Truth Well Told: Inside McCann Manchester’s Brand Strategy with Jordan [Interview]

Brand strategy isn’t just about campaigns—it’s about clarity, collaboration, and consistency. Few agencies embody this better than McCann, where strategy and creativity fuel work for global names like L’Oréal, Aldi, and Matalan. We sat down with Jordan, Head of Strategy at McCann, to uncover how heritage, cultural insight, and bold storytelling drive brands forward. From balancing tradition with innovation to managing digital brand assets across global teams, this conversation offers powerful lessons for marketers, strategists, and brand builders alike. And for companies looking to streamline their own brand consistency, platforms like BrandLife’s digital asset management (DAM) system make it easier than ever to ensure every campaign stays on-brand, everywhere.

Jordan, can you tell us about your path to becoming Head of Strategy at McCann Manchester? What originally drew you to strategy?

I came into strategy a bit sideways, which I think is true for a lot of us. I started on the brand side at Co-op, building digital strategies and shaping customer experiences from the inside out. That experience taught me the power of connecting insight to action. But, I kept being drawn to the upstream stuff. The why behind the what. Strategy felt like a more creatively charged place, and where ideas actually get their teeth. So, I made the jump agency-side and haven’t looked back. Now, as Head of Strategy at McCann Manchester, I get to work with incredible minds across retail, FMCG, and beyond; pulling all those threads together to build brand platforms that actually move people.

McCann has a legacy that spans over a century. How does that heritage influence your strategic approach today?

There’s a real pride that comes with working for an agency that’s been shaping culture for over 100 years. It means we don’t chase trends for the sake of it, we aim for enduring truths. That heritage pushes us to hold ourselves to a higher standard: not just doing work that wins awards but doing work that earns its place in people’s lives. It also means we understand the long game. Strategy isn’t just about the next quarter, it’s about building a brand that still means something ten years from now. Global brands like L’Oreal are a testament to the McCann philosophy in action, I think.

How do you balance tradition and innovation in your work with clients?

It’s not either/or, it’s both/and. The best strategy honours what made a brand successful in the first place, while also showing how it can evolve to stay relevant. For example, with brands like Aldi or Matalan, we’ve taken what people already love and looked for ways to amplify or reframe it for a new context-whether that’s through digital storytelling, media innovation or unexpected cultural partnerships.

What’s your philosophy on building a brand strategy that cuts through the noise in today’s market?

Clarity over cleverness. People don’t have time to decode your brand’s existential crisis. They want to know who you are, what you stand for, and why it matters. A good strategy doesn’t whisper to everyone, it speaks boldly to someone. You win when people feel like your brand sees them, reflects them, or champions something they believe in.

How do you approach crafting emotionally resonant brand narratives in a data- driven world?

We start with data, but we don’t end there. Data is the scaffolding, but emotion is the architecture. Data can tell us what people are doing, but it often misses the "why." That’s where cultural insight, human empathy and behavioural nuance come in. The real magic happens when numbers meet narrative. It’s my absolute joy to inspire clients and creatives alike with a story felt as emotion but backed by data.

McCann is known for the tagline “Truth Well Told.” How do you interpret that mantra in today’s digital age?

"Truth Well Told" has never been more relevant. Or more needed. In a world overloaded with content, brands that tell the truth, boldly, creatively, and with heart-stand out. For me, it’s about integrity. You don’t need to manufacture meaning if you’ve done the work to uncover what’s already true about a brand, its people, or its customers. We’re not here to sell illusions, we’re here to spotlight truths that make people feel something. The fact that McCann’s agency proposition remains Truth Well Told, 100 years since H K McCann penned it (and patented it) says something about our ethos on brand building.

Can you share a campaign you’ve worked on that you feel truly captured a brand’s essence?

One campaign that really stands out is the rebrand work we led with Matalan. It wasn’t just a campaign; it was the start of a full-scale transformation for one of Britain’s biggest value retailers. We kicked things off with a "Truth Hunt" 20 weeks of digging into everything from cultural shifts to category dynamics to the communities Matalan serves. We brought together over 40 ‘truth hunters’ from across the business, not just the usual departments. What we uncovered was powerful. Matalan’s customers are these everyday family heroes always putting others first, often at the expense of themselves. And yet, fashion as an industry had forgotten about them. So, we found our North Star: to proudly put those everyday family heroes first. It’s shaped everything from tone of voice and casting to in-store experience and product innovation. The work resonated not just because it looked good, but because it was built from a deep human truth. One of my favourite activations? “Back From School”, a twist on the usual ‘Back to School’ trope, showing school uniforms after a day’s chaos. It was quality, value, and emotional resonance all rolled into one. Seeing that platform land across TV, digital, social and even internal culture initiatives, while delivering record ROI and putting Matalan back into cultural conversation, felt like strategy at its best. Truth Well Told, as we like to say.

What are some emerging consumer trends you’re closely watching right now?

One trend I’m endlessly tuning into is what’s called ‘hun culture’, this celebration ofordinary, often working-class British women who are unapologetically real. It’s rooted in nostalgia, camp humour and a kind of ironic national pride. Think leopard print, prosecco, and a healthy sense of sarcasm. What makes it so fascinating is that it’s flipping mainstream celebrity culture on its head. Rather than glossy, polished influencers, this is about everyday icons (soap stars, reality TV regulars) whose flaws and candid authenticity become a badge of honour. It’s real, it’s ironic, and it’s deeply resonant. For brands, that’s a huge opportunity. People are craving content that feels like it’s made for them, not at them. That means leaning into imperfect, relatable storytelling, celebrating customers as the heroes, and letting humour and warmth lead the way.

How do you integrate cultural insight into your strategy process without it feeling forced or performative?

Culture is context. If you're just borrowing from culture to look relevant, people will smell it a mile off. We work with lived experience, credible collaborators, and inclusive research methods to ensure that the insights we surface are genuine, respectful, and additive (not extractive). It’s not about hijacking culture; it’s about contributing to it. And culture isn’t just the loud zeitgeist, the more interesting things to be gleamed are often quieter and humbler than what’s trending on TikTok.

What’s your method for uncovering those key “aha!” insights that drive a campaign forward?

It usually starts with tension. I look for the gap between what a brand is saying and what people are feeling, or the gap between what’s true and what’s talked about. That tension is often where the magic lives. From there, it’s about pattern spotting: drawing connections between human truths, cultural shifts, and business objectives. Truthfully though, I’m a born collaborator. Voice notes with trusted creatives, coffees with engaged clients, WhatsApps to account leaders, it all helps me connect the dots and find the interesting.

Strategy and creative often have to dance together. How do you foster alignment between the two teams?

It’s not a handover, it’s a handshake. The best work comes when strategists and creatives are in the trenches together from the start-co-owning the brief, pressure- testing the insight, and building trust. I make it a point to sit in early creative sessions, not just turn up with a deck and disappear. And I always remind my team: great strategy doesn’t just inspire, it unlocks. I think of the process as a two-leg plane flight. For the first leg the strategist is the captain and the creative a co-pilot. Both along for the ride and both with account leadership in their ear managing air traffic control. The second leg is where the co-pilot takes the lead, but the strategist doesn’t ejector seat out of the cockpit! We’re still along until we land. Safely, if a little bumpy.

What does a great client brief look like to you?

Clear ambition. Defined problem. Room to play. The best briefs tell us where we’re going and why it matters without scripting every step of the journey. I love a client who says, “Here’s what we want to change, now surprise us with how.”

How do you help clients take creative risks while still being rooted in strategy?

Strategy de-risks the bold. That means showing clients the logic behind the leap, how the insight backs it up, how it aligns with the brand, and what success could look like. But we also get comfortable with uncertainty.

How has agency life changed over the last 5 years-and how is McCann evolving to stay ahead?

Agency life has become more collaborative, more cross-disciplinary, and more human. There’s been a shift from siloed expertise to fluid teams that flex around the brief. At McCann, we’re doubling down on integration; with a tight triumvirate of strategy, accounts and creative leading from the front. And we’re investing in DEI, talent development, and platform fluency to make sure our teams reflect the world we’re trying to speak to.

What do you think sets McCann apart from other global networks in today’s landscape?

We have the global muscle, yes, but we also have deep local insight and autonomy, which means our work is as relevant in Manchester as it is in Manhattan. We’re also values led. "Truth Well Told" isn’t just a tagline, it’s a compass. That clarity of purpose shows up in how we work, who we hire, and the kind of clients we attract.

How are you guiding clients through challenges like fragmentation, attention economy, and platform overload?

We bring focus. Strategy’s job is to simplify complexity. That might mean helping a brand choose depth over breadth, or showing how to be culturally present without being omnipresent. We use tools like attention metrics, platform-native thinking, and agile measurement, but we also apply good old-fashioned judgment. Just because you can be everywhere doesn’t mean you should.

What excites you most about the future of strategy and brand building?

The lines are blurring in the best way. Strategy used to be the domain of the deck. Now it lives in product, experience, even community design. The strategist of the future is part anthropologist, part systems thinker, part storyteller. That hybrid thinking opens new possibilities not just for how we sell, but how we serve.

If you could give one piece of advice to younger strategists entering the industry, what would it be?

Stay curious. Your value isn’t in having all the answers, it’s in asking better questions. Be generous with your thinking. Protect your creative partners. And remember: the best strategy doesn’t live in a PowerPoint it lives in the impact it makes.

With so many campaigns, channels, and markets, how does McCann manage its digital brand assets across teams and geographies?

We use a mix of global platforms, local guardians, and shared frameworks. We make sure every market knows what the brand stands for, while giving them room to localise execution in ways that make sense culturally. It’s a mix of tech, templates, and trust.

From uncovering cultural truths to shaping campaigns that resonate across markets, Jordan’s insights reveal that strategy is most powerful when it blends creativity, clarity, and consistency. The best brand strategies live at the intersection of truth, creativity, and consistency. The agencies and brands that win are those who stay authentic—and manage their assets with precision. That’s why tools like BrandLife are essential for modern marketing teams: they provide a single source of truth for campaigns, assets, and brand guidelines, ensuring every message is truth well told. Whether you’re building your first strategy or scaling a global brand presence, now is the time to invest in the systems that make brand storytelling seamless.

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