Real-life ImagineerShip Case-stories 💗♾️
ImagineerShip was created by Torben Valsted, a former Imagineer at Fortune 500 companies. ImagineerShip e.g. draws inspiration from Nike’s early success, where a culture of bonding and innovation was fostered by a commitment to consumers and a diverse team of Imagineers.
RiiSE to the ViiBE of Tomorrow. Today.
ImagineerShip Consumer-Sensing Game Mastery was created by Torben Valsted and is the result of over 35 years of Imagineering at Fortune 500 companies like Carlsberg, Nestlé, and Nike. Central to ImagineerShip is the belief that Bonding is the New Branding. Torben’s journey has been one of working with the best of the best, teams and leaders, to find new ways to get closer to consumers.
Torben pioneered Trade Marketing for Tuborg (part of Carlsberg) in Denmark, and Imagineered a new beer brand, “Pan Pivo,” in Croatia, reaching a 20% market share. He redefined Nestlé’s route-to-market in the Adriatic, transformed Nike’s market approach in Croatia and Slovenia, and revolutionized Nike’s assortment planning in CEE. Torben also contributed to Nike’s global strategic direction for its $8-9bn partner store business and led the most impactful insights-driven transformation for Nike EMEA.
Along the way, a critical truth emerged: business success only happens when intel (sense), strategy (think), and leadership (feel) are orchestrated to grow good ViiBE đź’—
ImagineerShip unifies these 3 business cornerstones into a systemic approach where each amplifies the others. It empowers Imagineers to create progress piece by piece while maintaining clarity of the full picture. When fully embraced, this trinity unlocks the collective subconscious genius of organizations, driving not only stronger consumer bonds but also greater innovation, effectiveness, and team spirit.
How Nike Just Did It: The Inspiration for ImagineerShip
Nike’s rise to global dominance began in 1972 with a van and a dream. From the start, it was all about bonding. When Jeff Johnson had sold a pair of running shoes from the trunk of his van, he would exchange personal letters of advice and encouragement with customers.
Phil Knight didn’t hire industry veterans; he brought in Imagineers. People from diverse backgrounds - not necessarily the sports industry - who could bring fresh perspectives and take Nike in a bold new direction. Nike never chased competitors but focused on cultivating consumer bonds and leading from the front. This commitment was embedded in its culture, where intel, strategy, and leadership intuitively came together.
For decades, until 2020, this culture thrived without formalization. Employees felt it, lived it, but couldn’t always explain it. ImagineerShip goes one step further and transforms this unspoken brilliance into a clear, actionable framework. It’s how Nike would just do it if it knew what it knows. ImagineerShip transforms this legacy into a scalable framework that empowers organizations to put the ii in ViiBE and make it RiiSE.
The case-stories (only accessible for signed up Imagineers) that follow showcase real-world applications of ImagineerShip principles. While ImagineerShip wasn’t fully realized during these cases, they reveal its evolution in action.
The Selection of Key Cases which Shaped the ImagineerShip Framework
1: The Carlsberg Trade Marketing Case
Growing Good ViiBE Cooperation, Growing 10ppt Margin Gain
Torben Valsted
2: The Pan Beer-Brand Building Case
Growing Good ViiBE Journey, Growing from 0% to 20% Market Share
Torben Valsted
3: The Nestlé Adriatics Transformation Case
Growing Good ViiBE Brand Access, Growing 3X Revenue
Torben Valsted
4: The Rise of the SneakerMeister Case
Growing Good ViiBE Rebranding, Growing 4X Revenue
Torben Valsted
5: The Nike Assortment Connect Case
Growing Good ViiBE Assortment Freshness, Growing 15% Revenue Uplift with 36% Reduced Inventory
Torben Valsted
6: The Nike Direct-to-Consumer Partner Store Case
Growing Good ViiBE Commerciality, Growing 18% Revenue Uplift & 4ppt Margin Increase
Torben Valsted
7: The Nike Direct-to-Consumer BreakOut Case
Growing Good ViiBE Understanding, Growing €150-200m Annual Revenue Uplift
Torben Valsted
8: The Nike Actionable MindSights ANSWERS Case
Growing Good ViiBE MindSights, Growing Collective Subconscious Genius and Repurposing 70k FTE Hours
Torben Valsted
9: The Fast-Fashion Assortment Acceleration Case
Growing Good ViiBE Assortment Engagement, Growing Profitability with €220m in Markdown Savings
Torben Valsted
10: The Fast-Fashion Store Concept Case
Growing Good ViiBE ViiBEpoint Journey, Growing 26% Revenue Uplift
Torben Valsted
11: The ii Assortment MindSight Case
Growing Good ViiBE Assortment Focus, Growing Future Growth Potential
Torben Valsted
The Aggregated Legacy of Transformation ImagineerShip
Summing the Impact of ImagineerShip across Cases
Torben Valsted
