Vanessa Counaert is a marketing manager and business designer based in Belgium. She has experience leading design processes that put users at the center and use methods like user research, prototyping, and testing. Her background includes developing marketing strategies and brand alignment for Baxter in Asia Pacific and introducing new technologies like a vein finder device to help patients learn self-injection for hemophilia treatment.

1. V A N E S S A
C O U N A E R T
Marketing Manager and Business Designer
Phone : +32 475 94 93 50
E-mail : vcounaert@gmail.com
Avenue du Martin Pecheur 11-8, 1170 Watermael-Boitsfort, Belgium
portfolio

2. Business Designer
Design is a humanist discipline that puts the user at the center of the creative process.
Insights from user observation, design requirements, rapid prototyping, and iterative
testing are some of the key milestones in the design methodology. Business Design
emerges from the design philosophy and uses its methods to break with traditional
business models and positively transform the way people think, feel, and how they
react towards a product, a service, a platform or a system.
Vanessa Counaert

3. Patients with haemophilia are now reaching
adulthood with healthy joints. Maintaining the
quality of life of those patients is critical. Tools
to assess joint health on a continuous basis are
currently missing.
Zenzo wearable biosensors to
protect joints
The purpose is to develop Zenzo as an
innovative approach designed to track and
optimise patients’ movements in their daily
lives.
Measured at the hospital
Sporadic feedback
Acute situations
Individual data
“Appropriate treatment, whether haemostatic
or orthopedic, is only possible if we have reliable
assessment tools at our disposal which can make it
possible to quantify the benefits of such treatment.”
Sebastien Lobet, PhD, Physiotherapist St Luc UH
MASTER IN BUSINESS DESIGN, FINAL MASTER PROJECT 2013/2014

4. Zenzo will measure key indicators such as three-dimensional gait analysis in daily life context and on a
continuous basis allowing for preventative programmes and collective real life data gathering.
Zenzo smart insoles: A step towards your health.
Zenzo limb kit: Get specific joint details.
MASTER IN BUSINESS DESIGN, FINAL MASTER PROJECT 2013/2014
Zenzo wearable biosensors to
protect joints

5. Treatment designed
for childhood MASTER IN BUSINESS DESIGN, WORKSHOP 4, 2013/2014
Haemophilia A affects 1/10,000 newborns. The
treatment consists of injection of the missing
coagulation factor prophylactically or when
a bleed occurs. The lack of differentiation and
emotionaldesignontheprimaryandsecondary
packaging affect the user experience.
The purpose is to create a moment of
accomplice care for haemophiliac patients
and their caregiver with treatment designed
for childhood.
Kid-Kit
Haemophilia
“Wheneverthere’sariftbetweenstrategyandcreativity,
between logic and magic, there’s a brand gap. It can
cause a brilliant strategy to fail where it counts the most,
at the point of contact with the customer...”
The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeier
NOVO NORDISKPFIZER
BAXTERBAYER

6. Augmented Reality is used to add information
to the user’s visual perception of the
environment, vary the user experience and
connect the analog and digital medium.
The patient diary is digital and integrated with
the packaging and the child’s interests to foster
participation and engagement.
The packaging of the product is designed with
the universe of the child at its core to create
a moment of accomplice care inscribed in a
playful routine using storytelling.
Integrated user/brand experience
MASTER IN BUSINESS DESIGN, WORKSHOP 4, 2013/2014
In such projects I will lead the design process in collaboration with the marketing, the medical and the R&D
departments, the UX design agency and the end users.
Treatment designed
for childhoodKid-Kit
Haemophilia

7. Brand development
and alignment
While the customer is familiar
with the Baxter brand, a deeper
understanding and connection
with the brand core values
needed to be developed to
maintain Baxter’s leadership
position.
In collaboration with the agency CMC, Kantar Health and Mark Ritson
Target countries : Australia, China, India, Japan, South-Korea, Thailand
The purpose was to build the
brand from the inside out by
engaging all functions on the
brand meaning and behaviors.
MARKETING MANAGER HAEMOPHILIA ASIA PACIFIC 2011/2013

8. 6
© 2006 Baxter
For internal training purposes only. Some data disguised / fictionalized.
Baxter Confidential – Restricted: Do Not Distribute Without Prior ApprovalBrand M anagement
Brand Lessons
Learning 5: Advate is the patient’s preferred choice
Data Point Our Learning
Looking at the current or ideal
treatment share, Advate is the
patient’s preferred choice in Korea!
(and is perceived as such by the
physician in learning 3)
In an ideal situation, patients would
be less likely to chose GreenMono
68
Allows
Independence
Baxter
Credibility
Advancing
Hemophilia
Patients
Preferred
Choice
Credibility is integral and goes beyond what Baxter has “done in
the past” and plays far more into what the company does today
and how it communicates that to the community.
2010
Participate in Global
brand MR resulting in
identification of core
brand attributes.
Coordinate Interactive
Brand Engagement
meeting with countries
in Asia Pacific.
Develop the Brand Track
Research together with
the countries and Kantar
Health.
Lead countries in the
development of local
brand objectives and
tactics.
I engaged the countries across Asia Pacific through interactive workshops before diving into local market
researchs, leading to the development of the countries’ marketing plans.
2011
2012
2013
MARKETING MANAGER HAEMOPHILIA ASIA PACIFIC 2011/2013
Brand development
and alignment

9. Training the patient to
treat at home
The vein finder is a professional
medical device commonly
used by nurses for blood tests for
patients with difficult intravenous
access, but never used in
Haemophilia.
In collaboration with Tim Robinson, head of Marketing Intelligence
EMEA and Avant Medical distributing Accuvein in Europe
The purpose was to introduce the
device to patients and caregivers
to increase their confidence in
the learning phase of (self-)
injection.
SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER HAEMOPHILIA BELGIUM 2008/2011

10. 16. Etiez-vous habitué à administrer le traitement via une
chambre implantable?
Oui Non
17. Après combien d’injections pensez-vous être en mesure de
réaliser l’injection de manière autonome à domicile?
18. Dans quelle mesure êtes-vous satisfait(e) de la formation aux
techniques d’injection que vous avez reçue ? (cochez la couleur que
vous jugez la plus appropriée)
Pas du tout satisfait(e) Très satisfait(e)
Pourquoi?
19. Veuillez indiquer l'importance des énoncés suivants pour vous ? (pour
chaque ligne, cochez la couleur que vous jugez la plus appropriée)
Être capable de visualiser la veine facilement
Réduire au minimum le nombre de tentatives
nécessaires pour ponctionner la veine
Être informé(e) des nouveaux développements
en matière d’injection des facteurs de coagulation
Être informé(e) des produits et des traitements
en hémophilie
Disposer d'une aide à domicile ou à proximité
de la maison pour réaliser les injections
Etre capable d’injecter de manière autonome
le plus rapidement possible
Se sentir capable de réaliser l’injection
en toute confiance
Avoir des instructions ou un guide de référence
à utiliser à domicile
20. Quelles sont pour vous les 3 défis majeurs lors d’une
injection ?
Veuillez retourner ce questionnaire à l'infirmière. Merci !
Pas
important
Important
1re défi:
2e défi:
3e défi:
C. FORMATION ET INFORMATION (SUITE) D. DIFFICULTÉS
5 6
Lead the purchasing and
supply management.
Develop the training kit
with the creative agency
Aplanos.
Develop the patient diary
for the caregiver and
patient to track progress.
Launch the vein finder
and the study to measure
its adding value.
I championed the device, developed a programme and work with the Haemophilia community to pilot
the study in several EU markets resulting in increased brand loyalty as well as higher customer satisfaction.
Q4 2010
Q1 2011
Q2 2011
Q3 2011
SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER HAEMOPHILIA BELGIUM 2008/2011
Training the patient to
treat at home

11. Empowering the patient
to choose his treatment
Baxter Renal is the leader in
homecare but few patients are
treated at home.
The purpose was to support the
dialogue between the Healthcare
professionals and the patients
through the development of
accessible educational tools.
PRODUCT MANAGER RENAL CHRONIC DEFICIENCY 2006/2008
www.choixdialyse.be / www.dialysekeuze.be, in collaboration with Evi
Verstraete, product specialist and the creative agency EMakina.

12. The language was adapted to make the
choice easier.
Eg: “Home” and “hospital” instead of
“peritoneal dialysis” and “in center dialysis”.
I championed and developed the interactive website where particular attention is brought to the language,
supportive visuals and peer-to-peer videos to break emotional barriers hindering choice.
A questionnaire was developed to help
guide the patient in his thinking.
Patient testimonials were developed to help
patients visualize and understand treatment
options and lifestyle impact.
Inspirational story was added to help the
patients envision a future.
PRODUCT MANAGER RENAL CHRONIC DEFICIENCY 2006/2008
Key performance indicators were put in
place to monitor trafic and call for action.
Empowering the patient
to choose his treatment

13. Phone : +32 475 94 93 50
E-mail : vcounaert@gmail.com
Avenue du Martin Pecheur 11-8, 1170 Watermael-Boitsfort, Belgium