Leadership News, Features, and Interviews

Growing emphasis on soft skills, empathy and team resiliency, along with better data and customer behavioural insight, are just some of the ways modern marketing leaders are looking to strengthen the commercial muscle of their functions right now.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented global event, causing huge uncertainty, economic hardship and shutdowns across the world. In a time of crisis, organisations have little option but to respond. Innovation suddenly becomes a means of survival rather than an optional extra. Four marketing chiefs explain what it’s been like to innovate during a crisis.

TPG has launched felix, Australia’s first telco brand to be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy. felix, which is also certified carbon neutral and digital-only, will go live over coming weeks. TPG Telecom CEO, Iñaki Berroeta, said the model is the way of the future.

There’s no doubt marketing leadership has undergone massive transformation over the last 5-10 years with the rise of marketing technology, data and digitally driven marketing tools and insights, a push to personalise and be more customer experience-led, and more. So what does it take to ensure you remain a future-fit CMO?

Australian forex broker, Pepperstone, has appointed Sportsbet’s former data products leader, Tony Gruebner, as its chief marketing officer.

Celebrating its centenary, Qantas has marked 100 years since it was founded as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services in the Australian outback. It comes in a year when the iconic airline has been grounded because of the global coronavirus pandemic.

At this week’s CMO Momentum virtual conference, four marketing chiefs from areas as varied as the university sector, airlines and real estate shared their insights and experience on working in an agile way in the marketing remit.

Fiverr is doubling down on its marketing spend in Australia with the rollout of its first ever national TV and BVOD campaign in Australia. The local launch is an extension of Fiverr’s global ‘It Starts Here’ brand campaign announced in September, which provided a glimpse of the challenges and triumphs of small businesses, while showcasing the impact Fiverr has created in local communities.

Insurance business, DUAL, tapped video to promote mental health awareness, celebrate events, brief staff and stakeholders and keep its unique internal culture alive during the coronavirus lockdown.

A rebrand, retail network expansion and digital acceleration are all firmly in the sights of KYHA Studios recently installed CEO and former Tabcorp and William Hill marketing chief, Claire Murphy.

It’s just a week until our CMO Momentum 2020 virtual event debuts, and we’re delighted to confirm our final tranche of brilliant speakers in our line-up!

The ABC’s director of audiences, Leisa Bacon, has taken the number spot in this year’s CMO50 list among a list of familiar and new faces in the top 10 this year.

The battle lines between creative, brand-led marketing and CX, data-driven marketing have been drawn for some time and were in the spotlight during this year’s CMO50 judging.

At its most basic, innovation is the introduction of something new. And in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the process of innovating has flourished across Australian marketing and customer teams as they strive to keep up with the rapidly evolving crisis and its impact on customers, business models and market dynamics. CMO caught up with five marketing leaders from the 2019 CMO50 list of Australia’s most innovative and effective marketing leaders to find out more.

​It’s a process Maria Robinson has applied to every new role she’s held as a marketer since cutting her teeth in the dotcom era: The no-fly zone. And it’s one that’s particularly useful when you’re the first CMO appointed to a company like Nitro, looking to ride the rapid growth opportunity presented by COVID-19.

​Brand-led advertising is firmly on the agenda for the Allianz A/NZ team after the local business became a pilot market for the group’s global brand transformation.

McDonald’s Australia has appointed Chris Brown as VP and CMO for the iconic fast food business. With over 23 years’ experience leading creative and digital agencies in Australia and overseas, Chris will join the McDonald’s Australia senior leadership team, reporting directly to CEO, Andrew Gregory.

Every marketing leader is endeavouring to transform their marketing organisation to be more customer-led. But what does it really take to disrupt your approach to achieve success?Mastercard global CMO, Raja Rajamannar, has done just that, and he’s going to share his very valuable insights at this year’s CMO Momentum conference, reimagined as a virtual event and taking place 11-12 November 2020.

CMOs will need to drive customer obsession within their firms, rather than simply guiding ad procurement and promotions, according to Forrester’s 2021 prediction. This means marketing teams will need to put the customer at the center of everything they do, including leadership, strategy and operations.

Nick Adams’ remit upon joining Allianz as its marketing chief seems clear enough: Help drive growth, lift the insurance brand’s consumer business strength, and get the customer firmly on the agenda.

iSelect has promoted its chief marketing officer, Warren Hebard, to the top job after an external and internal executive search.