SGS International (SGS) — a global leader in package design, production and related marketing services — announced a new corporate positioning to better align the services it provides to its clients. SGS chief executive officer Aidan Tracey unveiled sgsco: a new umbrella brand that will comprise the production and design divisions of the company.
The various companies under the sgsco umbrella — Armstrong White, Backwell Design, Evolution, Graphic Measures International, Kwikee, Marks Design, SGS, Stevenson Color and Traffik — will continue to operate under their current brands, leveraging collective knowledge and resources to enhance client experience.
“Sgsco is a collective of companies and people working together to deliver packaging and integrated marketing solutions to our clients,” says Tracey in a global internal company announcement. “SGS has built an incredible business in packaging production, and we will build on that core to become a leader in the creation, management and distribution of both physical and digital brand assets.”
At the heart of sgsco is SGS, the company’s global production division. Since 1946, when the original operating company, Southern Gravure Service Inc., was first incorporated, SGS has built one of the most respected global graphic-arts and image-carrier businesses in the industry. With the service and product excellence developed over the years in the production of gravure cylinders and flexo plates, as well as the production art and pre-press needed to create print-ready files, the company has set the stage for sgsco to continue to thrive well into the future.
In addition to the new umbrella brand, the company announced a new corporate tagline: “Own the Moment.”
“Sgsco will strive to ensure our clients’ brands are poised to own every moment — in store, online and in hand — whenever and wherever consumer desire can be converted into action,” says Tracey.
The design division of sgsco recently acquired a number of companies, including Marks Design in Belfast, Northern Ireland; Traffik marketing in Toronto; Armstrong White 3D CGI in Detroit; and Kwikee digital asset management in Peoria, Ill. Through these acquisitions, sgsco adds new and enhanced competencies to help clients with both their physical and digital packaging needs.
“We believe packaging is a critical medium for developing strong, trusted relationships with consumers; in fact, we see it at the center of the marketing mix,” says Tracey. “In a fragmented media landscape, the package is the only constant – it represents the purest form of brand communication. Our new sgsco structure and comprehensive services will help our clients successfully communicate with their customers in every channel and win every critical moment.”
