“When we talk about closeness, it’s not just about friendship and it’s not just about spending time together,” says McDonald’s UK&I marketing director Matt Reischauer, as he discussed the brand’s relationship with long-time agency partner Leo Burnett at the Festival of Marketing in London.

Having moved over from the fast-food giant’s US business in 2023, Reischauer had the rare opportunity to not only bring to life its 50th birthday in the UK this year but also celebrate 40 years of its partnership with Leo Burnett. Unsurprisingly, he’s already learned a huge amount about what makes a client-agency relationship stand the test of time.

“Our teams really share what’s going on with each other,” he says. “What’s going on in business, what data is keeping us up at night, what our franchisees are thinking, what our suppliers are thinking, what’s going on in the supply chain. It is that vulnerable closeness that I think has really helped us unlock a lot of potential.”