Remarkable Marketers: Meet The AFL’s Julian Dunne

Remarkable Marketers: Meet The AFL’s Julian Dunne
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine



There are some pretty remarkable people in our industry, each offering their own unique perspective to adland.

While we spend so much time learning about our peers’ career highlights, B&T, in partnership with Carat Australia, thought it high time to dig a little deeper, and find out what makes the shining stars of our industry tick and, at times, tock.

So, we’ve recently published – and are continuing to publish – a series of personal profiles.

Get ready to laugh, cry and be taken on an emotional rollercoaster as we hear more about the industry’s most remarkable marketers.

AFL’s head of marketing and insights, Julianne Dunne: The principal charmer

How would I describe myself in 20 seconds? Well, it wouldn’t be overly complex.

I’m a sports-mad family guy with two young kids. I love great food, travel, music and spending time with my family and closest friends. I love great adventures and great stories.

At primary school, I’d probably have described my school reports as mostly Cs! Not good; spent a lot of time in the principal’s office, but we shared a love of Carlton and music, so he was pretty lenient on me. I think we both actually enjoyed it. When I was 10, I dreamt of being two things – either a footballer or an air force pilot. Hey, I became a marketer for the AFL, so kinda close.

I think if I wasn’t doing this job, I’d still like to be around something sporty, so if I wasn’t a marketer, I’d probably be something like a sports physician or something to do with high performance.

I can honestly say my career hasn’t come with too many overt disasters. The one thing I have learned in my time, however, is that you can’t really achieve anything significant unless you bring the right people along for the ride.

A brand which makes me jealous with rage would have to be (the hotel chain) Four Seasons and, yes, I’m probably saying that because I’d like to hang out there more.

The thing I find most motivating about marketing is that it often calls on you to solve quite complex problems and again, to do that successfully, you need really great people working with you. Equally – my family aside – I find people who have overcome incredible adversities and continue to attack their lives with vigour and positivity really inspiring.

The best piece of advice I was ever given was pretty short and sweet: ‘At any one time, there’s generally around 10 significant things going on your life. Seven are generally good, three are generally bad. Focus on the seven.’

When it comes to my favourite ad of all time, I still love the ‘C’mon Aussie, C’mon’ cricket ads from the 80s. The Old Spice ad was pretty good, too.

My advice for graduates getting a start in marketing is to understand that at its essence marketing is all about human behaviour and shaping that behaviour, regardless of channel. And you also can’t go past marketing’s four P model – it’s still as relevant as it ever was.

The greatest day of my life (wedding and kids aside) was finishing an Everest base camp hike. When it comes to slightly embarrassing things I love, I have to admit I’m an Elton John fan. My best trick at parties? That would have to be juggling. Lamb’s brains is the most delicious/disgusting thing I’ve ever eaten. My worst-ever holiday? Food poisoning combined with the smell of burning flesh in Varanasi, India; absolutely nowhere to run or hide.




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