Instinct is a Brand consultancy and marketing communications firm that supports organizations to remove ownership of Brand from the marketing department and put it in its rightful place at the heart of the organization, led with unwavering consistency by the CEO or as we like to call them, Chief Brand Officer. We take a lean towards female-led businesses or those championing women because we believe in supporting women in breaking down the remaining barriers to ultimate business success.  Today many of the most inspiring Brand stories come from leaders who happen to be female and are harnessing feminine leadership qualities that equate to commercial and purposeful success. And we’re here for it.  

Instinct is led by Brand, PR and marketing specialist Megan Matthews who spent 18 years agency side in Toronto, New York and London before Instinct.  Our Brand Foundation model is built on our ‘thought founder’ Ted Matthews’ approach to Brand and his steadfast belief that ‘the Brand is what people think of it.’  

Instinct is not an agency, but a consultancy led by leading Brand strategist and publicist Megan Matthews with a trusted network of freelancers who are partnered to create a bespoke team based on client needs. Our Instinct network is cultivated on a shared vision and understanding of Brand, with a desire to tell Brand stories to spark change in the world, whether this be opportunities for women and minorities, or saving our planet. We operate with business in the UK, US and Canada and bring global expertise and understanding to our work.  

Co-Founder, Brand & PR Strategist 

Megan has an inherent ability to suss out the heart of a Brand’s story. 

It’s this Instinct-led approach, paired with twenty years of global experience as a PR and marketing communications executive, an astute understanding of the ever-changing digital marketing and social media landscape and a genuine love of Brand storytelling, that makes her expertise highly sought-after. 

Whether working with an emerging company or an established Brand, Megan specialises in helping to articulate and define that Brand, ensuring Brand distinctiveness. Her years of experience as an executive team leader has helped countless company managers, directors and CEOs find their own passion in Brand-building and become advocates of Megan’s straightforward Rules & Tools, the fundamental pillars of ultimate success.

Offering more than Brand clarity and purpose, and PR capabilities, Megan has honed her extensive skill set in crisis and reactive communications, executive profile building, social media marketing, influencer management, media coaching, brand partnerships and event management on a global scale, working both in-house and in-agency in London, New York and Toronto. 

Having worked with the some of the biggest names in beauty, wellness, travel, fashion and technology at an SVP and Director level (HL Group, Edelman, M&C Saatchi TALK), Megan is renowned for inspiring those around her and her passion and creativity in developing tailor-made strategies for companies of all sizes and stages. Clients have ranged from industry giants, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson and Hilton Luxury Hotels to beauty and fashion heavyweights Charlotte Tilbury and Diane von Furstenberg, UK-based sustainable tech start-up Bagboard and Europe’s leading mental health clinic for women, the Recover Clinic. 

In 2018, Megan took over Instinct, the Brand consultancy founded by her entrepreneurial father and Canadian industry heavyweight, Ted Matthews. As owner, Brand coach and now, entrepreneur herself, Megan’s exceptional skill set upholds and builds upon the values Instinct was founded upon, ensuring all bases are covered when it comes to your Brand.

Megan currently resides in Toronto with her husband and can be found in Australia visiting her in-laws, and when not strategising for Instinct clients, dreaming, and planning travel adventures, or enjoying the simple pleasures that come with having two young children. 

Thought Founder

Ted Matthews may have persuaded adidas to bring back their Three Stripes and convinced Energizer not to kill the bunny, but as the original Brand coach, he is known for pushing his readers, his audiences and his clients to understand that a Brand is not just a logo, the website or advertising.

Instead, a Brand is what people think of you. As an entrepreneur, Ted built Promanad Communications in Toronto into an 80-person firm that, over a span of 30 years, served an extensive list of blue-chip clients. When it became clear to him that most professionals operate as if a Brand really is just a logo, he sold Promanad and founded Instinct Brand Coaches.

Drawing on his own experience as a CEO, Ted’s dogged execution of the Instinct mission — to challenge and support leaders to maximize the potential within their Brands — has spurred some of the most successful Brand evolutions in North America. He has been an integral force behind the Brand- building efforts of Canadian organizations such as, Oxford Properties, Morneau Shepell, AtlasCare, Quadrangle, Revera, KingSett Capital, Advocis, IAMGOLD, PICKSEED, Investment Planning Counsel, Steam Whistle Breweries, ornge and Street Kids International.

For his pearls of wisdom and famously entertaining style, Ted became a sought-after speaker for business schools, corporations and professional associations. Helping lay the groundwork for future Branding excellence and building from his 18-year involvement with the Young Presidents’ Organization, he also makes time to coach and mentor young entrepreneurs.

While Ted Brands himself a master woodworker, his wife Marsha is more likely to call it “making sawdust.” Now retired, the two live between their forested property in Muskoka and a soon-to-be modern home in Port Credit, Ontario. 

Since the Brand is what people think of it, our Instinct network of freelance professionals match our values and attention to excellence, maintaining consistency of the Instinct-led approach to Brand and PR.

Our freelance network is made up of former colleagues, trusted recommendations, and those with a proven track record for achieving client objectives, The network spans from Toronto, Vancouver, LA, NY, Milan, London and beyond, bringing globally relevant experience. Operating as one cohesive team, Instinct offers expertise tailored to your objectives.   Should you be interested in joining the Instinct network of freelancers, please get in touch.