Bill Obermeier is stepping down from his role at Telstra as its
director of brand, advertising and sponsorship next month and will be
replaced by BigPond marketing director Amanda Johnston.

When
Obermeier started at Telstra he saw a brand devoid of an emotional
connection to its customers, One of the first things was to turn
Telstra into a market-based company, understanding and segmenting our
audiences so we could talk to them. That really changed the paradigm
for us. He says the insights gained from the segmentation project
allowed Telstra to communicate with different people at different
levels, and allowed Telstra to tap into emotion, a powerful motivator.

One
of the most crucial elements in moving the brand forward during
Obermeier’s time was the launch of the Next G network, which extended
Telstras operations into the 3G spectrum. It was in the middle of
this when we launched the Next G network and that was the true
differentiator, he says and describes it as world-leading.

Obermeier
states that no other network can match the brand he has fostered over
the past three years. He sees a strong future for Telstra, especially
in sight of the success of the iPhone release and complete with a
branding overhaul will complete the turnabout of Telstra from a brand
perceived to be aloof from potential customers to one sold on emotion.
Now we have to do a better job connecting the emotion and the brand,
creating a stronger emotional bond with people, he says.

Obermeier
will leave Telstra next month to start as managing partner at Publicis
Mojo in October, to work on Myne, a new digital venture which plans to
capitalise on Telstra’s goal to become a media communications company,
offering content across BigPond, Foxtel, Sensis and mobile phones.