ADMA Spotlight: NAB's Thomas Dobson

In this month’s ADMA Spotlight, we talk to Thomas Dobson, acting CMO of NAB, about his diverse career journey, his passion for lifelong learning and how NAB stays ahead in a rapidly changing marketing landscape.
 
To start off, can you tell us a little about your career to date?
 
I enjoyed university for as long as I possibly could. I was looking for a graduate career that had the creativity of advertising, the international outlook of diplomacy and the data of actuarial study, so I ended up being a consultant (a cliché I know). I worked for a global firm based in Australia, which allowed me to travel all around Asia and gain exposure to industries including media, aviation and FMCG.
 
Later, I followed several good friends to NAB. That was 18 years ago. I was originally in a transformation and business efficiency role and then – thanks to a serendipitous suggestion to meet someone over coffee – I was offered an opportunity to follow my passion. I’d already completed an MBA and loved the consumer behaviour and strategic marketing subjects, so now I was part of a dynamic team of great marketers.
 
It was fascinating to work on marketing in the business bank because the B2B space had such strength from a customer relationship angle. From there, I had a few different marketing roles across data management, performance analytics, sponsorships and agency partnerships.  Along the way, the teams I worked with all contributed to major cross-functional transformation initiatives within the bank. There is never a dull moment.
 
In my marketing teams, we’ve sought to deepen connections with customers, innovate to stay ahead and maintain market leadership. Since I’ve been acting in the CMO role I’ve had to make informed decisions that balance the needs for delivery velocity and risk management. We are also focused on simplifying processes so it’s important to ask “Why?” a lot until we get to the root cause of why we do things the way we do sometimes.
 
The work I do in the not-for-profit sector is also a big part of my career. It's not an adjacent, nice-to-do thing, I see it as a critical component of not only giving back, but learning. Right now, I'm a board member of a well-established social enterprise in the sustainability space. I think some of the best learning experiences come from the work we can all do in community organisations: passionate teams, limited budgets, creative outcomes. So, I've got the best of both worlds. 
 
What have been a few of your professional highlights along the journey?
 
A definite highlight has been spending extended time overseas early in my career, either studying or working. I’ve worked in India and Malaysia for extended periods and studied in the UK and France. These experiences have taught me key lessons in understanding people's different points of view, bridging language and culture barriers, and shaping markets through these differences. 
 
Another noteworthy highlight has obviously been riding the wave of interest and excitement in the growth of women’s sport. NAB has backed participation at grassroots level for years but really doubled down in 2017 as inaugural naming rights partner of the new AFL women’s competition. The content we’ve produced for media integrations that showcase the inspiring stories and elite female talent appeals to audiences and drives really positive NPS metrics too.
 
How important is maintaining and growing your marketing skill set in today’s marketing environment? How do you approach this for you and your team? 
 
It is probably the story of my life. I took a big risk to do an MBA. I stepped out of full-time work and went overseas to do it because I was invested in progressing and learning. The real opportunity cost was even more evident in many inspiring classmates for whom the sacrifice and commitment were far greater than my own. The motivation and gratitude I felt fuelled the desire to contribute 110% to group work and making the most of every day there.
 
For NAB’s marketing team, we've offered Mark Ritson’s mini-MBA program, and I’ve completed it myself. The team also co-created with ADMA a bespoke course on MarTech Personalisation. These modules have been hugely successful in increasing the confidence of marketers so they can use and talk about new tools and understand the benefit for customers. Some of us also completed a Microsoft AI boot camp which was very technical but thought-provoking. 
 
We all should seize every opportunity to continue to grow our skill sets. If leaders make the time and effort to upskill then they are giving permission to others to do so. There is always more to learn!
 
What do you wish you’d learned earlier in your career?
 
To listen more. Listening has become an even more important skill in a world where there just seems to be noise and surround sound everywhere. If you're listening to what people say, you'll be much better placed to develop and articulate your opinion. Note to self: ‘Listen’ uses the same letters as ‘silent’.
 
I also want to mention the importance of advocating for people. Even early in your career, make sure you're advocating for other people's skills. You can be a cheerleader for other people and help them succeed. Honestly, this is just as rewarding as progressing your own career.
 
Live in the moment. Life isn’t actually about the destination or the journey, it’s everything to do with those we spend the time with. You may never get the chance to work with that someone who inspires you or makes you laugh, make the moments you have together matter.
 
What is going to have the biggest impact on marketing over the next few years? How are you preparing for those changes? 
 
Clearly, there’s AI in all its forms. We just finished AI and Data Month at NAB. There were numerous sessions and webinars aimed at tackling some of the big questions around AI. There's a lot of work to do to expose colleagues to concepts like machine learning, generative AI and large language models, and to help them understand how to use them. We must discuss the possibilities that these technologies unlock, so we can adapt to how much they can help us and our customers.
 
Another significant impact is the increasing difficulty in getting an audience’s attention. In a world of ad blocking and premium subscriptions that drive a wedge between advertisers and consumers, how do you market to them? You've got to create more engaging mass market content with your creative agencies. You've got to personalise comms where possible, for maximum relevance to your customer. That balance can be hard to get right. 
 
What are some of the key regulatory developments that are in progress right now that you think will shape the future of data-driven marketing?
 
The most important one coming up is the update to the Privacy Act. The current Privacy Act is from 1988 – there have been many changes in the market since then, particularly in technology. Protecting customers' personal information is critical. 

Brands need to give customers control over how their data is used. Brands also need to be transparent and make sure the ‘value exchange’ is there so customers freely give their consent to use their data for great personalisation experiences. We’ll be closely watching progress of the Privacy reforms recently introduced into Parliament, and what changes (if any) advertisers will need to make. 
 
What do you think are the biggest challenges confronting marketers today?
 
Firstly, there’s earning and keeping the trust of customers so that we can deliver the best experiences. Consent is critical and precious.
 
Use this trust, making sure you're getting genuine cut through and connection, not just driving to clicks. We need to think about how we provide frictionless experiences – Uber, Netflix etc., set the benchmark for customer expectations even for banks, and how we can really make it as easy as possible for the customer to do what they need to do.
 
The other one would be to learn how to communicate with colleagues in Finance. You need to understand the commercial side of the business you’re working in. What are the levers that drive growth, and how can marketing support these? That relationship with Finance is crucial, because you need to be able to make a case for marketing investment. You're competing against compelling cases from other divisions for scarce investment, and legacy technology needs replacement. What's a compelling return on investment for marketing going to look like? 
 
What’s the best piece of advice you would give to a university graduate starting their first role in marketing?
 
You have to really love advertising and marketing. Live it, breathe it, absorb it. Don't use ad blockers. Watch ads. Look at the outdoor advertising you pass by every day. What’s getting your attention? Why? Really think deeply about it.

Be visible, have your camera on in hybrid meetings. I was recently in an online session with many students and struggled to make a connection with just a black screen with someone’s name on it. 
 
Why are organisations like ADMA so important for the wider media and marketing industry?
 
Industry bodies like ADMA are critical. Every organisation should leverage their membership into a true partnership. ADMA’s focus on data and innovation within the regulatory guard rails offers us advice on how we can accommodate and adapt to all the technology and legislative changes that are happening. 
 
Also, customer needs are evolving because there are always new generations, new migrant groups with different expectations coming into the market. So, I think organisations like ADMA can provide another POV as we refine our understanding of the diversity of the customer base and provide best practice guidance on what streamlined and personalised experiences should look like.
 
The ADMA Global Forum is a fantastic event for marketers as well. This year, colleagues who attended the conference returned to the office and enthusiastically explained what they had learnt: who their favourite speaker was, what Scott Galloway said, what Tom Goodwin said. We get good team mileage out of those conversations.
 
Is there an example of a really well executed data-driven campaign (or partnership) that you admire? What made it stand out for you?
 
At Cannes this year there was a campaign by MasterCard, which was the second iteration of a campaign they ran last year, called ‘Where to Settle’. The first campaign supported Ukrainian refugees who were looking to settle in Poland. 
 
This year, they did a campaign called ‘Where to Start / Room for Everyone’, which was a data-driven tool that helped match Polish and Ukrainian businesses with optimal locations to open shop. It used analytics to create a great business ecosystem between Ukrainian and Polish entrepreneurs.  
 
A lot of new businesses used the tool, it improved sentiment towards refugees, and it was just very clever in its simplicity: helping businesses complement each other, and people to settle when they had been driven from their home country.
 
Last of all, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?
 
I love the cinema, running long distances targeting a marathon goal, cycling around the neighbourhood, catching up with friends and volunteering at my kids various sporting matches. I make time to support the not-for-profit that I'm involved in, it’s called CERES (www.ceres.org.au) where I'll be on site watching the community interact with our social enterprises, taking photos that promote the amazing work: I'm something of a nano-influencer for them now.
 
I must also monitor numerous WhatsApp group chats on a wide range of topics: meteorological events, the US election, elite meme showcases, and all the important topics!