Qantas names Emma Kearns as new head of marketing after two-year stint at Jetstar
Qantas has named former Jetstar head of corporate communications Emma Kearns as its head of marketing in another reshuffle at the airline, Mumbrella can reveal.
Kearns replaces Tanya Bulkin who has moved across to the loyalty division where she will head the marketing for Qantas Frequent Flyer, reporting to chief marketing officer Stephanie Tully.
In her new role, Kearns will report to executive manager, group brand and marketing Tim McColl Jones who in turn reports to Olivia Wirth, group executive – brand, marketing and corporate affairs.
The senior appointment comes as Qantas pitches its $20m media account, with incumbent ZenithOptimedia on alert and an outcome of the process expected by the end of the year.
Kearns began her career at Qantas in January 2010 as senior adviser corporate communications before moving to Jetstar in August 2012.
She will play a key role in developing future marketing strategies for the carrier, which is expected to include a major brand push. The airline has shied away from high profile brand messaging in recent times, limiting itself to tactical and product marketing. It was also one of the major sponsors of The Voice.
But a brand push is likely to be on the cards as it continues its battle with Virgin Australia to lure leisure and business travellers.
The staff changes comes at a time of transition for the flag carrier as it looks to emerge from a turbulent year for Australian aviation in which it posted an underlying loss before tax of $646 million. Virgin Australia also suffered heavy losses.
Steve Jones
topics
airlines
aviation
head of marketing
Marketing
Olivia Wirth
Qantas
Tim McColl Jones
Virgin Australia
how many layers of marketing to Qantas need? seriously? they retrenched all the ‘doers’, now they’ve got 3 highly paid execs and really only need 1.
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Interesting! So the best Marketers all seem to end up in the Loyalty division in Qantas land – I guess that is where the money is made these days. Tully and Bulkin will be an awesome combination. I know they have worked together before in product marketing and designed the A380.
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what an enormously complicated hierarchy they must have at Qantas… the “head of marketing” reports through 3 layers of further execs!
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@ Hendy … “and designed the A380” … talk about multi-tasking! Not only are they marketing whizzes – just what the world needs more of, not – but they run up airplane designs in their spare time. How did Airbus ever let them go to the muddle-headed maze that is Qantas management? To be serious for a moment, the poor old Flying Kangaroo has more layers of backroom experts than the public service. Everybody reports to somebody who reports to somebody who reports to somebody …
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Everyone has said what I wanted to say……….and I am a QF employee. Too many levels of managers and the marketing juggernaut seems to be central to this, while all other areas lose people, they seem to gain more and more layers of managers. It makes little sense.
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@1255, i believe that’s 2 layers, not 3. Tim and Olivia. Where’s the 3rd marketing head mentioned in the article?
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I think you will find Airbus designed the A380. But thanks for the laugh this afternoon!
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And yet the marketing and advertising coming out of Qantas is some of the weakest in the category. They should be approaching a few AirNZ people…
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Does the Marketing team still have a no close door policy? is it still 95% women #henfarmcentral
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What marketing?What advertising?
Qantas is invisible.
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@Flying High approaching a few Air NZ people is an excellent idea, starting with Rob Fyfe, ex CEO of Air NZ who turned the airline around and could do the same for QF if it is not already damaged beyond repair. Remember though that the CEO of Loyalty at QF Lesley Grant is ex Air NZ as was Louis Pullen a previous Marketing Manager. It is hard to imagine why the board allow the current structure to continue and speculation would probably be edited for legal reasons!
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