Susan Coghill

This week we travelled home and away to catch Tourism Australia’s Chief Marketing Officer, Susan Coghill.

Using the power of creativity to build brands, drive business, and shape culture, Susan is a proper marketer tasked with tempting tourists to the land of kangaroos and Kylie.

And we were lucky, lucky, lucky enough to talk to her on a ton of topics, including her first job at a retirement home, working with Steve Jobs, understanding context, creativity in service of commercial outcomes, brand codes as a mental shortcut, testing, Come and Say G’Day, silencing critics, creating something distinctly and uniquely Australian, managing 27 million stakeholders, and a whole lot more. If it’s a celebration of proper marketing you want, then pour this into your lug holes.

Follow Susan on LinkedIn

And check out Come and Say G’Day

Timestamps

(02:08) - Quick fire questions

(03:17) - First jobs, what she learnt working in a retirement home, and getting into ad land

(08:12) - Being a part of Apple’s Think Different campaign and what Steve Jobs asked her opinion on

(13:00) - Account management, being a creative enabler, and what set her up for success client side

(18:14) - Speaking the language of the boardroom and Ritson’s Mini MBA

(20:49) - A deep dive into Tourism Australia’s Come and Say G’day campaign

(25:55) - Using research and brand codes to create something distinctly and uniquely Australian

(32:26) - Testing in Australia and beyond with System 1

(39:52) - Listener questions

(47:41) - 4 pertinent posers