Scott Woodward: On Brand

Photo Credit: Marc TousignantThis is the man who made Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation a household name and who ignited the Ray-Ban frenzy after the Men in Black film debut with Will Smith prominently rocking the sunglasses for most of the film. Scott Woodward’s stellar career has mapped the way to his own creative agency, SEW Branded and today you can find him in a classroom in New York City at The New School at Parson’s School of Design teaching marketing, public relations and branding.

His career highlights include the first Global ad campaign for Ray-Ban with Men in Black while sitting as the worldwide creative director of the brand. This groundbreaking brand tie-in with films, reinvented how brand and movie tie-ins were being imagined as it became the industry model that is used to this day with the James Bond franchise. During a stint at Movado, as CMO of Movado Group, he launched the Concord watch campaign, “Be late, time is a luxury”—a campaign that redefined time as the actual luxury, versus the watch itself. Interestingly, the ads featured the then model Melania Knauss, who would become a controversial first lady of the United States and Melania Trump.

Photo Credit: Marc Tousignant

But the work that Woodward is most proud of is that of youth empowerment. “My work on youth empowerment and using some of the world’s most important and influential music artists to amplify and encourage youth to be true to themselves has been particularly gratifying. I’m honored to have been recognized for it with Emery and Clio awards, as we were the first to have done a Kindness Campaign with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, donating $1M to her new foundation. Following this with another successful collaboration with One Direction at the height of their popularity, also contributing $1M to educating youth across America to #BeKind in school and to be true to themselves,” says Woodward.

Photo Credit: Marc Tousignant

Today, Woodward runs his agency working with brands he is passionate about. Most recently, Tuscan Kiss, a luxury Italian rosé. “This was a particularly meaningful project for me, as we were asked to conceive the brand by Lee Iacocca’s daughter as an Ode to her Father, who was a world-class marketer and the man behind the Ford Mustang launch, Chrysler’s turnaround and in actuality one of the first celebrity CEOs,” muses Woodward. When describing his agency in few words: Smart brand design.

Since starting his teaching post at Parson’s in September 2021, Woodward’s career has come full circle. The very school he once dreamed of attending while he was in high school, is now where he contributes  to  its curriculum as an adjunct professor guiding and teaching young aspiring creatives to thrive in a world that he has so effortlessly dominated with his fresh approach in differentiating, innovating, and rethinking the way consumers react to brands. Woodward reflects on the experience: “Teaching at Parsons School of Design has been an incredible experience and I’ve thoroughly loved it. I incorporated a Zoom Guest Speaker series of industry powerhouses to speak to the class each week and we concluded with Andrew Taylor, the current head of Neiman Marcus Public Relations. It’s been an incredible experience and they’ve invited me back to teach the course this spring 2022, so I’m looking forward to it again.”

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Woodward

The man who calls NY home, can be found in downtown Manhattan. He says, “after years living and working in NOHO, I’m now in the Lower East Side, which is so vibrant, inspiring, and fun, and has made me fall in love with NYC all over again. I’m spending lots of time with friends and family on my rooftop on Orchard Street, which has an amazing view of the city, as well as resuming movie screenings at Ludlow House, hanging at The Public Hotel rooftop and Cafe’ Habana, which never disappoints and embodies the zeitgeist of the city.” Woodward’s influence and innovation has marked history and I can bet that we’ll be seeing those ripple effects for years to come.

Photo Credit: Alexander Tamargo