TYPO3 Powers AOK’s Unified Press and Politics Portal

AOK, Germany’s largest statutory health insurance provider, faced a complex challenge. Their media offerings for press and politics were scattered across multiple platforms, lacking a cohesive strategy. This fragmentation made it difficult for key stakeholders in health policy and media to access relevant information efficiently. To address this issue, AOK sought to consolidate their web presence into a single, comprehensive press and politics portal.

The complexity of this project extended beyond the technical solution; it required aligning AOK’s vast organizational structure, including the federal association (AOK BV), 11 regional AOKs, and numerous external services and agencies.

Through a competitive public tender process, dreistrom.land AG emerged as the ideal partner for this ambitious undertaking. Their deep understanding of stakeholder needs and proven success in guiding large, collaborative projects set them apart. Leveraging TYPO3’s robust content management capabilities, and working closely with AOK’s teams, dreistrom.land developed a centralized platform that brought together diverse content and perspectives, tailored precisely to AOK’s complex requirements.

The centerpiece of the project was the consolidation of AOK’s disparate digital channels into a single, cohesive platform. This involved migrating content from multiple websites, including regional press portals and the AOK Federal Association’s site, into the new TYPO3-based Press and Politics Portal (PPP).

While technically a straightforward migration, the unification process was intricate due to the need to integrate content from multiple legacy systems including TYPO3, WordPress, and Imperia. To ensure each regional and federal branch’s requirements were met, dreistrom.land held in-depth discussions with representatives from each system to align their content and processes into a centralized platform.

dreistrom.land leveraged TYPO3’s powerful features to create a unified user experience:

To improve the accessibility and discoverability of AOK’s vast content repository, dreistrom.land implemented a range of user-centric features within the TYPO3 framework.

The new portal offers comprehensive entry points, search, and filtering options, enabling users to easily locate relevant information, media, and contacts. From multimedia summaries to detailed data research, the platform caters to various user needs. The integration of the G+G magazine as a standalone media brand within the PPP further enriches the content offering, providing a platform for debates on health and social policy.

Additional enhancements include:

One of the key challenges was to create a system that could handle the content management needs of a large organization like AOK. While dreistrom.land leveraged TYPO3’s strengths to build a streamlined backend system, the project’s real complexity lay in the organizational alignment needed to reach this point.

Throughout the project, dreistrom.land facilitated discussions across a vast network of stakeholders, including AOK BV, 11 regional AOKs, and more than a dozen external service providers and agencies. Coordinating these groups required holding meetings with over 30 participants, where decisions were carefully negotiated to incorporate each entity’s requirements and preferences. Acting as a mediator, dreistrom.land managed the flow of information and guided stakeholders toward a unified solution.

The implementation of TYPO3 Workspaces was crucial, allowing for a structured content creation and approval workflow that accommodates the needs of multiple regional offices and departments. The team:

This comprehensive approach not only improved efficiency but also ensured content consistency across the entire portal, effectively addressing AOK’s complex organizational structure and content management requirements.

The launch of the new Press and Politics Portal marked a significant milestone for AOK’s digital communication strategy. Initiated on November 1, 2022, the project was completed in just under a year, with the portal going live on October 13, 2023. 

By consolidating multiple platforms into a single, comprehensive TYPO3-based solution, AOK has significantly improved its ability to communicate with key stakeholders.

Initial results have been promising:

The scalable, flexible TYPO3 CMS not only enhances AOK’s current digital ecosystem but also enables future growth. With a unified platform, AOK can efficiently coordinate and expand its digital presence across regions and external partners, allowing swift adaptation to evolving health policies and communication needs.

The successful implementation of AOK’s Press and Politics Portal showcases the power of TYPO3 in handling complex, large-scale web projects. 

While the technical solution itself is robust, the real success lies in dreistrom.land’s ability to align the needs of numerous stakeholders and streamline a previously fragmented ecosystem. Acting as a central hub, dreistrom.land brought together diverse perspectives to create a cohesive and efficient platform.

For organizations facing similar challenges in consolidating their digital presence, TYPO3 offers a powerful, flexible solution. Its enterprise-grade features, combined with the expertise of agencies like dreistrom.land, can transform fragmented web ecosystems into cohesive, user-centric platforms.