Transform case studies
Strategic transformation of an existing business can feel overwhelming. Here are a few select case studies, from diverse sectors, to bring to life the t.METHOD process and the results that can be achieved from working with Melissa.
both regeneratively and commercially.
2009 - 2013
t.METHOD | Steps 1 - 10
STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION
good case study for: MANUFACTURING industry. PRODUCT solution. EXISTING business. FOR profit. Disrupting a degenerative INDUSTRY.
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In 2009 ecostore was a 20-year old tiny market player with a loyal customer base of environmentalists and a hippy fringe brand position.
With a goal to scale up and out, it faced fundamental problems:
(i) the products didn’t work as well as mainstream brands, (ii) the formulations were at parity with other eco players, (iii) the packaging was tired and budget-looking, (iv) the marketing had little cut through, and (v) profit margins were thin.
With new financial backing, it recruited Melissa to transform it, and signed up to NZTE’s Better by Design program.
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A 5 year journey to move from NZ eco-hippy fringe to global health-led mainstream cool.
Discovery | Market ecosystem mapping. Market segment and product segment validation. Lifecycle mapping and analysis. In-depth customer research (in situ) and quantitative surveys. Customer lifetime value analysis.
Distillation | Purpose, vision + values. Strategic direction. Operating core guiding principles.
Product re/design | After redirect 100% of the Marketing $$ from advertising into bio-science R&D, Melissa got to work.
(i) Redesign of formulations: 95% plant based at parity with other eco-players to 99%++ plant based, with independent scientific testing to prove efficacy to work as well as the leading mainstream brand.
(ii) Launched in-depth scientific testing and R&D framework (efficacy, soil, water, skin, health), working with world renowned scientists like Sir Ray Avery ("leading science not lazy science”), using cradle-to-cradle principles.
(iii) Invested in full suite of accreditations. And worked with accreditation partners to lift their standards, creating tiered accreditation options to help lift the market (market-shaping, market-driving).
(iv) Expanded into new high growth and higher margin product categories.
Packaging re/design
(i) Innovated in new packaging materials, shapes, and labels to minimize ecological footprint (material substrate, # and amount of parts used, increased ease of repeatable reuse and recyclability, improved user experience for ease of refilling from bulk sizes) whilst not compromising on-shelf presence.
(ii) World first virgin sugar-based HDPE plastic. Recycled plastic content from curb side collection. Circular recycling loops. In-store refill stations. In-community closed-looping.
(iii) Label re/design - worked with local artists (John Reynolds, Deb & Mark Smith) to create a B&W quiet “shout” on shelf for optimal cut-through in a see of garish color. + plant-based material substrate and adhesive
Marketing Mix
(i) Tribal approach to build digi-enabled army of advocates. Forged partnerships with trusted experts in health. Leveraged the burgeoning trend of social media.
(ii) Established full transparency of product ingredients on both website + packaging - following independent transparent INCI protocols.
(iii) Award-winning global-first viral campaigns. Experiential comms.
(iv) No nasty chemical activism. Government petitions. Nasty chemical consumer tools. Community events. Mummy-blogger outreach.
(v) PR to build up founder Malcolm Rands as ecoman crusader with book launch et al.
(vi) Further market shaping work behind the scenes with Council to change RFP standards on industry recycling.
Channel Mix
(i) Diversification to decentralized community-based closed loop circular system for refilling, reusing and recycling.
(ii) Converted retail shop to tribe ‘temple’ for R&D + connection. Set up retail refill stations.
Operational Systems
(i) Embedded systems and processes for commercial management and scalability, to help facilitate roll out into new countries, markets and channels.
(ii) Built up new team of young creatives, scientists and community networkers.
And had fun!
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Exponential sales growth through expansion into multiple new markets and new channels, and a baseline like for like uplift of 90%.
Multi award winning with Melissa personally winning the 2012 NZ Marketing Award winner for overall transformation.
Brand recognition from mainstream unknown to achieving iconic brand status. Awarded NZ’s most trusted, most authentic over multi years.
Set global best practice in R&D, with global recognition and held up as best practice by Unilever global R&D team, and held up continuously as industry best practice.
Gold award-winning in numerous design, marketing, communication and campaign awards.
Referenced as a case example of Transformation by academic institutions internationally.
Side Note: It was fascinating to see where the recognition was focused. So much went to the front end marketing yet the brilliance was in the living world material changes which reflected life-leveraged principles. A tad before its time.
Side Note 2 : This led to Melissa doing work to help Ideo in their transformation of NZTE's Better by Design client offering.
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“Melissa transformed us into a marketing led company, which she completed with aplomb, and will serve us for years to come. Her winning awards is a testament to her transformation. She is leaving behind a strong platform for future growth.” - Malcolm Rands, founder ecostore
"Melissa combines a really sharp intellect with pragmatic marketing experience and has contributed hugely to the dramatic progress Ecostore has made. She has very high standards, is great to work with, and a lot of fun to boot." - Michael Redwood, founding partner Special
Melissa is one of the most talented marketers I work with. Her ability to think strategically while keeping her finger on the pulse on a daily basis is a real asset. Melissa has achieved outstanding results for ecostore on the smell of an oily rag. She's a straight shooter with oodles of energy that is infectious." - Niki Schuck Director NSPR
2014 - 2017
t.METHOD | Steps 1 - 10
STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION
good case study for: SERVICE industry. PLATFORM solution. EXISTING business. NOT FOR profit. Disrupting a degenerative BUSINESS MODEL.
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In 2014, World Vision was the world’s largest aid agency, and the oldest, most trusted agency in NZ, with a staff of 100.
In the field (supply-side), World Vision is global best practice. Working to regenerate vulnerable communities in a 15-20 generational journey. Using systems-based design principles to build self-sustainability and resilience in all areas of extreme vulnerability (health, wellbeing, sanitation, education, personal agency, empowerment, and protection from violence).
In markets (the fundraising side), World Vision was the opposite. Products and services were deeply disconnected from the transformation work undertaken field-side, relying on an outdated ‘broker-in-the-middle’ organizational model, unchanged for 30+ years.
Melissa was recruited by the Board to transform the organizational model, for global roll out.
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A 3-year strategic transformation journey, setting up a Transformation team.
Discovery
Full ecosystem mapping (contextual trends + forces, market, macro, competitor, exemplar mapping) - both market-side and field-side.
Deep discovery work with internal staff (market side and field side) to unpack the blocks and trapped potential.
In-depth customer research in market (NZ) + in-field community research (India, Tanzania). Large scale quant. survey for $$ validation.
Organizational forensic research - lifecycle analysis, value chain + process mapping, financial analysis.
Distillation
Set new strategic direction. Redefined purpose, vision and values. Mapped as blueprint to operating model with clear practice principles.
Design
Calibrated and distilled discovery insight streams into design challenges for large-scale, all staff ideation sessions. 170 concepts developed. Distilled into 3 core solutions. Developed + prototyped in 3 rounds of market validation testing. Undertook live market testing in market (donors) + in-field (communities) for full value chain assessment. First community tested in Tanzania. Then stress-tested in hotspots - South Sudan, Afghanistan, Solomon Islands, and Cambodia.
The essence of the design blueprint for the future business model was a digi-portal platform model enabling mutual, two-way authentic connection and mutual transformation between donor and recipient community. It was a low cost, content rich, globally scalable model, that honored the agency of communities, and heroed the incredible work done by World Vision staff in-field.
Operating Model
Defined a new in-market organizational blueprint
(i) built a new branded identity and market expression
(ii) overturned the monetization model for sustainable revenue growth
(iii) defined a future proofed and scalable operating model that reflected lean thinking business principles (tech, systems & processes, leadership, people capability, governance, BI).
People Model
Throughout the entire process, Melissa also worked to build up leadership and organizational capability in systems-design thinking, customer-led ways of working, insight-driven strategies, and needs-based innovation.
Lastly to facilitate productive Board / Exec team conversations, and ensure traction, Melissa set up a mini 50/50 steering committee.
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The live market testing showed:
(i) 27%+ more field impact (profit equivalent)
(ii) radically improved staff engagement - especially in field, with greater wellbeing, and reduced turnover
(iii) significantly improved experience for donors
(iv) reduced market brand risk.
The new Digi portal platform model was held as case study planned for World Vision global adoption, and at the time of Melissa’s leaving (Melissa resigned on the death of her father), it was being stress-tested in Tanzania, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Cambodia and Solomon Islands.
In terms of upskilling, several of Melissa's team have gone on to work as regenerative, systems-design practitioners on transformation projects in other industries.
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“Melissa’s expertise in design-led thinking is outstanding, in spearheading the World Vision New Zealand transformational agenda. She is challenging, rigorous and super strategic. Most importantly, Melissa has a fierce ambition for the best outcome and operates with the upmost integrity." - Dr Sandy Callister, Board member
Melissa is quite simply a world class design practitioner. Her work at World Vision has been critical to exposing core challenges and providing a clear and strategic way forward. Her ability to balance strategic and commercial demands within rapidly evolving environments is impressive." - Abraham Gibson, World Vision board member
"Where to start? Melissa is the real deal. Bundled in an effervescent parcel of infectious optimism, Melissa has a rare ability to cut through rhetoric, business myths, and pinpoint the true commercial/strategic/brand problems. The best part comes with the way she develops cunning strategies to solve hairy problems. Melissa is results driven and settles for nothing less than excellence. She has an enviable know-how on all aspects of modern business practice to add to her capabilities as a stunning marketer." - Helen Carter, GM Marketing
"Melissa's agile mind is her greatest asset. Her ability to visualise a certain future, create a strategy and articulate a clear pathway from concept to reality is admirable." - Vijah Sethi, business analyst
"Working alongside Melissa has been one of the best professional and personal experiences I've had to date. She knew just when to push and pull me to bring out the very best in me, always challenging me to deliver with quality and precision. She is an expert in her craft. Her ability to balance creativity and innovation with sharp commercial savvy is awe inspiring. Moreover I admire her strong sense of professional integrity and heart for people. Melissa is without a doubt one of the smartest and down to earth people I have had the privilege to work with." - Charmian Mead, transformation strategist
2019 - 2020
t.METHOD | Steps 1 - 10
STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION
good case study for: COMMUNITY REGENERATION action. PEOPLE solution. EXISTING business. LOCAL GOVERNMENT. Disrupting a degenerative COMMUNITY MODEL.
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The Auckland Council has a goal to protect and restore Aotearoa’s native eco-systems as part of the wider Predator Free New Zealand by 2050 initiative.
Their team recognized that their top-down, bureaucratic organizational model would not be able to scale up to achieve this goal.
They sought to overturn this, and instead to create a bottom-up, self organizing, empowered community-led model that could drive large scale behavioral change.
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Melissa was recruited in to help facilitate a co-design process of architecting the future organizational model.
Discovery
In-depth one-on-one interviews with a cross section of Aucklanders. Distilled into key insight. Translated into design challenges.
Design
Co-design sprint rounds of ideation with a cross section of people (community groups, schools, churches, monitoring experts, council rangers etc).
Output consolidated and distilled.
Then translated into a future blueprint model, held in place with te ao Māori values as guiding practice principles.
Decision criteria developed and tested against, as a design checklist, namely (i) worked as an optimized and holistic system, (ii) enabled greater community engagement, (iii) would drive large scale behavioral change, and (iv) provided greater accuracy of environmental monitoring outputs (e.g. rats caught) and outcomes (e.g. native birds flourishing).
Stakeholder Engagement
Melissa presented back the future organizational model blueprint to the wider Council team to help them journey from their current model towards their goals.
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Whilst Covid lockdowns shifted the rollout schedule, it has been progressively tested in live market testing.
2019 - 2020
t.METHOD | Steps 1 - 7
STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION
good case study for: SERVICE industry. PLATFORM solution. EXISTING business. FOR profit. Disrupting a degenerative BUSINESS MODEL.
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The Icehouse is learning and development organization for business CEOs, founders and leaders, intent on building a high performing NZ economy.
In 2018 their Board started questioning how future fit their business model was, in the face of the changing role of business, learning and development, and the future of work.
They recruited Melissa to help them on the journey of becoming "future-fit".
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A 2 year strategic transformation journey, with further ongoing advisory support.
DISCOVERY
Review of all existing research on the wider business ecosystem (market, macro, contextual).
Business model analysis (revealing a broken model with a narrow sales pipeline, unscalable value prop, and low lifetime value).
In depth qualitative research interviewing business owners and CEOs nationwide, and large quantitative surveying.
DISTILLATION
Research distilled into key insights, and architected into a skeleton strategic framework for Board and Exec briefing as part of a strategic review process.
DESIGN
Translation into design challenges. 3x ideation rounds with clients and staff. Design solution blueprints created for prototyping + testing rounds.
FACILITATION + COACHING
Facilitation of Board strategy offsites. Coaching of Exec team throughout process to enable transition to new model.
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Covid lock downs kicked in just as Prototyping and testing was kicking off. As a result The Icehouse were forced to redirect their energies to 'business as unusual'.
Work to implement the strategic blueprint developed has progressively rolled out over subsequent years with positive results. It has opened up new markets, new audiences, and established stronger client lifetime value. And at a lower cost with a more scalable model.
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“Melissa has been a super power. She served up gold. She has this amazing way of getting to the core of any market or design question. Her insights are world leading. Her process and frameworks help you make quality decisions. It's led to a change in our agenda forward, and the results speak for themselves. She’s engaging, empathetic, purpose driven and challenging - and she cares deeply.”
Andy Hamilton, CEO The Icehouse
whilst this last one is not a recent case study, nor for a regenerative business per se, it’s a good case study of regeneration from early in Melissa’s career, before she moved to the “bright-side”. It is also the basis for strategic transformation journeying that the t.METHOD is built on.
1998 - 1999
t.METHOD | Steps 1 - 7
STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION
good case study for: SUPERMARKET industry. PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT solution. EXISTING business. FOR profit. Disrupting a degenerative BUSINESS MODEL.
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Safeway is a 100 year old, US born, global supermarket giant. In the late 1990s it was one of the ‘big four’ grocery retailers in the UK with sales of £8.3B, 480 stores nationwide and employing more than 92,000 people.
At the time there was pretty much performance parity, with Safeway, Sainsbury, Tesco and Asda all getting 5% year on year growth.
With the help of McKinsey consultants, Safeway set up a transformation program with a BHAG to double performance to 10% YoY growth.
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After just two months on board within the Safeway team, fresh off the boat from New Zealand, Melissa was selected to be part of the project to overhaul Safeway’s business model.
She got the opportunity to work intimately ‘in the field’ with McKinsey consultants in a 2 year strategic transformational journey with 14 test stores in England and Wales.
The brief was to test and deliver innovative new ways to lift the bottom line in the test stores. Nothing was off limits.
With full license to overhaul things end to end, Melissa, along with a business analyst and supply chain colleague, commenced with a journey she had employed in her first job in New Zealand, at Gillette (now P&G).
Discovery
In-depth geo-location catchment mapping and analysis. Market and competitor analysis. Customer insight. Value chain mapping. Basket analysis.
Target Setting
Working with her analyst colleague, Melissa worked to reconfigure top-down sales targets as bottom-up targets, that were individually set for each store, based on their respective market and basket-value potential.
People Capability Upskilling
Once these goals were laid down, Melissa, along with her two colleagues, commenced a training and coaching program to upskill each store's teams to build up capability.
Design
Melissa then supported the store teams in the design and execution of localized marketing strategies, and place-based innovations.
As she went, she created a supporting Toolkit of things that worked - and didn't work! - and why - to help build ongoing team capability and strengthen feelings of empowerment.
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10% YoY growth for the 14 test stores (vs 6% non-test stores).
As a result the new organizational model and way of working was adopted across all of Safeway stores, in turn delivering 1M new customers.
It was the 2nd best transformation project of Melissa’s career (after Ecostore) where she learnt about systems-design thinking and people-led strategic transformations.
