For a long time, if you were a Queenslander the default career move in marketing was clear: you needed to move south to climb the corporate ladder. If you were chasing the big roles, the heavyweight clients, and the fastest track to influence, Sydney or Melbourne were the places to be. Queensland? Great lifestyle, but not where serious ambition played out. That story is done, argues Rohan Dwyer, CEO and director of Edge Marketing.
Because the landscape itself has shifted and the marketing talent conversation has changed for good. Suddenly, Queensland isn’t just relevant, it’s leading and business growth and career opportunities are here for the picking.
What the pandemic did was accelerate something already in motion. Remote work didn’t just prove we could work from anywhere; it challenged old assumptions about where good work had to happen. When Covid hit, people moved north. And they didn’t just bring laptops, they brought experience, expectation, and standards and they’ve stayed long after the borders re-opened.
The work didn’t get easier and expectations didn’t drop, but the context has changed. Brisbane has become a place where senior people can deliver serious work and live a more balanced life without taking a step back professionally which is how a move north was traditionally viewed.
After the initial remote-work honeymoon was over, teams started craving what Zoom couldn’t deliver: in-person mentoring, shared momentum, real culture. But they didn’t want to trade the better work/life balance they had enjoyed during the Covid years to get it. That’s where Queensland became even more compelling. Offices that feel real, not rigid, commutes that don’t kill your working week and teams that collaborate face-to-face without the burnout.
In that sense, a Queensland lifestyle has become an enabler of performance, not a compromise.
And it’s not only National talent that’s moving to Queensland, there’s a growing cohort of international marketers and creatives arriving as well, not to downshift, but to engage with work differently. This cohort of senior talent is not chasing palm trees and pay cuts, they’re looking for meaningful work in a maturing, energised market.
This is a shift in intent, and these people want to contribute, not just have an easier lifestyle. Queensland’s current trajectory—in infrastructure, innovation, and investment—is providing them with the platform to do exactly that.
And the lure of top tier talent has meant top-tier leadership has followed the talent north. The State is fast becoming the destination where execs and founders with national and global experience are choosing as the place to build their next chapter. That matters, because great leaders set the tone, they attract top talent, raise the standard and brands have faith to grow their business north of the border.
And most importantly the leaders and the talent stay, because they’ve figured out they can scale teams, win clients, and drive performance without being tied to a southern postcode.
What’s emerging is a more dynamic, blended talent pool and it’s not about local vs interstate talent anymore. Yes, experienced operators from Melbourne and Sydney are relocating and staying, but Queensland’s own talent is staying too, because they don’t need to leave to grow. The result is a more seasoned, more stable workforce. One that’s not just chasing headlines but building something more durable.
Today’s clients don’t care where their agency is based. They care about capability, continuity, and connection. Queensland agencies are delivering not just on creative, but on strategic depth, digital smarts, and client experience. There’s less siloing, less churn, and more alignment between strategy and delivery. In other words, it works, not in theory, but in practice.
Melbourne and Sydney still matter, and they always will. But the idea that Queensland is a second-tier market no longer holds. It’s a place where ambition, culture, and lifestyle intersect and where serious work is being done without compromise.
As we head towards 2032, that spotlight will only get brighter. But those of us building our business in Queensland aren’t waiting for it, the work’s already happening and the momentum is already real.
This isn’t a pitch. It’s just where the market’s moved.
And yes, all of this is coming from someone who proudly built their foundations in Victoria.
