Raymund McManus

Overview: Senior agency lead across EMEA for Universal Pictures, overseeing trade marketing strategy, campaign execution and stakeholder engagement across major cinema chains.

• Drove creative and commercial success for global titles including Oppenheimer, Super Mario, Kung Fu Panda, Minions, Despicable Me and Wicked.
• Primary client lead for Universal’s senior marketing team – advising on EMEA strategy, driving bold, culturally relevant campaigns, and overseeing planning, creative approvals and global alignment.
• Managed a multi-disciplinary team and external agencies, delivering end-to-end campaign assets, promotional mechanics, and partnership activations across key territories.
• Negotiated strategic trailer and content placements across cinema partners to amplify campaign reach.
• Built and launched a horror genre loyalty strategy, uniting franchises to maximise momentum and engagement.
• Partnered with third-party agencies to develop AR, gamified content, and exclusive digital giveaways.
• Owned regional partnership deal flow – from negotiation and drafting to execution across EMEA cinema operators.
• Led EMEA Marketing & Brand team, managing senior internal stakeholders and key partner relationships.
• Collaborated with Universal Studio execs in LA to align international strategy with global priorities.

Overview: Led the strategic development and execution of EMEA film marketing partnerships for major studios including Disney, Sony, Warner Bros. and Universal, driving impactful campaigns that align with the business and studio goals

• Senior agency lead across EMEA for Universal Pictures, overseeing trade marketing strategy, campaign execution and stakeholder engagement across major cinema chains
• Led the strategic development and execution of EMEA film marketing partnerships for major studios including Disney, Sony, Warner Bros., and Universal, delivering high-impact campaigns that aligned with both business objectives and studio goals
• Managed a high-performing team to create tailored campaigns, messaging, digital content, and promotions.
• Coordinated seamlessly between internal teams (Group Commercial, Territory Marketing Directors, F&B Director) and studio branding teams to optimize campaign execution and ensure alignment across all channels
• Directed multi-territory partnership agreements for major studio releases, collaborating with top-tier brand partners such as IMAX, Dolby, Real-D, Monster, and Coca-Cola to maximise marketing reach and impact
• Fostered strong relationships with key internal stakeholders, including the Group Head of Commercial, Territory Heads of Marketing, and Procurement to ensure smooth and effective delivery of contractual obligations

Overview: Part of Hammerson’s senior leadership team, ownership of £3M marketing event budget to lead and develop our event & commercial strategy across 21 shopping destinations with 4,700 retail tenants and over 300 million annual visitors.

• Led the marketing events strategy programme across UK, Ireland and France, gaining senior buy-in and challenging the norm.
• Developed and communicate the marketing event strategy at regional level and advise on local delivery.
• Recommended and implement the financial event strategy with a supporting operational and commercial model.
• Budget ownership of £3M, responsible for business planning, managing key stakeholder relationships, new idea generation and cross functional team management of 40 colleagues.
• Agency management including creative development, digital, media and event production.

Overview: Led the creation, development, and execution of marketing events, cultural activations, and commercial partnerships at Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City, managing a £10 million annual budget.

• Built brand awareness and positioned Westfield as an iconic retail destination and community hub over 7 years.
• Oversaw large-scale marketing and event campaigns, including Summer, Christmas, seasonal promotions, film premieres, and high-profile Christmas light switch-ons featuring Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Justin Bieber.
• Collaborated with Brand, Marketing, and Operations teams to create and execute commercial partnerships, achieving a £1.2M annual income target with brands such as Adidas, Disney, Huawei, Infiniti, and Samsung.
• Developed and implemented the music, arts, and culture marketing strategy, nurturing community relationships, securing PR-driven artists, and boosting footfall and sales.
• Project-managed the event launch for 11 Westfield sites across Europe, handling a £4M budget.
• Managed organic local social media channels, driving awareness and engagement through, content creation, posting, boosting, and creative development.
• Led the development of the Sennheiser brand partnership campaign, a global live-streamed music festival with over 80 artists as part of a 3-year deal.
• Managed financial operations, including project budgeting, forecasting, reconciliation, tracking, and P&L analysis.

Overview: Led the strategic planning and marketing of national event activations to maximize brand association with the London 2012 Paralympic Games across Divisional Reps, Group Marketing Brand and our agencies.

• Maximise profile and leverage of the Paralympic Games rights cross existing customer and employee activations, plan and create new marketing activations, grow brand awareness and exposure.
• Creation, production and management of bespoke communications, content, social media and in-brand POS.
• Protect the Group against Ambush Marketing before and during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• Support and flag issues with proposed marketing or activities and ensure the London 2012 sponsorship branding is consistency maintained and correctly interpreted.
• Day to day management of our relationship with LOCOG and the Ambush Marketing team.

Overview: Led the creation and delivery of Esprit’s ‘Big Bang’ – a global retail campaign and live press activation supporting SOS Children’s Village orphanage in Mumbai.

• Managed a team of 40 and a £4M budget to deliver a high-impact campaign spanning brand purpose, celebrity talent and global retail engagement.
• Client lead for Esprit, managing daily comms and international senior stakeholder alignment.
• Led the global campaign delivery across 583 stores, activating talent and influencer partnerships.
• Oversaw all marketing and activations – campaign identity, print, digital, PR, comms platforms and KPI’s.
• Delivered end-to-end production of the SOS Children’s Village launch in Alibaug, Mumbai, managing live press coverage, celebrity talent, performances, filming, logistics and the creation of the global press toolkit.

Overview: Account lead for Diageo’s music sponsorships and activations, including Smirnoff Red's ‘Be There’ campaign, Warehouse Project, and Ketel One’s ‘Spirit of Film’ activation.

• Primary client contact for Diageo, managing Smirnoff and Ketel One accounts, developing marketing and event strategies targeting 18-30-year-olds with a passion for music, culture, and film, ensuring brand relevance, audience engagement and social reach.
• Led Smirnoff’s Shopper Marketing campaigns from concept to execution, delivering results-driven activations.
• Managed a team of account managers, overseeing budgets, timelines, client communications, and ensuring smooth day-to-day operations.
• Negotiated sponsorship rights and partnership terms – securing branding, content access, talent engagements, and online amplification across key events.

Overview: Account directed Ford’s sponsorships including UEFA Champions League, World Rally Championships, Pride London, James Bond and Mela.

• Led Ford’s sponsorship of UEFA Champions League Finals in Istanbul, Paris, Athens & Moscow, including all marketing and communications, 5-day festival, VIP gala dinner, hospitality and governing relationships.
• Gatekeeper for all UEFA branding, communicate sponsorship rights and input on events and activations.
• Responsible for the sponsorship, creative integration and event activation of James Bond, World Rally Championship, Goodwood, Pride London and Asia Arts Festival; Mela.
• Build, strengthen and sustain key client and stakeholder relationships at senior management and board level.
• Thorough understanding of sponsor rights, event production and budget management.