful as your workflow.

Every one of these platforms is built to solve a specific piece of the marketing puzzle. But getting them to work together—efficiently, at scale, and with full visibility—is where the real ROI comes in.

That’s where Sherlock comes in. We partner with global brands to streamline their creative production, connect their tools, and reduce the time and cost of getting campaigns to market. Whatever tools you’re using, we help you use them better.

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