We are a strategy consultancy whose mission is to partner with visionary leaders to create innovation that matters. We are relentless in our pursuit of new insights, ideas and opportunities. Our clients set lofty growth and transformation goals that we help them meet. We are collaborative, creative and analytical.

We accelerate the possible. We are Motiv.

Answering the cAll for innovAtion And growth

We combine rigorous market and financial analytics with empathy, intuition and visualization to generate new business concepts that we co-create with stakeholders. We believe that blending these approaches lays the foundation for innovations that matter – ones that get CFOs just as excited as customers.

We bring together the best of strategy and

design thinking to create extraordinary results.

the best of strAtegy

And design

Opportunity LandscapingIdentified a series of market opportunities for a major international CPG company with billion dollar potential

Growth PlatformsDeveloped a services-based growth platform targeted to a new customer segment for a large manufacturing company

Customer ExperienceDevised a five-year vision for a multi-channel experience strategy for a top home improvement company

Service DesignCreated an award-winning, internet-based service for a leading non-profit organization to build the financial skills of Americans aged 35-50 (Gen X)

Design Capability BuildingLed a multi-BU corporate design assessment for a leading international technology company

Innovation Capability BuildingBuilt a detailed organizational development plan to drive innovation at a large, non-profit health care system

success stories

DECIDE

mine the market

DISCOVER

reframe what’s possible

DEVELOP

architect options

DEPLOY

launch and learn

Prioritize opportunities

Develop go-to-market plan

While innovation can be chaotic, we

have a tried and true set of principles

and processes that allow us to

create robust outcomes for

our clients.

order Among chAos

the compAny we keepWe partner with

some of the world’s most inspirational organizations that are acknowledged as true pioneers in

their industries.

We’re proud to have equipped our clients with influential market insights,

experiences that have “wowed” their consumers, groundbreaking

strategies for growth and other innovations that matter.

A weAlth of knowledgeWhen you’re in the business of innovation for 20 years, you learn a thing or two.

Motiv’s CEO and founder Jeneanne Rae has been recognized as an “Innovation Guru” by BusinessWeek and her thought leadership continues to be sought after by executives and government leaders alike. In addition to Jeneanne’s articles in BusinessWeek Online and other publications, you can see our latest thinking on the Motiv blog (motv.st/motivblog) and by following us on Twitter (@motivstrategies).

We’re just a little different from the norm.

Our clients love working with us because we’re more collaborative, joyful and passionate than the typical consulting firm. While we’re deadly serious about results, we live to create meaningful and energizing partnerships with our clients.

A different kind of innovAtion firm

We come from lands as diverse as the heart of Texas and the countryside of England.

We believe that a multidisciplinary and whole-brained team is a fundamental necessity for innovation. Motiv’s consultants bring backgrounds in branding, psychology, strategy, journalism, organizational development, entrepreneurship and design. While our skills are different, our unmatched commitment to our clients’ success is the same.

our people

cAse studies

OppOrtunity Landscaping

ChallengeAn important global CPG company sought to pilot a new process by which its business units could discover new growth opportunities that target both existing and new consumers. Its traditional product lines had limited potential for innovation and its category was very narrowly defined yet a host of consumer need states existed that were woefully underserved across the globe.

ApproachWorking closely with corporate and business unit leaders, Motiv created a process to discover and analyze white space opportunities in the global marketplace. A divergent effort to expand the client’s industry definition was combined with a convergent effort to identify relevant growth segments based on client-based financial criteria. This process identified numerous potential growth opportunities that were aligned to and prioritized with cross-functional staff.

ResultsReframing the size and composition of this business unit’s industry definition created a completely new way to view its potential growth trajectory. Several compelling opportunity spaces were identified that justified further investment and the end result of the work is expected to be several new potential growth platform opportunities ready to enter the early stages of the client’s corporate innovation process.

Large Business unit Of an s&p 100 cpg cOmpany

ChallengeHow might the architectural coating division of a leading building products company enter the professional paint market and offer compelling new services and experiences to its customers? While the distribution of its top brand through Home Depot was a winning solution for the consumer market, it created channel and brand conflict for the professional market.

ApproachMotiv sought to understand the ecosystem of the professional paint market, discover its service gaps and unmet needs and identify levers around which a new business model could be built. Ethnographic research revealed that the targets’ unmet needs surprisingly had little to do with acquiring paint. Combining these need states with focused business analytics let to the conceptualization of numerous business models that were subsequently tested and refined with professional painters.

ResultsA winning concept was selected based on desirable demographics for both professional painters and the services created to support them. The market entry roadmap for the winning concept was crafted and a program for high volume distribution began that currently serves as the centerpiece of the program. Volume and sales have increased considerably for this segment of the client’s business.

grOwth pLatfOrmsarchitecturaL cOatings divisiOn Of s&p 100 BuiLding prOducts cOmpany

ChallengeMotiv’s client, a leader in the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) paint market was concerned about its future growth potential and wanted to understand how to reach and engage its customer base. It needed compelling solutions that facilitated their experience along the continuum of DIY activities: from planning all the way through to sharing their excitement at the end of the job.

ApproachStarting with a broad consumer target of Gen X, Gen Y and “Boomers,” a research agenda was developed that sought to study the similarities and differences by generation. Using customer archetypes, Motiv and our client team developed new concepts to address both explicit and latent needs across the range of channels found in the home decorating ecosystem.

ResultsA portfolio of refined concepts ready for development was conveyed to the client team for internal development. Outside channel relationships have been explored and engaged to help extend the client’s brand into places would-be customers frequent as they formulate redecorating plans. An iPhone application extends its customer’s choice making tool box into their on-the-go lifestyle.

custOmer experience designLeading diy retaiL Brand

ChallengeThrough a survey, one of largest associations in the U.S. was shocked to find that 69% of its members admitted to helping their adult children financially. Using triple bottom line principles of social innovation, the client initiated an ambitious program targeted at helping the Gen-Y segment become more financially independent so that its association membership would become less burdened.

ApproachMotiv began the effort by facilitating a two-day workshop with a diverse team of financial, market, Web 2.0, and design experts to develop a set of concepts for offerings rooted in the unfamiliar Gen-Y segment. These diverse concepts for analyzing an individual’s financial progress considering school debt, marital status, home ownership, employment, savings, and retirement were integrated for the first time in one place and then prototyped.

ResultsThe offering, “Lifetuner.org”, was launched by the October of 2009 and has since become one of the fastest growing financial management sites on the web, driving differentiation from other sites as a Web 2.0 “environment” for education, scenario play and advisory services. In 2010, Motiv’s work was recognized among thousands of candidates worldwide with a Gold Award for Strategy by the Industrial Design Society of America.

service designLarge nOn-prOfit

ChallengeWith a rapidly growing function of more than 250 designers, senior leadership wanted to understand the company’s progress relative to other corporate design units and build a tool to guide continuous improvement. Compared to other corporate functions in the organization, the design function had infrastructure, recruiting and cultural challenges that were problematic in scaling the capability across the globe.

ApproachMotiv performed an initial capability assessment involving over one hundred interviews at all staff levels across multiple BU’s. Over fifty recommendations for improvement were made in key areas such as process integration, communication, staff training, talent management and leadership. Additionally, principles gleaned from exemplar research were used to build a structured tool to guide continuous improvement that was administered in multiple business units.

ResultsThis leading CPG company continues to leverage findings from our assessment to make improvements to its operating model for design. It has become widely acknowledged as the leading design exemplar in its industry and has carefully cultivated a design-forward culture via a company-wide initiative. This activity, chronicled on BusinessWeek Online by Motiv’s CEO, has heralded a new level of credibility for the methodology among a vast array of corporations.

design capaBiLity BuiLdinggLOBaL cOnsumer packaged gOOds (cpg) OrganizatiOn

ChallengeA large trade association with over 40 million members age 50 plus wanted to shake up its staid position through innovation. It wished to create the systems and structure to credibly tackle the challenge, affect a cultural shift toward innovative thinking, and develop a set of robust processes to explore new high potential service offerings.

ApproachMotiv led a program to develop an organizational structure and operating model capable of breakthrough innovation. Through in-depth interviews with senior leaders and successful internal innovators, the association’s capabilities were assessed and gaps identified. This internal analysis was combined with knowledge of best-in-class exemplars to create a comprehensive strategy that addressed structure, processes, budget, member engagement and physical facilities to support the initiative.

ResultsAn operating model was created to guide the company’s investment in innovation while a new reporting structure provided clarity of responsibility and reporting relationships. Budget and headcount to propel the effort was allocated and an innovation center was conceptualized to support the organization’s project pipeline and member engagement efforts. Finally, a roadmap was outlined that included focus areas, change management goals, and key success metrics.

innvOvatiOn capaBiLity BuiLdingLarge assOciatiOn fOcused On memBers age 50+

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Jeneanne Rae, CEO

jeneanne@motivstrategies.com

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