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Brent Hill exits SATC, new marketing boss announced

The South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) has appointed Erik de Roos as executive director of marketing, following Brent Hill’s resignation.

Hill joined the SATC in November 2015 and is departing for a new role in the Pacific, although exact details of his new role are yet to be shared.

Hill was widely seen as one of the most effective travel and tourism marketers while at SATC, with its campaigns largely acknowledged as being market leading. Some of the most notable work from SATC during his tenure was the #BookThemOut campaign, delivered with speed in the wake of the bushfires of 2019/20, Old Mate, which created a firestorm of feedback, and the 120 hour live ad campaign.

Hill speaking at the Mumbrella Travel Marketing Summit

New appointment, de Roos is joining SATC with more than 20 years of experience in the field with his most recent post being at San Remo Macaroni where he was chief marketing officer for five years. Prior to that, he had a long career working in advertising, most notably at Clemenger BBDO.

de Roos

SATC chief executive Rodney Harrex said there had been an extensive recruitment process to secure the best candidate to lead the marketing team during this critical time for tourism in South Australia.

“Erik brings a strong marketing background, is a creative thinker and is passionate about driving our brand as we continue our work to recover SA’s visitor economy,” Harrex said.

“He has broad experience across Australia and from his international placements, has been behind some of our strongest SA brands (such as San Remo, Balfours, Jacob’s Creek, Journey Beyond and the Motor Accident Commission) and is very excited to join the SATC and get to work.

“It’s been an incredibly challenging period for the SATC and tourism more broadly. We’ve worked hard to be outstanding in our engagement with the sector, and in driving initiatives to stimulate the visitor economy, so it is an exciting time for Erik to come on board and continue with the great work the team has been creating.”

de Roos is due to begin work at the SATC on 12 July.

“I am beyond thrilled to join the SATC team and carry on with the great work already being done,” he said.

“Working at the SATC has been a long-held professional ambition of mine and to be joining at such a pivotal time is an extremely exciting prospect. The agency is widely respected across the tourism and business sectors for delivering best-practice marketing campaigns and I can’t think of a better brand to work with. I love the passion and the “get it done” attitude of the SATC, so I’m very keen to meet the team and be a part of it.”

Under Hill’s leadership, SATC’s consumer website, southaustralia.com, has grown to attract 10 million visitors annually, generating over two million leads to operators every year. He has also delivered well-known campaigns Rewards Wonder, Tell us Where, See it to Believe it and Welcome Back.

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