What Is It a Bird does

IS IT A BIRD ApS is a Copenhagen-based strategic innovation consultancy founded in 2011 by Line Groes. The firm employs 35 consultants with interdisciplinary expertise in anthropology, design, and strategy, and serves global enterprise and public-sector clients across industries including healthcare, logistics, consumer goods, energy, financial services, and pharmaceuticals — with named engagements at Maersk, Nike, Google, Carlsberg, Whirlpool EMEA, VELUX, Novo Nordisk, Ørsted, Danske Bank, DSB, City of Copenhagen, and Rigshospitalet. Its core offering is human-centred innovation consulting, anchored in deep ethnographic research methods (in-home interviews, participant observation, digital diaries, action cameras, mobile ethnography, and novel instrumentation such as hacked medical-tracker technology) that produce proprietary qualitative insights to inform client strategy, product development, organisational transformation, and futures planning. Deliverables span insight reports, customer journey maps, co-creative workshop outputs, and — in selected cases — co-designed digital products (e.g., the Lommepenge / Pocket Money app for Danske Bank and a cardiometabolic care pathway MVP launching in an Asian market in 2025).

The firm operates on a professional-services revenue model: bespoke, project-based engagements priced via quote rather than published tiers, with no software product, API, or self-serve channel. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales, supported by a content-led demand engine that includes a public 'Buzz' thought-leadership blog, quarterly in-person 'IIAB Talks' events, a GDPR-compliant newsletter, and participation in Implement Consulting Group's annual Summer University. Since 2021, IS IT A BIRD has operated as a subsidiary of Implement Consulting Group, giving it structural access to 1,800+ consultants for cross-referrals, joint bids, and shared back-office functions. There are no public funding rounds, no acquisitions or divestitures, and no patents or trademarks on file. The headquarters is a single creative office in Valby, Copenhagen, presented publicly as a 'garage' workspace.

Commercially, the firm is a private limited company (CVR 37837547) domiciled in Denmark, with no public listing and no investor disclosures. GTM motion is enterprise field sales driven by thought leadership content, case studies, and the Implement referral network rather than paid acquisition. The customer base skews toward large multinationals and Danish public institutions, with multi-project repeat engagements suggesting anchor-client economics distributed across multiple industries rather than concentrated in a single account.

Name

Is It a Bird

Legal name

IS IT A BIRD ApS

Website

https://isitabird.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IS IT A BIRD is a Copenhagen-based strategic innovation consultancy that applies anthropology, design, and strategy to help global enterprises and public-sector clients translate deep ethnographic research into new products, services, and organisational change. It is a subsidiary of Implement Consulting Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Valby

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Strategic Innovation Consulting: The company generates revenue by providing strategic innovation consulting services to enterprise clients. Projects involve deep ethnographic research, strategy development, and concept creation tailored to specific business challenges across industries.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IS IT A BIRD is a strategic innovation agency that helps businesses create value by understanding human needs and behaviors through human-centered consulting. The firm delivers bespoke innovation projects combining ethnographic research (home visits, digital diaries, action cameras, participant observation), strategy development, design thinking facilitation, and insight storytelling for global enterprise and government clients across industries.

Product overview

Is It a Bird is a strategic innovation agency offering human-centered consulting services rather than a software product company. They provide a suite of professional services centered on ethnographic research, design thinking, and strategy development. The core offering consists of strategic innovation consulting engagements where multidisciplinary teams (anthropologists, designers, strategists) work with clients across industries to uncover human insights and translate them into business opportunities. Key service components include ethnographic research (home visits, digital diaries, action cameras, participant observation), strategy development, design thinking facilitation, and insight storytelling. The agency works across sectors including healthcare, finance, energy, consumer goods, and public sector, with notable client engagements including healthcare transformation, consumer product innovation, and organizational design projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Innovation Consulting Services Human-centered innovation consulting services specializing in anthropology, design, and strategy to help businesses create value by understanding human needs and behaviors, delivered as bespoke project engagements for global enterprise and government clients.
• Ethnographic Research In-depth qualitative research service including home visits, digital diaries, action cameras, participant observation, and ethnographic interviews to understand consumer behavior and needs. Delivered as a contracted research engagement for enterprise and public-sector clients.
• Strategy Development Strategic direction and consulting services to help organizations transform their approach, develop new products, and connect with customers on deeper levels, grounded in ethnographic insights.
• Design Thinking Facilitation Co-creative workshop facilitation service to help organizations generate innovative ideas and develop concepts grounded in human insights, delivered through structured workshop engagements for client teams.

Quantifiable outcome

• Villum Foundation followed all seven recommended initiatives and assigned 16 million Danish Kroner to family packages based on the company's research.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Implement Consulting GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Since 2021, IS IT A BIRD has been part of Implement Consulting Group, a Danish-born globally operating management consulting firm with 1800+ consultants. This partnership provides IS IT A BIRD with access to a much larger consulting ecosystem, cross-referrals, collaborative projects (such as Rigshospitalet and Implement Summer University), and expanded resources to serve global clients.
• SmartRecruitersminorOthersSmartRecruiters serves as IS IT A BIRD's HR recruitment system. Job applicants upload personal data through the SmartRecruiters platform, and SmartRecruiters Ltd acts as a data processor on behalf of IS IT A BIRD. SmartRecruiters hosts and manages the recruitment data as part of the company's hiring process.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Designit (Wipro): Designit is a global strategic design firm offering innovation, service design, and digital transformation — directly overlapping with IS IT A BIRD's offering. It is also part of a larger IT services group (Wipro), making it a structural analog to IS IT A BIRD's position within Implement Consulting Group.
• ReD Associates: ReD Associates is a closely comparable strategic innovation consultancy that applies anthropological and ethnographic methods to business challenges for global enterprises. The firms share a methodology-first, human-centered innovation model and compete for similar enterprise clients.
• IDEO: IDEO is the most recognized design and innovation consultancy, combining design thinking, ethnography, and strategy to help organizations innovate. It directly competes with IS IT A BIRD in the human-centered innovation and ethnographic research space, with a similar service model but much larger global scale.
• Method: Method is a global design and innovation consultancy that combines strategy, design, and technology to help brands create customer experiences. It is comparable in offering human-centered design, ethnographic insight generation, and innovation strategy for major enterprises.
• Livework: Livework is a service design and innovation consultancy using ethnographic and co-creative methods to help organisations design better services. It competes with IS IT A BIRD in design thinking, ethnographic research, and strategy engagements for large enterprises.
• frog (Capgemini Invent): frog is a global design and innovation firm offering strategy, design, and ethnographic research services to enterprise clients. It is highly comparable in service mix and has similarly been integrated into a larger consulting group (Capgemini Invent), mirroring IS IT A BIRD's relationship with Implement.

Others

• Implement Consulting Group: Implement Consulting Group is the parent organisation of IS IT A BIRD since 2021, providing cross-sell opportunities, shared clients, and broader consulting capabilities. While not a direct competitor, it is a tightly coupled ecosystem player that shapes IS IT A BIRD's commercial dynamics.

Regional players

• Kontrapunkt: Kontrapunkt is a Copenhagen-based brand and design strategy firm that helps organisations with brand strategy, design, and innovation. It is a regional peer operating in the same Nordic market as IS IT A BIRD, with adjacent but partially overlapping service offerings.

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey Design (McKinsey & Company): McKinsey's design practice brings human-centered design, ethnography, and innovation capabilities to enterprises as part of a much broader strategy consulting portfolio. It is a scaled incumbent that increasingly competes for human-centered innovation work, representing both a competitor and a potential channel.

Emerging players

• InWithForward: InWithForward is a design and social innovation consultancy using ethnographic and co-design methods, with a particular focus on public services and social outcomes. It overlaps with IS IT A BIRD's human-centered methodology but focuses more on the public sector and mission-driven work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Is It a Bird