Droga5 ANZ’s Belinda Drew to Lead ABC Marketing

​Droga5 ANZ’s chief client officer, Belinda Drew, will join the ABC in early 2026 as its new head of marketing.

Replacing Karen Madden, who has held the broadcaster’s top marketing role since 2021, Belinda will reunite with director of audiences, Milla McPhee, who was Droga5’s chief strategist before joining the ABC in September.

Milla said Belinda’s appointment “reinforces our commitment to showcasing Australia’s creative excellence, not just in our content, but in our marketing as well.

“Belinda’s reputation for creative leadership and evidence-based marketing effectiveness will help us deepen the connection between the ABC and our audiences,” she said.

At an industry event earlier this year, Milla stressed the importance of advertising that understands the local audience -- that type of work is best set-up to travel globally, she argued.

“Because you are trying to please everybody, and in pleasing everybody, you inevitably end up pleasing nobody, or just not having a very punchy idea. Global insights are often quite weak. So this is why ideas that originate, particularly in a country like ours, and then are taken to travel, tend to be far more effective.”

Belinda joined Droga5 in 2020, then known as The Monkeys, after almost seven years at Leo Burnett, including as chief client partner, and three-year stints at TBWA and Ogilvy.

She has led the client services team for iconic brands including Telstra, Qantas, Meat & Livestock Australia, and Global Suntory Spirits, for which she has been recognised at Cannes Lions, D&AD, and the One Show.

Belinda also has a long-term partnership with UN Women Australia, having led pro bono gender equality campaigns including the notable ‘When Will She Be Right?’ She also lectures at the Advertising Council’s AdSchool Account Leadership course and mentors for The Marketing Academy.