I am a passionate believer that branding involves all aspects of organisational behaviour. My commentaries and presentations range across a diversity of issues and draw on extensive experience of working in international markets as a high level adviser to senior management.
This website is where I post my latest blogs, published articles and presentations, it is also where you can access my previous published and presentation material.
In 2016 I sold my company, SCG International, to my long-standing Russian client, Sait Gutseriev, executive for the Safmar Group. This has given me the opportunity to embark on a new era, acting as an independent consultant after the responsibilities of running a company for 25 years. While I have always enjoyed providing strategic advice and creative solutions across a wide range of sectors, I can now focus on activities that I particularly enjoy and continue to intrigue me.
Everyone it seems is talking about disruption resulting from consumer empowerment facilitated by the internet and digital technology. Equally company culture development, wellbeing and workplaces have become key management topics along with commercial sustainability. These issues link directly with a fundamental message I been been preaching as a branding consultant and architect for the last few years – the importance of ‘creating places where people want to be’. More recently ‘placemaking’ has become an overused term but the principle works across all sectors if ‘place’ is also seen as including both digital, human and physical interactions.
The challenge is then to create a synergy of satisfying experiences for the target audiences.
So my new mantra needs to be ‘creating experiences that people want’! That applies to products, services, places and people. Small wonder the Customer Experience Officer is the new CEO company role for some organisations. That’s fine as long as they realise they also need to meet the needs of their internal clients… their employees !
The fundamental principle of branding is to create a perceived added value in the widest sense, satisfying relevant emotional and commercial criteria. So in some ways nothing has changed as ultimate value has always been the positive perception of price, quality and experience … and achieving the right mix to meet the target audiences’ and users’ changing aspirations and needs.
As this blog shows, I have written and presented on many of these issues for some years. It is interesting to see the basic principles of engagement and relevance still hold true despite the fast changing digital landscape, growth and influence of social media and empowered, informed consumers and users. The ancient mantra of ‘adopt, adapt, improve’ – like Toyota’s original dictum ‘continuous improvement’ – may be dressed up in the new corporate speak of visions and values, but this simple message is still a tough but essential requirement of all managements in a competitive market.
You can find a range of presentations on real estate, banking and retail if you check out SCG London’s library on slideshare where there are more than 40+ presentations I have made over the last few years.
https://www.slideshare.net/SCGLondon/presentations?order=latest
At the second session of the PLUS-Forum, Clive Woodge, Founder and Owner of SCG International, and Anna Poberezhna, Strategy and Business Development Consultant, SCG International, presented to the audience a concept of banking brand, its impact on the motivation of employees, and also informed how the brand can…
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Clive Woodger's article about private labels now published in the September issue of My-Trade Magazine. Статья о собственных торговых марках Клайва Вуджера. Копия самого журнала уже у нас! Click on image to read in Russian …
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Offices are not the machines to work in. Workplaces should represent true values of company. They are to inspire and motivate people. In this presentation I review workplace branding techniques, challenges and opportunities: Achieving True Sustainability through Commercial Success A brand consultant’s view on the…
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In the presentation I shared my vision on Bank Branding Challenges - Creating a First Choice Customer Experience, combining commerce and creativity. The team of SCG International has extensive experience of working with financial organisations, such as Alpha bank, Russian Standard Bank, Moscommertsbank, KIT-Finance, Globexbank.…
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My interview at the 5th International PLUS Forum “Cash Circulation + Self-service. Banking and Retail 2013" My message " Importance of branding, customer and employer touchpoints". Our approach is based on the unique vision, values and beliefs of our each Client.
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My Video Story How to 'Create a Difference' @ Infor-media Russia conference Some Thoughts Centre Treatments Culture Marketing / Activities Projecting Art & Culture
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Clive Woodger presentation at Office Next 2014: "Creating Branded Environments - Where people want to be!". Отличные воспоминания прошлого года, Office Next 2014. Видео доклада Клайва Вуджера на тему: "Создание брендовых пространств - места, где люди хотят находиться".
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In this interview for the Colombian Newspaper “Portafolio”, Clive Woodger, the SCG Founder, makes an analysis of the retail sector, specially about the current challenge to get to the consumer through a unique omnichannel looking at all the consumer touchpoints i.e. physical shops, website, architecture, design,…
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Given the new reality of the empowered consumer and the transformational impact of the Internet, the DIY retail sector faces new challenges. The Internet has brought the physical and digital channels together and is changing how general consumers and professionals shop. The key message of…
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The following presentation formed the basis of a workshop held at the ICSC Retail Strategy and Trends Forum in Berlin, in November 2015. The aim of the workshop was to have a discussion and to develop a better understanding of what an effective shopping centre…
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