In 2024, Beau Kassas returned to marketing to lead the Mudgee Region Tourism team, where he inherited a range of new and unique challenges impacting tourism. To combat these issues he has a focus on keeping ahead of change by identifying and introducing solutions to challenges that the industry is yet to experience.
Now into our second season of B&T’s CMOs To Watch, presented by Zenith, Kassas joins the ranks of visionary marketing leaders redefining the playbook. This series celebrates those who balance bold ideas with business impact and have a whole lot of fun along the way.
We caught up with Kassas to discuss marketing’s wastage problem, his love for food and how the visitor economy can make or break regional communities.
B&T: Let’s get to know you… What three things would you take to a desert island?
Beau Kassas: In life and in business, I believe survival depends less on what you have and more about who you surround yourself with… so I would take three people to a desert island instead: my Dad (he’s one of those men who could make just about anything with a roll of sticky tape and what he can find in his pocket), my Mum (because someone needs to tell my dad what to do) and my partner (I don’t know how he does it… but he can always find me a mimosa, even in the most difficult of situations).
B&T: What is your passion outside of work? If you weren’t a CMO, what would you be doing?
BK: Hospitality is such a big part of my Lebanese culture. I love being in the kitchen, cooking with family and friends—and watching how food brings people together.
I’m lucky to specialise in tourism marketing—so I get to play with hotels, restaurants and wineries on most days. I love what I do, but if I wasn’t a CMO—I think I would have trained to be a chef and perhaps opened a restaurant of my own.
B&T: What was your favourite campaign of all time?
BK: I believe the things we value most in life are earned—so for me, I love seeing an earned-first idea that goes bonkers and gets the recognition it deserves.
I may be a little biased, but our ‘Mudgee Monday’ campaign was so much fun to bring to life. This campaign tapped into deep human truths and behaviours about how we travel, while addressing two incredibly important topics for Aussies—equality and burnout.
Although a brand campaign to drive awareness and consideration—which it has done successfully, the conversation has also increased weekend occupancy and extended the length of stay for visitors.
I also love watching the work coming from smaller, boutique agencies! Alt/Shift/, Poem, Example, We Scout, Eight Communications and Not Bad Pretty Good. It’s an incredible time to be in the industry and to see the big things small teams can achieve.
I love what Tourism Tasmania have done. And I loved the work Tourism NT did with Abbie Chatfield for Chat NT.
And I can’t go past the Budget Direct’s “It’s Budget, Love” ad. I still sing the song in the shower and ONLY refer to budget meetings this way.
B&T: Now let’s talk shop. What is your brand’s top priority for the next 12 months?
BK: As a destination—The Mudgee Region’s priority is to remind travellers of how travel is meant to be. Travel is meant to be slow, unhurried and deeply enjoyable. It shouldn’t be rushed. We shouldn’t need a holiday from our holiday.
To do that, we’ve flipped the script—owning what was once considered our biggest weakness to be our greatest strength… OUR SIZE.
Because when it comes to travel—size does in fact matter! And for us, we know our small region delivers big experience… without the big expense, big commitment, big exhaustion, or the big rush.
We want to encourage Aussies to take more, short-trips throughout the year—turning any weekend into a long weekend.
B&T: What channel is exciting you the most and how do you split your marketing budgets between long/short and channels mix?
BK: As marketers, we are problem solvers. And in my [unpopular] opinion, we are often the cause for half of our problems… because we gravitate towards channels and activity that excite us before considering what tools are right for the task at hand.
I wouldn’t use a toothbrush to brush my hair… because it’s the wrong tool for the job. And at the rate of my receding hairline, a hairbrush—although the right tool—won’t be relevant for much longer.
It’s time to re-stock our marketing toolkit, because what has worked for so long is unlikely to work much longer. It’s more about approach than channel… and an earned-first approach has the capability of crossing over multiple channels in a more exciting way.
In destination marketing—it has to be brand over performance. Our split has shifted from about 80 per cent performance vs 20 per cent brand—almost exclusively on our owned channels, to almost 100 per cent brand activity that starts with earned and then is tailored across every other channel.
On a side note; the impact coming from regional TV and radio is wild!
B&T: What is the biggest challenge you currently face in the marketplace?
BK: Clutter. There’s so much shit out there—and most of it is waste. Waste of time, money, resource. And we have caused it, which is causing a much bigger problem.
Confusion. Particularly in tourism marketing—when we see so many destinations promoting themselves the same way, with the same content, to the same audience at the same time—asking them to do the same thing… Come Visit.
The challenge for us to overcome is far greater than igniting our consumer’s desire to act. The challenge is reprograming ourselves to stop always doing for the sake of doing.
Success should look like crystal-clear awareness that drives consideration.
B&T: What are you most excited about in the marketplace?
BK: What excites me the most is how our work can shift concerning consumer behaviour.
Aussies are among the world’s most stressed and burnt out. And there is absolutely no need for it—because this big, beautiful country of ours is the antidote to it all.
If we remind people to slow down and priority rest over wreckage—we’ll start to see a shift… because travel, done well, is a wellness strategy in its own right.
I also get excited to see what other brands are doing.
The Reflections Holidays team are absolutely nailing it.
B&T: Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
BK: I love what I am doing and I know it is a real privilege to lead the Mudgee Region as a destination. A third of every dollar spent in the region comes from a visitor… and to remain sustainable we must remain relevant.
What I can say about myself in five years’ time: I’ll still be curious about keeping ahead of change; I’ll still be looking to solve problems to challenges we’re yet to experience; and I’ll still be working with destinations to share their authenticity and to celebrate what makes them truly unique.
B&T: Speaking hypothetically what’s one brand, product or category you’d like to sink your teeth into right now as a marketer?
I’m passionate about regional tourism. I’ve seen first-hand how the visitor economy can make or break a community, and I want to be part of shaping the future of regional tourism to prioritise accessibility, sustainability and social impact.
I would love to sink my teeth into a state tourism organisation and introduce new ways of collaborating with and celebrating the true value of regional tourism.
Local Destination: Central Coast or Lake Macquarie Tourism—the opportunities are BEYOND! I’m also keeping my eye on the work coming out of boarder destinations like Albury-Wodonga and the surrounding regions, like Beechworth and Yackandandah.
International Destination: Tourism Hawai’i and Tourism New Zealand.
B&T: Zenith believe there is untapped media potential we need to uncover. What is your prediction for media this year?
BK: My prediction is that we’re all going to get caught up in predicting what the future looks like rather than learning and guiding our teams to be agile enough to keep ahead of it.
Consumer behaviour will dictate the pace of change—and with change occurring at a pace far greater than we’ve ever seen before, we need to be prepared to admit we don’t have the answers… or that we are answering the wrong questions entirely.
What’s less of a prediction and more of a certainty, is that we will need to have the hunger and curiosity to find new solutions.
