BRAND & EXPERIENCE STRATEGY ADVISORYDistinctive brands start with a different point of view.
Find your edge. I help businesses uncover what others overlook, translating unorthodox insights into experiences customers notice, feel and remember.
Notice what your
competitors miss
Most businesses now look well designed and competent.
Sophisticated tools make it easier than ever to create something polished. But they’re also pushing businesses towards the middle ground. AI, data and the same market intelligence lead to the same answers.
The result is businesses that look different, but increasingly feel the same.
When a business lacks a distinctive viewpoint, customers have little reason to choose it, or remember it.
Businesses that stand out make different decisions.
Their leaders notice what others overlook: shifts in culture, human emotions, cultural signals and experience details that make customers feel something.
That takes two things:
Unorthodox insight - Seeing what competitors don’t
Confident creative judgement - Knowing what to do with what you find
Together, they give a business a point of view that customers notice, feel, and remember.
In a market where everyone has the same tools, what you notice, and what you do with it, becomes your commercial advantage.
WHEN TO WORK WITH MEI work with founders and creative leaders building design-led businesses in premium retail, lifestyle, hospitality and technology - from ambitious scale-ups to established leaders.
Work with me when -
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We’ll refine and reinforce what you stand for, who you serve, and why customers should choose you
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We’ll identify what matters to people, and find the moments that build meaning, trust and emotional connection. We’ll give them strong reasons to come back
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We’ll clarify and enhance the distinctive idea, customer value and experience cues that make you unique
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We’ll strengthen the signals of quality, care and desirability that make customers choose only you
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We’ll build sharp observation, research and creative methods to unlock original, strategic thinking
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We’ll translate research and customer understanding into clearer, more distinctive opportunities, offers and decisions
Partnerships including
My MethodThe Notice-Differentiate Method
Meaningful differentiation comes from targeted insight and informed judgement, not from brainstorms, data or dashboards.
Every engagement is built around my proprietary Notice-Differentiate Method. It uncovers overlooked opportunities, and translates those into distinctive brand experiences.
The Intensive
A strategy intensive that uncovers where your brand is losing its edge, and where opportunity lies
When you need clarity from your customer's perspective
When you need fresh thinking for a growth or repositioning phase
Advisory
An advisory partnership that keeps your business distinctive, and continually in motion
When you're in need of more original thinking (and less AI)
Labs
Bespoke in-company labs teaching the skills to develop unique propositions
When you need to provoke and develop your team
Speaking
Expert talks that help you strengthen the capabilities that give your business an edge
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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 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 the future”
— Ivan Landabaso, Partner, JME Ventures
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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 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’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
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 expertise in design and marketing, research and 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 and Facebook, Accenture and the European Commission. I’ve been trusted by brands including Meta, Ford and E.ON. I hold a PhD in Design Strategy and guide emerging talent at Central Saint Martins in London.
CONTACTBuild your distinctive edge with me
If your business needs to relocate its edge, send me a note.
I read and respond to every message personally. Email fiona@fionamaciver.com, or use the form below.
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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)
My work has been featured by
