Reviewing what exists before building what's next
This kind of engagement requires a different kind of discipline. It's easy to come in with a framework and apply it. It's harder — and more useful — to look at what an organisation already has, understand why it was built, assess whether it's working, and make an honest call about what to keep, what to change, and what to stop. That's what we did. We worked through the client's existing digital materials: the portfolio of channels, the underlying data on performance, and the strategic rationale that had shaped investment decisions to date. We also conducted a qualitative analysis of the broader market — looking at how competitors and adjacent categories were positioning their digital presence, and where the client's current approach aligned with or diverged from the direction the market was moving. The output wasn't a validation of what existed. It was an honest picture of where the portfolio stood, what was working, and where the gaps were — delivered in a way the organisation could act on.
We were brought in to challenge as much as to build. That kind of honest review is only possible when there's trust on both sides — and when the brief explicitly invites it.
From analysis to a prioritised action plan
Good strategy work doesn't end with a diagnosis. It ends with a plan. We defined value propositions and growth drivers for each digital channel — not in generic terms, but specific to this client's customers, competitive position, and commercial model. From that, we produced four outputs: a prioritised action plan, an ecosystem definition and visualisation, a development roadmap for the digital channels, and a set of recommendations for moving forward with a unified, purpose-driven digital portfolio. The ecosystem visualisation was particularly important. For a large FMCG organisation with multiple brands and touchpoints, seeing the whole portfolio mapped in one place — with the relationships, overlaps, and gaps visible — creates the shared understanding that makes strategic decisions possible. Without that picture, different parts of the business optimise locally and the portfolio drifts.
The recommendations centred on a unified, purpose-based digital portfolio — one where every channel has a defined role, and the whole is more coherent than the sum of its parts.
Next projects.
(2016-25©)
