Interview with: Lisa Ronson, Chief Marketing Officer, Tourism Australia

1. Interview with: Lisa Ronson, Chief
Marketing Officer, Tourism Australia
“Be brave, be creative and focus on the
customer and what truly motivates
them,” advises Lisa Ronson, Chief
Marketing Officer, Tourism Australia.
Tourism Australia made some funda-
mental changes to its Marketing
strategy to reach its audience. “Our
revised target audience is based on
attitudes and behaviours, as opposed to
demographics, as that allows us to
better predict future consumer
behaviours,” she adds.
Ronson is a keynote speaker at the
marcus evans CMO Summit 2018,
taking place in Gold Coast, 20 - 22
August.
How is the marketing function in
Australia changing? What is
Tourism Australia doing to remain
competitive?
We have made some fundamental
changes to our Marketing strategy –
including our brand architecture/brand
personality, our target audience
globally, our key market prioritisation
and our philosophy of doing fewer,
bigger, bolder initiatives that have
resonance and cut-through with our new
global target audience.
We have moved to including a lot more
of the Australian personality in all of our
marketing communications instead of
focusing on core pillars alone (e.g. food
and wine, aquatic and coastal, nature
and wildlife) to truly differentiate
ourselves from our competition.
Our revised target audience is based
on attitudes and behaviours, as opposed
to demographics, as that allows us to
better predict future consumer
behaviours. We now focus on the high-
value traveller – those consumers that
spend more in the Australian economy
because they prioritise holidays, have
affinity of what we have to offer and
stay longer.
How could the marketing workforce
prepare for these changes?
I thoroughly believe in diverse
workforces, and this is becoming
increasingly important as we move to
more agile ways of working to manage
fewer and larger projects. Recruiting the
team from a diverse range of industries
and backgrounds provides much more
diversity of opinion, and will always lead
to better debate and decision-making.
What helps create meaningful
connections with audiences? What
are customers looking for?
The best way to connect with audiences
is emotional engagement. This has been
an enduring truth of marketing.
Consumers do not hate advertising,
they hate bad advertising. Creativity
and emotional engagement are the
fundamentals of behavioural science
and it has been proven time and time
again that emotional connections deliver
better sales results.
What culture and workforce is
required to make such meaningful
connections? How can CMOs set it
up?
A workforce that is united and willing to
be brave. CMOs can set this up by
giving everyone in the team a voice,
rather than being based on hierarchy.
Communicate with each other more and
break down any silos that may exist
between teams.
How can CMOs make sure market-
ing messages resonate with the
right audience?
They need to ensure that there is a
focus on the problem that they are
trying to solve for the consumer,
simplify the messaging and ensure that
all components of the campaign are
working together – from the emotional
“halo” through to the retail execution.
Do not make it hard for the customer to
buy your message or your products,
experiences and services.
What is the brand building strategy
behind the Crocodile Dundee for
Super Bowl campaign? What
valuable lessons can you share with
other CMOs?
The strategy started with the target
audience – the Super Bowl platform
highly indexes on the high-value
traveller. We then went about develop-
ing a creative idea that would really cut
through and anchor in what the
American audience knew of Australia
but moving into the contemporary
Australian Tourism experience. It was
very much focused on solving the
problem of moving Australia from a
once-in-a-lifetime “bucket list”
destination to encouraging them to
come now, which is why a critical part of
the campaign was working with key
partners, such as Qantas and key travel
agents, to convert off-the-cut thought
and desire generated by the teasers and
the Super Bowl spot and the subsequent
content series.
Workforce
diversity is
becoming
increasingly
important
Reshaping Marketing Strategies
to Support a New Brand Vision

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About the CMO Summit 2018
The CMO Summit is the premium forum bringing elite buyers and sellers together.
The Summit offers chief marketing executives and agencies and consultants an
intimate environment for a focused discussion of the key new drivers shaping the
marketing agenda. Taking place at the RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast,
Queensland, Australia, 20 - 22 August, the Summit includes presentations on
forecasting the future of brand and digital, effectively understanding and deriving
insights from data according to specific marketing strategies, strengthening
customer relationships and engagement, and stretching the marketing dollar.
www.cmoanzsummit.com
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