selected work – Alice Labs https://alice-labs.com Strategic Management Consulting Mon, 20 Oct 2025 11:52:30 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://alice-labs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/cropped-Alice-Labs-orange-32x32.png selected work – Alice Labs https://alice-labs.com 32 32 Beyond the dominant pricing logic  https://alice-labs.com/beyond-the-dominant-pricing-logic/ Thu, 02 Nov 2023 13:45:13 +0000 https://alice-labs.com/?p=7787

Beyond

the dominant

pricing logic

What was done

In 2023, Alice Labs collaborated with an international telco provider to explore and define a new pricing logic that could substitute the current dominant flat fee-based pricing logic.

Alice Labs worked closely with the client team to develop a robust foundation for experimenting with new pricing models in the market.

The project consisted of the following phases

  • Analysis of dynamics in the market & definition of drivers of change
  • Development of user scenarios
  • Workshops with respondents on scenarios & discussions of potential future pricing models
  • Conclusions of key insights that can driver the development of new pricing models.

Key insight

Alice Labs used longitudinal insights to highlight a number of shifts in people’s expectations across industries. Building on these insights, a number of principles, that lays the foundation for future development of pricing, were identified in workshops with respondents.

The key insights are strategic and confidential.

Impact

The project was explorative, and a first phase in a longer process of redefining pricing.

The potential business impact is significant, and strategically opens avenues for radical differentiation in the market.

Inquiries

Alice Labs 
contact@alice-labs.com
tel. + 358 (0)50 4835094

 

]]> New approaches to health and wellbeing https://alice-labs.com/new-approaches-to-health-and-wellbeing/ Thu, 02 Nov 2023 13:37:46 +0000 https://alice-labs.com/?p=7772

New approaches

to health and wellbeing

What was done

In 2023, Alice Labs worked with the product team of a health tech company to develop a product development-oriented identification and understanding of key market segments.

The work was based on the analysis of:
Existing quantitative data to develop an initial hypothesis of priority target groups.

A round of customer interviews across two key markets to develop first, a broad contextual understanding of their relationship to health & wellness, followed by a more detailed understanding of everyday health and wellbeing pain points and desires.

A quantitative study to validate and quantify the identified targets and their priorities.
A series of intensive discovery workshops with the product team and accompanied ethnographic learning sessions.

Key insight

Three priority target groups were identified in addition to important evolutions in attitudes to health & wellbeing.

Impact

A deeper understanding of relevant and prioritised consumer needs and desires in health and wellbeing was achieved within the product team. Which in turn generated opportunity identification for New Product/Feature Development.

Inquiries

Alice Labs 
contact@alice-labs.com
tel. + 358 (0)50 4835094

 

]]> The Dematerialisation Initiative https://alice-labs.com/the-dematerialisation-initiative/ Thu, 02 Nov 2023 13:28:30 +0000 https://alice-labs.com/?p=7742

The Dematerialisation

The Demate-

rialisation

Initiative

What was done

In 2023, Alice Labs collaborated with Makers Of to explore emerging opportunities for dematerialisation and digital substitution.

The Dematerialisation Initiative looks beyond the hype surrounding NFTs, blockchain and the Metaverse to create insight into how the web is evolving and how this will create new opportunities for dematerialisation that enable companies to transition towards less material-intensive offers gradually.

The work was based on the analysis of

  • Desk research of emerging technologies and uses of digital substitutes
  • Expert interviews
  • Interviews of gamers and active social media users from the UK

Key insight

Currently, consumers’ online experiences of brands tend to be largely transactional, creating a clear desire for improved online engagement that transcends this transactional logic. However, as the hype around the Metaverse and NFTs has drastically subsided, and the excitement around AI continues to grow, it is apparent that online customer engagement is a highly dynamic area. Put simply, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Rather, as we discuss at length in our white paper, there exists a wide range of emerging tools and possibilities that companies can explore and utilize depending on their circumstances.

Impact

The Dematerialisation Initiative is a highly forward-looking and explorative project that helps discriminate between the many innovations associated with Web3 that are likely to have long-term traction from those that are likely to fail. It is an on-going thought process that enables us at Alice Labs to provide a cutting-edge understanding of what brands should do to prepare and future-proof themselves in the face of a continuously evolving web.

Inquiries

Alice Labs 
contact@alice-labs.com
tel. + 358 (0)50 4835094

 

]]> Can the Finnish creative industry find and create more business in China? https://alice-labs.com/finnish-creative-industry-business-in-china/ Sat, 01 May 2021 17:00:05 +0000 https://alice-labs.com/?p=3982

Can the Finnish creative industry find and create more business in China?

What was done

In 2021, Alice Labs worked with Business Finland to map new, under-explored  business opportunity areas in China for the Finnish creative industry.

The goal of the project was to build an understanding of how the Finnish players within the creative industry could benefit from changes in consumer behavior in China and actively shape the market demand with their own actions. 

The work was based on the analysis of

  • Desk research of macro level sources 
  • Longitudinal analysis of socio cultural change 
  • Industry-specific market information 
  • Expert interviews of selected Finnish creative industry representatives

Key insight

To tap the under-explored business opportunity areas defined in the research, there needs to be a consistent effort of building new types of collaborative ecosystems between different players within the Finnish creative industry.

The goal of these efforts should be to develop the capacity of providing Chinese consumers with uniquely Finnish experiences which resonate with broader changes in consumer behavior in urban China.  

Impact

The work is on-going and has potential for broad ranging impacts even beyon the creative industries. It has inspired multi-stakeholder discussion on the need to apply “market shaping” as a methodology to drive competitive advantage in Finnish society. The long-term impact will be measured against the objective of significantly increasing the share of GDP generated by the creative industries in Finland.

Inquiries

Alice Labs 
contact@alice-labs.com
tel. + 358 (0)50 4835094

 

]]> Is our Asian market strategy future-proof? https://alice-labs.com/is-our-asian-market-strategy-future-proof/ Sat, 01 May 2021 16:00:04 +0000 https://alice-labs.com/?p=4375

Is our Asian market strategy future-proof?

What was done

In 2021, Alice Labs worked with a global fashion brand to do macro driver and trends analysis in a specific Asian market.

The client company is currently successful in the market but wants to anticipate change to better prepare for the future and understand how to sustain growth over time.

To increase the future readiness of the company, Alice Labs identified key areas of focus to understand drivers and barriers to the company’s present and future business in the country. The work was based on the analysis of data from:

  • Macro level multi-source scanning of consumer attitudes and behaviours
  • Industry-specific market sources

Key insight

A company can be present and successful in a growing market, but by anticipating market changes, accelerators and barriers to growth it can develop a resilient strategy and focus future growth efforts on areas with highest probability of success and least likelihood of disruption.

Impact

The work is on-going, but it will be an essential part of fine tuning market strategy for the company. It has impacted core target identification, understanding and development of future focal points.

Inquiries

Alice Labs 
contact@alice-labs.com
tel. + 358 (0)50 4835094

 

]]> How can we build socially more sustainable AI services? https://alice-labs.com/sustainable-ai-powered-consumer-services/ Sat, 01 May 2021 15:00:53 +0000 https://alice-labs.com/?p=3551

How can we build socially more sustainable AI services?

What was done

Since 2020, Alice Labs has collaborated in a nonprofit research project on selected AI-powered consumer services.

During the project, we have studied voice assistants and streaming services in the context of home and leisure use. We have identified common situations where these services currently repeatedly fail to respond to users’ expectations. Based on this understanding, general-level design recommendations have been developed.

The research project focusing on selected AI-powered consumer services, is a collaboration between Alice Labs and the Centre for Consumer Society Research, University of Helsinki in partnership with Reaktor (a Finnish technology company with expertise on existing AI solutions).

In 2020, the research and collaboration included

  • Conducting qualitative interviews online with respondents from the USA, China, and Finland
  • Elaborating and developing the research findings in collaboration with data scientists, designers, and industry experts

Key insight

In order to create more value, AI-powered consumer systems ought to be more capable of providing users with a different degree of agency and different ways of interaction. Currently, AI-powered systems often “force” users to intervene in algorithmic decision-making when they would want to be passive or make them passive when they would want to guide or collaborate with the system.

Impact

A public report on some of the first-year findings was published in 2021. The work continues in 2021, and the goal of Alice Labs in the project is to drive impact by working in close cooperation with industry experts to develop recommendations for designing socially sustainable AI-powered systems and encouraging public discussion.

Inquiries

Alice Labs 
contact@alice-labs.com
tel. + 358 (0)50 4835094

 

]]> Will the COVID-19 lockdown experiences boost more sustainable lifestyles? https://alice-labs.com/covid-19-experiences-sustainable-lifestyles/ Sat, 01 May 2021 14:00:13 +0000 https://alice-labs.com/?p=3915

Will the COVID-19 lockdown experiences boost more sustainable lifestyles?

What was done

In 2020, Alice Labs worked with the Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA on an extensive analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the Finnish society and people’s everyday lives.

The project report highlights “systemic opportunities” for the Finnish society, including the state, companies and consumers, on how COVID-19 can be an opportunity for adopting more sustainable ways of life. It discusses opportunities around people’s changing relationship to home, city life, work, travel, and food.

The research was conducted by using a mixed methodology approach, including

  • In-depth interviews with circa 20 leading-edge people, covering specific themes in the everyday life during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • A quantitative study amongst the Finnish adult population, including longitudinal data, to provide a broader context and to validate and measure the learnings from the qualitative research
  • Expert interviews on the key themes of the study

Key insight

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed people to redefine what it means to live a good life. The changes span different aspects of everyday life and concern what people eat, how they live in their homes and cities, how they work, how they travel, how they relate to nature and the environment, and what they expect from each other, their institutions and from companies.

The demand for solutions that help people to live a sustainable good life is there, but companies and organizations need to have new capabilities and ecosystems to leverage this demand comprehensively. 

Impact

The opportunities identified in the research report have been discussed across all news media in Finland. New approaches to travel industries presented in the report have already to some extent been promoted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Finland.

The impact of the work cuts across political decision-making, companies/commercial entities, and non-profit organisations in Finland.

Inquiries

Alice Labs 
contact@alice-labs.com
tel. + 358 (0)50 4835094

 

]]> How to drive growth in a customer-centric way in the telco industry? https://alice-labs.com/how-to-drive-growth-in-customer-centric-way/ Sat, 01 May 2021 11:00:04 +0000 https://alice-labs.com/?p=4241

How to drive growth in a customer-centric way in the telco industry?

What was done

In 2016-2021, Alice Labs worked with a Nordic telco to drive customer intimacy and growth in a customer-centric way.

The work has involved an on-going intervention to build up an in-house capability for customer intimacy. The work has included the following aspects.

  • Definition of a core target for brand and growth
  • Process planning to drive change from strategy to execution 
  • Projects to work on individual product areas of which several has been launched or iterated based on the insights

Key insight

Opportunity to drive customer intimacy without increasing complexity in the company. Identification of opportunities to disrupt the existing logic in the industry.

Development of a core target audience definition that functions as “north star” for the company, and helps in creating focus, and drive impact in the market. The core target audience has been used as a starting point and source of innovation across many different service categories and customer service. 

Impact

The company is going through a significant transformation, and showing continuous progress in becoming customer value focused. The company has performed consistently well in comparison to the industry benchmarks and has increasingly moved towards higher value services. 

Alice Labs has provided support across all levels of the company, from top management strategic thinking to the execution of new ways of working.

Inquiries

Alice Labs 
contact@alice-labs.com
tel. + 358 (0)50 4835094

 

]]> How are consumers’ expectations evolving towards offline shopping? https://alice-labs.com/how-are-consumers-expectations-evolving-towards-offline-shopping/ Sat, 01 May 2021 11:00:32 +0000 https://alice-labs.com/?p=3727

How are consumers’ expectations evolving towards offline shopping?

What was done

In 2019, Alice Labs worked with 3 global brands to explore the future of physical retail as a part of evolving urban landscape. The project was called Retail in Flux.

The work involved studying consumers in three continents by using multiple methods:

  • Qualitative exploration in the USA, UK and China consisting of in-depth interviews and hack fests
  • Quantitative exploration, consisting of a 6-market study
  • Collaborative work with each of the participating companies to develop the research insights further, keeping in mind the market realities of the individual brands   

Key insight

While it is essential for global retail brands to develop new and innovative ways to merge offline and online shopping into a more seamless omni-channel shopping experience, they should remain highly sensitive to the differing expectations of consumers in different markets. One-size-fits-all approaches for building omni-channel shopping journeys across different markets may fail.

We also see that the role of the physical space and real-world interactions have extremely high value if approached in the right way. The urban landscape is set to change as people (even pre-COVID) have begun to focus on neighbourhoods and proximity.

Impact

The work has been successful in pointing to future opportunities and elaborating on key evolving consumer requirements for omnichannel models.

The quantification of opportunities has permitted participating companies to prioritise and focus development efforts and resource allocation.

Inquiries

Alice Labs 
contact@alice-labs.com
tel. + 358 (0)50 4835094

 

]]> How to develop a foresighting process that can support strategic business transformation? https://alice-labs.com/foresighting-process-business-transformation/ Sat, 01 May 2021 10:00:44 +0000 https://alice-labs.com/?p=3667

How to develop a foresighting process that can support strategic business transformation?

What was done

Since 2016, Alice Labs have worked intensively to set up, advise and partly run the foresighting and exploration process for a global consumer brand.

The work has included the following:

  • Setting up the foresighting process for the company
  • Creating annual STEEP analysis process
  • Creating annual input for strategy process
  • Supporting the development of a network of experts across different expertise areas

In addition, Alice Labs has also worked with understanding the impacts of different macro level phenomena on behavioural change, exploring, amongst other things, what evolving consumer expectations and demand regarding urbanisation and sustainability mean for the brand.

Key insight

The objective of foresight process and capability development is to improve the organisational ability to anticipate relevant changes. Therefore, it is most impactful when accompanied by changes in the organisation’s process landscape – ensuring an appropriate landing place and interactions with key stakeholders at the right moment in their strategy or product development.

Impact

The insight process, of which foresighting and exploration are foundational elements, has been put into the core of the digital transformation of the company, and the demand for insights has increased over time. The foresights process outputs have been used as inputs to strategy development and strategy stress testing.

Inquiries

Alice Labs 
contact@alice-labs.com
tel. + 358 (0)50 4835094

 

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