Welcome to the first instalment of Mediaweek’s new series CMO Spotlight – dedicated to lifting the lid on how Australia’s leading chief marketing officers actually work.
Not just the campaigns and case studies, but the thinking behind them: how they make decisions, structure their teams, manage risk, and navigate the shifting realities of media, technology and consumer behaviour.
Meet this week’s CMO: Neil De Beger, General Manager ‑ Marketing, Motor Traders’ Association of New South Wales.
Mediaweek: What’s the piece of work from the past 12 months that best captures how your brand wants to show up right now?
Neil De Beger: Since joining the organisation, one of my key priorities has been to evolve the marketing strategy, working closely with my team, executive peers and agency partners, to ensure we show up to our audiences with greater clarity and consistency.
As the voice of the motor industry across NSW and the ACT, we have a responsibility not only to represent our members, but to help ensure the industry itself remains attractive, relevant and future-ready.
One of the most exciting and ultimately most successful pieces of work early in my tenure was the evolution of an industry-wide campaign. Rather than simply amplifying activity, we went back to the fundamentals, working collaboratively with the agency: revisiting segmentation, sharpening targeting, and redefining positioning (and channels) to make the work far more outcome- and ROI-focused.
That reset transformed the campaign’s effectiveness – delivering results far stronger than we had previously achieved, or even imagined – and it captures exactly how we want to show up today: insight-led, purposeful, and focused on delivering tangible impact for the industry we represent. There’s still plenty to do.
Campaigns in action delivering tangible impact
MW: Where is your marketing budget working hardest today?
NDB: Our marketing budget works hardest wherever there is a clear link between investment, insight and outcome.
As a member-based organisation, we have a responsibility to be accountable. We don’t have large marketing budgets – or large teams – so discipline is critical. Data-driven marketing sits at the core of how we prioritise spend, from segmentation and targeting through to channel selection and optimisation.
That mindset comes directly from my background. I started my career in brand and integrated advertising agencies, but I was also fortunate to cut my teeth early as a direct marketer, working with Ford in the UK and Ford of Europe.
That combination, i.e., brand thinking with a performance lens, has stayed with me throughout my career and continues to shape how I assess value and marketing effectiveness today.
MW: What’s changed most in how you balance brand and performance?
NDB: What’s changed most is the recognition that brand and performance are not opposing forces – they are deeply interdependent.
Across agencies, telcos, financial services, fintech, and now automotive, the lesson has been consistent: strong brands make performance more efficient and sustainable.
Today, data allows us to evidence that relationship far more clearly. We now design brand activity with a clear line of sight to behaviour, while performance activity reinforces this and the ROI.
MW: Which channel, platform or partnership is currently over-delivering for you?
NDB: Our owned channels – particularly direct member communications – continue to over – deliver when they’re treated strategically.
When informed by quality data and insight, these channels allow us to personalise, prioritise and genuinely add value. Engagement increases when communications are timely, relevant and clearly connected to member needs – not just organisational outputs.
MW: What role does creativity play in your commercial strategy right now?
NDB: Creativity plays a critical role, but it must be anchored in strategy and insight. The most effective creative work today is applied creativity; work that simplifies complexity, differentiates meaningfully and drives real outcomes.
MW: How are you using data, tech or AI in a way that genuinely improves the work?
NDB: Data underpins almost every decision we make, and technology – including AI – is increasingly helping us work smarter.
That said, while tools will continue to evolve, the fundamentals of marketing have not changed. Market orientation, segmentation, targeting, positioning and choosing the right channels to meet commercial objectives remain the foundation of effective marketing.
AI brings efficiency and scale, but it complements the process rather than replacing it. It’s an exciting time to be a skilled, professionally trained marketer.
MW: What does a ‘good agency partner’ look like for you in 2026?
NDB: A great agency partner understands the business context, not just the brief. They’re commercially astute, comfortable with data, confident enough to challenge thinking, and focused on outcomes rather than outputs. At their best, they go above and beyond, operating as a genuine extension of my team.
MW: What’s the toughest call you’ve had to make as a CMO?
NDB: People decisions are always the toughest and the most important. Over the past year, I’ve had to make difficult calls to ensure we have the right team in place for where we’re heading. Culture, collaboration and drive are non-negotiable.
MW: What’s one misconception about your brand or category that your team is actively trying to unpick through marketing?
NDB: There’s a perception that industry associations are slow-moving or disconnected from commercial realities. We’re actively challenging that by demonstrating how dynamic, data-led and future- focused MTA NSW Group really is.
MW: Looking ahead, where will your next big marketing bet come from?
NDB: Our next big bet will come from deeper integration – across data, teams and strategy.
As a General Manager, the opportunity to work across the entire organisation allows marketing to act as a connector, not just a function. In many ways, working in automotive marketing in Australia now feels like a full-circle moment for me – bringing together everything I’ve learned across brand, direct marketing and leadership.
And I’m still learning!