BRAND & EXPERIENCE STRATEGY ADVISORYBuilding businesses people remember.
Become distinctive. I help brands uncover what others overlook, translating it into memorable experiences, enduring customer loyalty and sustained commercial growth.
ABOUTI work with founders and brand leaders building design-led businesses in premium retail, lifestyle, hospitality and technology, from ambitious scale-ups to established category leaders, to —
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Craft experiences customers remember and return to
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Clarify what makes your brand meaningfully different
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Identify and address what matters for customers to keep them choosing you
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Help teams observe, research and learn, making strategic decisions clear
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Translate insight into distinctive business opportunities
Partnerships include
Notice what your competitors miss
Most businesses are now well-designed and marketed. AI and agents help them create professional, but soulless, brand worlds.
But many struggle to grow because they lack the distinctiveness that builds loyalty, cultural relevance, and keeps customers coming back.
The businesses that stand out do something special.
They create meaningful brand worlds that customers notice, feel and remember. And they want to return to, time and again.
It takes two qualities:
Confident creative judgement, and
An informed, unique point of view
They’re the gunpowder and spark for a special kind of brand experience.
It takes unorthodox thinking.
Are you ready?
SERVICESFour ways to work together
I offer four services that build the confident creative judgement and informed, unique points of view behind distinctive brand experiences.
Your team will gain the insights, skills and strategies for sharp cultural observation, deep customer connection, and unorthodox brand thinking.
Your customers will feel the difference.
Your business will grow through commercial edge.
Experience Clarity Sprint
Solve a critical brand or customer experience challenge in weeks, not months
Strategic Advisory
Navigate complex strategic decisions with an experienced outside perspective
Human Experience Workshops
Equip teams with the skills to create more distinctive businesses
Keynotes & Learning Sessions
Spark fresh thinking that challenges the norm
ABOUTDr Fiona Maciver
Unorthodoxy is in my DNA. I was born in the hospital where George Orwell wrote 1984. I’ve criss-crossed careers in academia, tech and consulting. And I’ve developed acumen from design to marketing, research to innovation.
Now independent, my advisory borrows the best of those experiences. I love getting to know the personalities making up a business. When your team talks to customers, human-to-human, that’s what creates a lasting commercial edge.
I’ve worked at the leading edge at Apple, Facebook, Accenture and the European Commission, and been trusted by brands including Meta, Ford and E.ON. I hold a PhD in Design Strategy and teach Creative Direction at Central Saint Martins in London.
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"Fiona Maciver is an outstanding professional who embodies the perfect balance of creativity, curiosity, and analytical rigor. Her ability to navigate complex concepts, identify patterns, and craft compelling narratives makes her an invaluable asset in creative strategy and beyond."
— Dan Moller, Head of Creative Shop Northern Europe, Meta
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"Fiona has a keen eye on the bigger picture and the forces of change that affect our lives. Balancing structure and the organic, she adapts the needs of the brief, bringing unique authentic value to any project. To work with Fiona means a journey that evolves and inspires to deliver fresh answers"
— Hugh Miller, Partner, Pentagram
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"Fiona brings the rigour of expert research planning and execution; a highly strategic perspective to how these translate into design; and the flexibility to collaborate to brilliant effect with creatives and business folks alike"
— Ed White, Design Director, IDEO
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"Fiona brings a rare ability to translate complex customer insight into clear, compelling strategic direction. She played a key role in shaping our thinking around customer behaviour in the transition to sustainable energy, helping us better understand current mindsets and how to shift them."
— Fernanda Reyes, Head of Customer Experience and Insights, E.ON Growth Studio
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“Fiona's contributions to the team were very impressive across multiple levels including innovative deliverables that set the agenda for future of AR”
— Ivan Landabaso, Partner, JME Ventures
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"Fiona’s exceptional strategic thinking and her keen ability to uncover actionable insights played a pivotal role in shaping the overall direction of our work streams. Fiona is a true collaborator, bringing clarity and vision to complex challenges, and her work continues to have a meaningful and lasting impact in the XR space"
— Petra Zhivkova, Product Design Lead, Meta Reality Labs
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"I highly recommend Fiona to anyone seeking exceptional creative leadership. She is a rare force of brilliance and inspiration; any organization would be fortunate to have her at the helm of their creative journey."
— Sunil Sharma, AI Strategist, Technologist, Stealth Entrepreneur
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"Fiona took time to have in depth product conversations that helped to drive strategy and execution forward. During the time we worked together, we shipped a number of key features that helped our team to exceed their goals and to deliver significant user value"
— Kwad Kissiedu, Product Manager, Meta
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"I cannot recommend Fiona Maciver highly enough for any business looking to raise its game on innovation. Fiona has a unique way of thinking - blending creativity with a sharp understanding of what shapes an industry. She helps you work from design through to customer, and tackles tough challenges with fresh, inspired solutions."
– Lloyd Wigglesworth, Partner, The Alexander Partnership
CONTACTBuild your distinctive edge with me
To enquire about working together, send a note describing your business to fiona@fionamaciver.com, or use the form below. I respond personally within one business day.
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The Judgement Problem: How Human Judgement Builds Brand Distinctiveness
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Customer Experience Strategy in the AI age: How brands can use technology without losing emotion, trust or distinctiveness
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What Is Brand Experience Strategy? (And Why Most Brands Get It Wrong)
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