Dave McCaughan
Dave McCaughan helps brands discover and build meaningful stories that connect deeply with people.
Why book Dave McCaughan for your next event
- Learn from a master storyteller who shaped iconic campaigns like MasterCard’s “Priceless.”
- Gain insight into how brands like L’Oréal, Coca-Cola and Tesla connect through authentic stories.
- Discover how consumer behaviour and AI intersect in modern brand strategy.
Non-binding request for Dave McCaughan
Brand storyteller, strategist and marketing thought leader with 30+ years of experience across Asia.
Dave McCaughan is a seasoned storyteller and brand strategist who has spent more than three decades shaping how brands communicate across Asia. Originally from Sydney, he has built a global career helping companies understand what truly matters to their audiences and how to turn that understanding into powerful brand stories. From leading McCann’s strategy teams across Asia to founding his own consultancy, BIBLIOSEXUAL, Dave has guided some of the world’s most recognised brands. Known for his engaging storytelling and deep cultural insights, he’s shared his expertise at more than 800 events in over 25 countries.
From Sydney beginnings to global influence
Dave McCaughan’s path to becoming one of the most respected voices in brand storytelling is anything but ordinary. He began his career as a children’s librarian, followed by a short stint as a butler, experiences that shaped his curiosity about people and the stories that move them. In 1986, he joined McCann in Sydney, marking the start of a remarkable journey in the world of advertising and strategy.
At McCann, Dave established the strategy planning discipline in Australia and pioneered new market research approaches that helped brands understand consumers in a deeper way. His success soon took him across Asia, where he spent the next 19 years living and working in Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Japan.
Shaping brand storytelling across Asia
During his time at McCann, Dave became a leading figure in brand strategy throughout the region. He built Asia’s longest-running qualitative market research platform and led strategy development for major global clients including Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson. Among his many achievements, Dave was part of the team behind MasterCard’s iconic “Priceless” campaign, one of the most celebrated and enduring brand platforms in history.
His work also included developing Darlie’s top-selling toothpaste brand in Asia and guiding L’Oréal’s advertising and strategy efforts across the region for more than a decade. Dave’s talent lies in helping brands find their voice, crafting stories that connect emotionally and culturally with audiences.
The birth of BIBLIOSEXUAL
In 2015, Dave founded BIBLIOSEXUAL, a consultancy that explores the relationship between people, stories, and brands. The name reflects his belief that people are naturally drawn to narratives, that brands, like books, need compelling stories to build lasting relationships. Through BIBLIOSEXUAL, Dave helps global companies identify the themes and messages that resonate most deeply with their audiences.
His work spans industries and continents, guiding brands such as Shiseido, Tesla, Uber, Toyota, and Australian Wool in building authentic, story-driven strategies.
Merging storytelling with technology
A passionate innovator, Dave has long explored how technology and artificial intelligence can enhance storytelling. For over a decade, he has integrated AI tools into his research and strategy development, using them to uncover insights about human behaviour and consumer motivation. His unique blend of human understanding and technological curiosity positions him at the forefront of modern brand communication.
A global speaker and cultural observer
Based in Bangkok, Dave continues to share his insights around the world. He has spoken at more than 800 events in over 25 countries, offering audiences a rich perspective on how culture, psychology, and technology shape the way brands communicate. His presentations are lively, thought-provoking, and filled with stories drawn from decades of first-hand experience in the field.
Book Dave McCaughan for your event
Booking Dave McCaughan means giving your audience the chance to learn from one of the most experienced brand thinkers in the world. He delivers talks that inspire leaders to rethink how they approach storytelling, strategy, and the connection between brands and people. Whether your event focuses on marketing innovation, consumer behaviour, or the future of branding, Dave brings clarity, inspiration, and a wealth of real-world examples that resonate across industries.
Keynotes
Keynote by Dave McCaughan:
WHAT MATTERS TO PEOPLE
How successful brands build their story based on understand what matters to people, not what matters to the company and how this means thinking about people and not using terms like "consumers, customers, client", what Dave calls the evil "C" words. Dave takes the audience through the elements of deciding on what people prioritise, the role of discovering what emotion to leverage, how to use market research to get to the right ideas. he uses cases drawn from a wide range of categories and countries around the world and will always pull together examples relevant to the client.
Keynote by Dave McCaughan:
#LIFESTAGESNOTGENERATIONS
The idea of generational segmentation is based on the myth of Generation X , the book. Based on a discussion Dave had with author of that novel not long after it's success Dave has always challenged the idea of generational differences as always being no more than tactical and instead has worked with clients to understand and use a lifestage approach.
In this session he describes the 5 lifestages we all pass through and that all brands attraction is really based upon. examples from across categories, and within companies and tips on how to re-adjust to match each lifestage and then use simple tactical differences that happen between decades.
Keynote by Dave McCaughan:
NEW LIFE BUILDERS ARE YOUR FUTURE
Having studied ageing populations since 1988 Dave helps companies rethink the worlds ageing , and shrinking, populations as the immediate and further future and how to rethink people 60 to 80+ as their real target for growth. he draws on examples and experience from J&J, Shiseido, Disney to Cathay Pacific and many other categories. While the world might focus on Japan or Italy to think of ageing demographics dave also uses data and cases from "young" populations like Indonesia, India to highlight that rethinking this important lifestage is the future for all governments, companies and brands.
Keynote by Dave McCaughan:
THE HISTORY OF MEN'S UNDERWEAR
Dave's most popular key note is a fun walk through hundreds of years of product development that both helps understand why men are wearing the underpants they have on today ( or not ) but also uses that category to illustrate three key points of interest all companies : that there is not such thing as a low interest category, that all categories really grow when companies take advantage of trends outside their category and not from internal development, and what matters to people is to be unique but in a safe way.
Keynote by Dave McCaughan:
STICKIER BUSINESS STORIES
A keynote or workshop where Dave takes the audience through the practice of building a story in any business situation, how to make it more interesting or as he says , more sticky. He uses a combination of storytelling theory and case histories along with how to use tools like LLMs to get to the right story. He then explains a simple worksheet formula to build a story, discover where to focus to gain stickiness and how to reassess. these sessions are full of examples from history, popular culture and brand activity. He has run workshops on the subject for audiences as brand as public librarians groups in melbourne, J&J's asia team for IT development, gut health industry conferences and for 2,400 Tata Consulting Group consultants.
The Campaign for Real Qual: We Need to Talk about Discussion Guides
Watch Dave McCaughan in action!
