We’d describe ourselves at McCann Erickson as a team of enthusiasts for creating brand demand. And we are incredibly fortunate to have more than our fair share of superb talent. Ray Swan and Emma Sharkey are what we’d describe as true champions of big ideas.

They have done superb work at this agency across clients like Heineken and The National Cancer Screening Agency work for Cervical Check and they both continue to aspire to creating the biggest and best ideas possible. They already have the huge and well deserved recognition of the industry with ICAD and Kinsale Shark Awards.

So, we’ve appointed them to the position of Creative Group Heads. A nifty title that means not only do they get to champion their own ideas which they already do brilliantly, they also get to refine, direct and add value to other creative teams ideas. And the best part is, they love what they do. Congratulations.

We’re pretty adept at McCann at finding actionable consumer insight. We asked one of our current clients recently what McCann Erickson stood for in her mind and she told us we stand for ‘intellectual capital’. A nice compliment. It is not just the remit of strategic planning and everyone here, both creatively and on account management teams talk to consumers about brands regularly and support the total agency efforts in understanding both the barriers and drivers of demand. Finding someone to head up and lead brilliance in this area wasn’t easy, but when we found Emer Howard we found someone whose instinctive capability for insight and translating what consumers say into intelligent, brilliant and clear briefs for teams is a rare and unique talent.

Emer joins us as Executive Planning Director and previously ran her own agency in London and prior to that held senior roles at Rainey Kelly and McCann Erickson in London. We’re chuffed she has joined the team.

Sarah Maher, pictured with Emer Howard below, has been appointed Client Service Director and there is no-one better at leading clients, with focus, great communication and people skills. Both are genuine enthusiasts for the power of creativity and love what they do. It’s a privilege to have them both at the agency.