Leadership News, Features, and Interviews

Westfield A/NZ’s new visual identity and digital platform relaunch represents a small part of a much wider change in strategy at the Scentre Group business aimed at becoming a more customer-led organisation, its customer experience leader says.

Marketing teams that don’t align on customer throughout the planning, launch and optimisation of brand campaigns are missing out on the opportunity to drive better experiences and engagement.

​Ex-Caltex marketing director, Natasha Daly, has been appointed marketing director of ride sharing platform, Ola.

​The Marketing Academy (TMA) has launched an Alumni Program, with insurance giant, IAG, as its founding partner.

Notable agency and media leader, John Sintras, has re-emerged in Australia as chief audience and content officer for SBS.

The CMO role has expanded to encompass a broader set of requirements, particularly around digital marketing, social media and martech, as campaigns and CX shift to being more personalised and measurable. As a result, marketing leaders have become all things to all people, says Stephen Byrne, CMO of Targus.

Rapid technological change and innovation is seeing demand rise for hard-to-hire skills sets in marketing, particularly around technology. But marketers equally need to ensure humanity if they’re to build sustainable brands and growth.

GM Holden has confirmed its New Zealand managing director will take up the A/NZ marketing reins following the departure of Mark Harland from the automotive business.

Australian craft beer player, Gage Roads Brewing, has recruited former Little Creatures marketing and creative director as its new national marketing leader.

Are Australian marketers increasingly spending more money on technology? Do most CMOs now have responsibility for the CX and digital strategies of their organisation? And just how much pressure are we all under to prove marketing’s worth?

Janine Allis never set out to become one of the most recognised faces in Australian business. It was more just a matter of necessity.

Consumers feeling disengaged from super funds has led Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (REST) Industry Super to launch a new brand, now to be known as Rest.

Teresa Sperti has had a busy year. As the first ever CMO of World Vision Australia, she has hit the ground running, focusing on bringing a consumer customer experience perspective to the global charity through a combination of martech, data and analytics and marketing smarts.

​Samsung Electronics has brought on former agency chief and regional marketing officer, Josh Grace, as its new CMO in Australia.

​There’s no alternative for leaders looking to transform their businesses than to roll up their sleeves and try to understand the implications of new dynamics and technologies on their industries.

​If a customer experience is full of frustration, then it’s probably time to disrupt it, Richard Branson says. And to achieve that, you’d better be paying attention to detail.

​Changing culture across the marketing team is the hardest thing Coca-Cola has to tackle as it transforms the enterprise for the digital era, its chief digital officer says.

In a coup for eBay, long-time AMEX innovator, Julie Nestor, has been appointed to CMO of eBay, replacing Tim MacKinnon, who was promoted to managing director last year.

In a further challenge to the Google and Facebook duopoly, Oath today announced it will take full control of Yahoo7 by acquiring Seven West Media’s 50 per cent stake in the business.

Modernising technology architecture and talent amplification are the two biggest macro challenges facing brands looking to make experience the cornerstone of their corporate strategy, Adobe’s executive VP of digital marketing, Brad Rencher, says.

The ‘expectation gap’ between companies and consumers has widened, with marketers rating themselves more than twice as high (106 per cent) as consumers in delivering great customer experiences (CX).