Strategy
Strategic Foresight: Innovation across Product, Commerce and Community
Translating fast-moving Gen Z & Alpha signals into clear, investable choices leaders can act on.
Year
2024
Industry
Beauty & Entertainment
Timeframe
3 weeks
My Role
Strategy, Trend Forecasting, Research, Cultural Strategist
Problem
A leading cosmetics brand needed a reliable way to act on fast-moving Gen Z & Alpha behaviours across self-expression, wellness, sustainability and creator culture, without chasing hype or fragmenting decisions across product, commerce and community teams.
Solution
I led two connected foresight projects that turned cultural noise into direction and investment:
Project A – Youth Signal Map (1–2 yr)
How: STEEP scan, social/hashtag ethnography, clustering, six-axis youth value matrix.
What it solved: A shared, near-term picture of youth drivers that creative, CMX and product teams could use immediately.
Deliverables:
“Youth Signal Constellation” board (60 micro-trends)
6 subculture persona cards with tensions & triggers
Design/ideation prompt cards and naming cues
Miro workspace with traceable sources and tags
Project B – Futures & Bets Deck (3–10 yr)
How: Scenario Matrix, Delphi mini-panel, opportunity scoring, where-to-play/how-to-win framing.
What it solved: A long-range, leadership-ready set of choices tied to resourcing.
Deliverables:
31-slide C-suite presentation
Impact-vs-effort opportunity radar
4 strategic-bet one-pagers with KPIs & guardrails
Opportunity scoring matrix + criteria rubric
Executive summary and 12-month action roadmap
Challenge
Youth culture changes quickly, so we had to separate lasting patterns from short-lived spikes, align designers, CMX, product and data around a shared language, and move fast without losing rigour. We also translated niche platform signals into brand-wide implications and balanced goals like growth vs. sustainability and reach vs. relevance.
Summary
Together, the projects gave the brand one clear picture of Gen Z & Alpha and a practical plan. The Signal Map powers everyday briefs; the Futures Deck, presented to the C-suite, guides the big bets across product, commerce and community.
More Projects
Strategy
Strategic Foresight: Innovation across Product, Commerce and Community
Translating fast-moving Gen Z & Alpha signals into clear, investable choices leaders can act on.
Year
2024
Industry
Beauty & Entertainment
Timeframe
3 weeks
My Role
Strategy, Trend Forecasting, Research, Cultural Strategist
Problem
A leading cosmetics brand needed a reliable way to act on fast-moving Gen Z & Alpha behaviours across self-expression, wellness, sustainability and creator culture, without chasing hype or fragmenting decisions across product, commerce and community teams.
Solution
I led two connected foresight projects that turned cultural noise into direction and investment:
Project A – Youth Signal Map (1–2 yr)
How: STEEP scan, social/hashtag ethnography, clustering, six-axis youth value matrix.
What it solved: A shared, near-term picture of youth drivers that creative, CMX and product teams could use immediately.
Deliverables:
“Youth Signal Constellation” board (60 micro-trends)
6 subculture persona cards with tensions & triggers
Design/ideation prompt cards and naming cues
Miro workspace with traceable sources and tags
Project B – Futures & Bets Deck (3–10 yr)
How: Scenario Matrix, Delphi mini-panel, opportunity scoring, where-to-play/how-to-win framing.
What it solved: A long-range, leadership-ready set of choices tied to resourcing.
Deliverables:
31-slide C-suite presentation
Impact-vs-effort opportunity radar
4 strategic-bet one-pagers with KPIs & guardrails
Opportunity scoring matrix + criteria rubric
Executive summary and 12-month action roadmap
Challenge
Youth culture changes quickly, so we had to separate lasting patterns from short-lived spikes, align designers, CMX, product and data around a shared language, and move fast without losing rigour. We also translated niche platform signals into brand-wide implications and balanced goals like growth vs. sustainability and reach vs. relevance.
Summary
Together, the projects gave the brand one clear picture of Gen Z & Alpha and a practical plan. The Signal Map powers everyday briefs; the Futures Deck, presented to the C-suite, guides the big bets across product, commerce and community.
More Projects
Strategy
Strategic Foresight: Innovation across Product, Commerce and Community
Translating fast-moving Gen Z & Alpha signals into clear, investable choices leaders can act on.
Year
2024
Industry
Beauty & Entertainment
Timeframe
3 weeks
My Role
Strategy, Trend Forecasting, Research, Cultural Strategist
Problem
A leading cosmetics brand needed a reliable way to act on fast-moving Gen Z & Alpha behaviours across self-expression, wellness, sustainability and creator culture, without chasing hype or fragmenting decisions across product, commerce and community teams.
Solution
I led two connected foresight projects that turned cultural noise into direction and investment:
Project A – Youth Signal Map (1–2 yr)
How: STEEP scan, social/hashtag ethnography, clustering, six-axis youth value matrix.
What it solved: A shared, near-term picture of youth drivers that creative, CMX and product teams could use immediately.
Deliverables:
“Youth Signal Constellation” board (60 micro-trends)
6 subculture persona cards with tensions & triggers
Design/ideation prompt cards and naming cues
Miro workspace with traceable sources and tags
Project B – Futures & Bets Deck (3–10 yr)
How: Scenario Matrix, Delphi mini-panel, opportunity scoring, where-to-play/how-to-win framing.
What it solved: A long-range, leadership-ready set of choices tied to resourcing.
Deliverables:
31-slide C-suite presentation
Impact-vs-effort opportunity radar
4 strategic-bet one-pagers with KPIs & guardrails
Opportunity scoring matrix + criteria rubric
Executive summary and 12-month action roadmap
Challenge
Youth culture changes quickly, so we had to separate lasting patterns from short-lived spikes, align designers, CMX, product and data around a shared language, and move fast without losing rigour. We also translated niche platform signals into brand-wide implications and balanced goals like growth vs. sustainability and reach vs. relevance.
Summary
Together, the projects gave the brand one clear picture of Gen Z & Alpha and a practical plan. The Signal Map powers everyday briefs; the Futures Deck, presented to the C-suite, guides the big bets across product, commerce and community.