INSIGHTS

My favorite questions begin with "How might we...?" 

• How might we better understand consumers’ personal stories and perspectives? 
• How might we connect on an emotional level with your customers, employees and business leaders? 
• How might we find the clarity and focus your organization needs to drive meaningful business growth? 
• How might we apply learning from another industry to creatively enhance your organization?

“Denise has a gift of inspiring others to reach and describe their personal and professional brand in the most amazing way. She is armed with wisdom beyond her years and has the experience of guiding the discovery process for organizations to achieve breakthrough insights. She is a model for engagement and human-centered approaches that achieves results. Whether she is working with an emerging entrepreneur to describe their place in the market or supporting a change effort in an established organization, she brings authenticity, expertise and a genuine sense of interest to her work. Her sense of curiosity and inquiry supports ideal collaboration. She is a generous spirit, giving of her time and expertise to support the needs of her clients. She is able to discover and augment the special qualities and competencies that make each entrepreneur unique.” 

Jeanne Bailey, PhD – President, Convergence Consulting Partners

“I started working with Denise as I was feeling like I had lost my business direction, perhaps doing too much. In an early discovery session Denise told me ‘You sure have a lot of moving parts’ and I, the engineer, sat up straight and said ‘I do’…something engineers are proud of. Sometime after that conversation, I realized that what she was seeing were the things that were wearing me out on a daily basis. The knowledge, insights and patience that Denise brings to the table are priceless. My business is already running better and we have just begun.” 

Gene Wood – CEO, Life’s Pure Balance

“Denise is creative, incredibly talented, focused and knows how to get things done. When people like Denise are involved, magic happens and great things are accomplished on behalf of those who need it the most. That’s what Denise has done for PACER Center.” 

Paula Goldberg – Executive Director, PACER Center

“Denise helped assemble a team of volunteers to develop a video that could tell the PACER story in a powerful way. She was immediately able to grasp the magnitude of the issue in a way few others do, innately understanding the correlation between children’s physical and emotional health and peer-to-peer bullying among children. Her advocacy for the issue was remarkable and her efforts were tireless in producing a special tool that could help thousands of people come to understand the issue in the same way that she did. The end result was ‘You’re Not Alone,’ a powerful video that has been viewed around the world by thousands of students, parents, and educators. It has been instrumental in helping students understand that they are not alone, that people do care, and that others will help. PACER has received e-mails from students whose lives have been saved because they saw the video and shared it with others. The video connects the viewer to the issue in a powerful, emotional way enabling them to experience the impact of bullying in its most raw form. It also gives the viewers hope and helps them understand the important role they can play in helping to prevent bullying. In addition to its powerful messaging, ‘You’re Not Alone’ has been an effective fundraising tool for PACER.” 

Julie Hertzog – Director, PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center

APPROACH

Strategic planning and human-centered design catalyze breakthroughs in brand and business strategy, consumer and employee engagement, experience design and innovation. I uncover personal stories and insights from consumers, employees and business leaders that enable organizations to connect on an emotional level with those they serve. I bring clarity and focus to drive meaningful business growth.  

Studio D Strategy’s insight-driven approach has three essential components: 

DISCOVER
Empathy and understanding are the foundation for truly strategic planning, growth and innovation.

DESIGN
Deep insights are leveraged to uniquely and clearly articulate brand value and connect on an emotional level with those you serve.

DELIVER
The result is insight-driven strategy that aligns, connects and inspires for the most meaningful positive impact.

EXPERIENCE

I’m a Strategy Consultant with over 16 years of experience in the areas of business strategy, brand and creative strategy, consumer insights, human-centered design, employee engagement, culture change, consumer loyalty and experience design. Prior to founding Studio D Strategy, as Director of Strategy and Branding at Optum, I leveraged deep patient, consumer and employee insights to create memorable brand personalities, engaging health and wellness experiences and inspired behavior change for clients and partners. I coached UnitedHealth Group leaders in human-centered design to cultivate a culture of innovation. Prior to that, in progressive leadership and strategy roles at Carlson Marketing Worldwide, I drove brand, creative communications and program strategies for Fortune 500 clients in loyalty and wellness.

Past clients include Optum, UnitedHealthcare, the City of Minneapolis, Amtrak, Delta Airlines, Carlson, Radisson Hotels, Country Inns & Suites, Visa, Hallmark, True Value, Aramark, Olson, health systems, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations. I earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Business Administration degree in Management from the University of St. Thomas, and an Insights to Innovation certification from IDEO.

Interested in exploring a project collaboration? Need a thinking partner? Let’s connect.

Please fill out this form or contact me directly at denise@studioDstrategy.com or 612.741.4122.