5 Minutes With… Megan McDonagh

Independent marketing agency, Wpromote appointed its first chief marketing officer in Megan McDonagh last year.

With over two decades worth of experience in technology marketing, Megan’s career took off on the cusp of the consumer technology boom at Intel, where she went on to spend 20 years leading teams across integrated product, partner marketing and brand strategy. The CMO role is one that Megan’s familiar with, having also held the position at enterprise SaaS startup Amperity, and global industrial wearable company RealWear, tasked with driving brand transformation, demand generation and product marketing innovation.

As Wpromote’s first CMO, Megan came into the role with a mindset that’s “more Silicon Valley than Madison Avenue,” prioritising agility, flexibility and a forward-facing approach to problem solving. In less than a year, she transformed the agency’s go-to-market strategy by embracing a “hybrid intelligence” approach, and continues to build Wpromote’s brand and reputation as a top-tier performance marketing agency.

Speaking with LBB’s Abi Lightfoot, Megan shares how her passion for marketing began, operating with a challenger mindset, and what’s on the horizon for Wpromote.

LBB> Megan, what were you like growing up, and at what point did you know that a career in marketing and advertising was right for you?

Megan> I grew up in a big, lively family – I’m the fifth of eight kids – so there was never a dull moment. I was always curious, constantly asking questions, and that curiosity still drives me today. It’s what ultimately led me to a career in marketing and advertising.

What cemented my passion for marketing was a hands-on experience in college. I had some incredible professors, but what really stuck with me was a marketing competition where we had to reinvent Saturn’s brand proposition. At the time, Saturn was a well-known car brand, and our challenge was to dive deep, figuring out the target audience, crafting the right messaging, and understanding what truly mattered to consumers. It was my first real taste of building a campaign from the ground up.

We didn’t win, but I was hooked. I realised marketing is basically a never-ending puzzle, which is perfect for someone who’s been endlessly curious and asking questions since childhood.

LBB> You’ve spent most of your career in the tech space. What drew you to this category initially, and what has kept you interested in it for so long?

Megan> When I graduated, the tech industry was taking off, and I landed at Intel, working on marketing strategy for cutting-edge products and solving problems consumers didn’t even know they had yet. One standout project was an Intel-branded web tablet, a full decade before the iPad, back when apps weren’t even a thing.

In tech, you’re always thinking years ahead, but the core marketing challenge stays the same: how do you get consumers to care about the problem your product solves? It sounds simple, but it’s one of the toughest – and most exciting – questions in marketing.

And when the market shifts, you have to pivot your strategy. Repositioning products, adapting messaging, and finding new ways to connect with consumers keeps the work dynamic and endlessly interesting.

LBB> As Wpromote’s first chief marketing officer, what were your first priorities and initial ambitions when you came into the role?

Megan> My top priority is figuring out how we, as a marketing agency, market ourselves. There’s an old Spanish proverb, “The cobbler’s kids have no shoes,” which might sound odd at first, but it perfectly applies here. Like many service-based agencies, we excel at building brands for our clients, but when it comes to our own, it’s a whole different challenge. How do we take what we do so well for others and apply it to ourselves? That’s the puzzle I’m always working to solve.

Another top priority for me is shifting perceptions in the market of who we are. Wpromote is known as a top-tier performance marketing agency, which we absolutely are, but we’re so much more than that. One of the things that I’m most excited about is evolving how people see our brand. Many clients don’t even realise we have a full creative arm, and changing that mindset is something I’m passionate about driving forward.

LBB> Your background in technology marketing has seen you transform Wpromote’s go-to-market strategy in less than a year. Can you tell us more about the transformation – what was the strategy initially, what does it look like now, and how has your background helped to do this?

Megan> Coming from the tech world, I learned the big question is always the same: “How do we integrate technology into people’s lives in a meaningful way?” At Wpromote, we’re tackling that question head-on by pioneering the use of AI – not to replace humans, but to enhance the way humans market to humans.

At the centre of this approach is what we call hybrid intelligence. It’s about embracing the technology at our fingertips to amplify human efforts, not override them. By combining the best of both, we’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in marketing while keeping the human element at the core of everything we do.

In a market where technology evolves in the blink of an eye, keeping up isn’t enough; you have to move with it.

LBB> Your mindset is “more Silicon Valley than Madison Avenue” – can you tell us more about this, and where it can be traced back to?

Megan> The “more Silicon Valley than Madison Avenue” mindset is truly grounded in agility. When you think of Silicon Valley, you think of people solving problems that don’t even exist yet. They’re always looking ahead, staying flexible, and adapting to whatever comes next.

That same forward-thinking mindset drives us. We’re not just planning for our own future, we’re anticipating what’s next for our clients, too. Our deep focus on technology wasn’t just a lucky break. It was a strategic decision, built on insight and the understanding that this is where the industry was headed.

LBB> Wpromote recently launched Polaris IQ Creative Audit, an AI-powered tool that predicts performance before ads even launch. Can you tell us more about this tool, and the other ways that you’re utilising AI at Wpromote?

Megan> Almost everything today happens on a screen. Short-form video has become the dominant way people engage with content, with platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts driving massive consumer attention. We’ve all seen how one viral moment can catapult an entire brand into the spotlight.

With video playing such a crucial role in marketing, the challenge isn’t just creating content, it’s making sure it actually performs. That’s where Creative Audit comes in. Instead of relying on trial and error or spending budget to test video performance, we’re giving brands the ability to predict success before investing a single dollar.

Creative Audit is an AI-powered tool we built alongside our tech partner, Google. It analyses uploaded videos and provides AI-driven recommendations tailored to each platform’s best practices, helping brands optimise content for maximum impact.

Future-focused thinking is in our DNA, which is why we developed Creative Audit before this even became a major challenge for clients. Now, with the tool fully embedded into our offering, brands can anticipate potential roadblocks and refine their strategy before they waste budget. It’s just one of the many ways we’re creating real value for our clients and staying at the forefront of innovation.

LBB> Honing in on the debate around brand vs performance marketing – what’s your take on the argument, and how does this present itself at Wpromote?

Megan> I don’t think there should be a debate around brand versus performance marketing – the conversation needs to be about brand and performance marketing. The two areas should be working in harmony to drive the most impact.

Performance marketing tends to be very transactional, and if you don’t have great brand marketing, the customer who sees that performance-based ad won’t truly care about your brand. Brand marketing that tells your business story creates engagement and care from the consumer. When you combine great brand marketing with great performance marketing, you can connect with the consumer at the right time and right place.

The two arms are working toward the same goal, so why have them work separately? Performance won’t create long-term impact, and brand often takes a long time to come to fruition, so why not have them work in tandem toward your goals?

LBB> Wpromote has a ‘challenger culture’, can you tell me more about this, and how your role as CMO helps to drive this forward?

Megan> Thinking differently, with a ‘challenger mindset’, is at the core of everything we do. It’s how we push our clients, how we challenge ourselves internally, and ultimately, how we drive better results.

The goal is simple: never settle for “this is how we’ve always done it.” Just because something worked before doesn’t mean it’s the best approach now. How can we improve? How can we solve this problem in a way that delivers even better outcomes?

This mindset fuels our innovation and keeps us focused on what’s next. We’re not just solving the problem in front of us, we’re looking ahead, anticipating challenges our clients may not even see coming. Of course, solving for the present is important, but delivering real, long-term value means staying ahead of the curve and preparing for what’s next before it even arrives.

LBB> Looking at B2B marketing specifically, how important is it to clearly define your brand narratives, and why?

Megan> In the B2B marketing space, defining your brand narratives is paramount. The average person processes around 74GB a day – which is insane – so it’s impossible to retain it all.

It’s important to be honest with yourself and ask, “What do we stand for?” In today’s ruthless competitive landscape, clarity is everything. When you define your strengths and unique positioning, you can sharpen your messaging and make a real impact. Without a clear narrative, it’s almost impossible to break through the noise.

LBB> Have you had any mentors throughout your career, and what advice have they shared with you that you continue to come back to?

Megan> Throughout my career, I’ve had incredible mentors, each teaching me something different. But the one lesson they all reinforced was the power of listening.

One piece of advice that has always stuck with me is, “Have big ears and a little mouth.”

When you take the time to truly listen, you get past surface-level challenges and uncover the real problem that needs solving. More often than not, what someone thinks is the issue is just a symptom of something bigger. By focusing more on understanding than responding, you give yourself the best chance to offer real solutions. And at the end of the day, that’s why people come to you in the first place.

LBB> What’s next on the horizon for yourself and Wpromote?

Megan> At Wpromote, we are in building mode – we always are. We’re always thinking about the challenges brand-side CMOs are facing and, more importantly, how we can be the right partner to help them navigate those challenges.

That’s why we’ve strengthened our creative and strategy teams – not just to keep up, but to stay ahead. We’re anticipating the roadblocks CMOs are running into now and the ones they’ll face down the line, making the right moves today to solve tomorrow’s problems.

One thing that stuck with me from my time at Intel is the mantra “Only the paranoid survive.” You have to keep innovating, keep future-proofing, and never get too comfortable. That’s exactly why our challenger mindset is so important. It keeps us pushing forward, questioning the status quo, and ensuring our clients are always one step ahead.

Big picture, I want to see a shift in how brands and agencies collaborate. Too often, you hear stories about brands frustrated with their agencies and agencies venting about difficult clients. But at the end of the day, we’re all working toward the same goal, so why not approach it as true partners?

When brands and agencies operate as an extension of each other rather than on opposite sides, the work gets better, the results are stronger, and everyone wins. It’s not about pointing fingers, it’s about finding better ways to work together.