Riverflex

How Azelis developed its first digital marketing strategy and built new digital capabilities


Creating Change

Heli Kilpala, appointed Azelis’ first Group Strategy & Digitalization Director, faced the challenge of driving rapid digital change in a traditional environment, aiming for alignment of diverse business units around a unified digital vision while navigating resistance to change.

How Azelis developed its first digital marketing strategy and built new digital capabilities

The challenge

Heli needed to articulate a compelling reason for adopting a customer-centric approach, particularly in marketing and sales, which required shifting mindsets from internal processes to customer needs. In addition, requirements included balancing the urgency of delivering quick wins—such as immediate improvements to eCommerce and digital marketing capabilities—while laying the foundation for long-term strategic shifts. All this while respecting the traditions of the business and ensuring that the leadership team and employees alike were not only on board but fully invested in the transformation journey.

The approach

To drive the required level of business change, Riverflex partnered with Heli to develop a transformation approach focused on building digital marketing capabilities and innovating Azelis’ customer experience. We set out to develop a strong digital vision focused on identifying and articulating the compelling reasons why digital transformation is important as well as reviewing the ecommerce and digital marketing capabilities. We facilitated stakeholder interviews and design-thinking sessions to gather insights across business units, ensuring their voices were heard and their needs addressed in the new digital strategy. Next up, we defined the operating model to outline the required digital marketing capabilities for Azelis, focusing on building a team with the right skills and leadership direction. This included discussions on the degree of centralization necessary to enable effective digital marketing without losing local market relevance. Lastly, we focused on building digital marketing capabilities to ensure that Azelis transitioned from a product-focused approach to a customer-centric one, with an emphasis on creating relevant and engaging digital content for their customers.

How Azelis developed its first digital marketing strategy and built new digital capabilities

Key Outcomes


Successfully aligned its diverse business units under a unified digital vision and a central digital marketing strategy

Identified immediate improvement opportunities in eCommerce and digital marketing capabilities, including streamlined processes and enhanced digital platforms

Laid the groundwork for sustainable transformation by establishing a robust digital operating model that integrates customer-centric marketing capabilities.