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Fitness and Lifestyle Group has announced the appointment of former Audible Director Sara Dunseath to a newly created position as General Manager of Marketing and Public Relations for Australasia.

Dunseath has spent the last past five years with Audible, initially commencing as Marketing Director with the Amazon-owned business. She previously performed in senior marketing positions with HR tech startup, LiveHire, Gumtree Australia and Carnival Australia.

Commenting on her new role, Dunseath (pictured) told marketing publication CMO Australia “COVID-19 has had a significant impact on how we value our health. I am deeply passionate about the industry, and fitness has always played a pivotal role in my life. It's helped me get through the hard times and I've experienced the positive impacts it has on my energy and mental health.

“So when the prospect came up to join Fitness and Lifestyle Group, whose core purpose is ‘to make a meaningful, positive impact in people's lives through innovative and diversified health and wellness offerings across physical and digital platforms’, it was an opportunity I had to explore.”

Dunseath is indirectly replacing previous FLG’s General Manager Marketing Matt Fletcher, with a broadened remit.

Reporting to FLG Chief Executive Greg Oliver, she will be responsible for leading the marketing of the the businesses’ core brands, which include Fitness First, Goodlife, Zap Fitness, Barry's Bootcamp and Jetts NZ.

This includes brand and retail marketing, sales and lead generation, digital and ecommerce, member acquisition and retention programs, communication and public relations, market research, operational and capital expense budgeting, and the training and management of the FLG Marketing team. She'll also oversee insights, which is moving into marketing for the first time.

Dunseath highlighted her experiences over the past decade working for several well-loved brands as providing key learnings for how to tackle the new role, noting “P&O Cruise was the training ground where I cut my teeth on brand and retail strategy. At Gumtree, I led the shift from a traditional marketing culture to an integrated and customer-centric culture, leading a customer segmentation strategy and developing the CRM vision and plan.

“Over the last five years at Audible, I was fortunate to work across multiple roles [director of marketing, director of engagement and retention and director of brand and content marketing]. As a result, I've directed a gamut of local and international projects, from overhauling the local membership offering, launching the Audible Originals program in Australia and leading the recommendation to evolve the brand management and creative services marketing practice on a global scale.”

Advising that she sees it as an exciting time to be working in the health and wellness industry, she recognises that she’s going to need to navigate the impacts of Covid and how it has evolved and changed customer behaviour, concluding “being customer-obsessed and curious, I am focussing my energy on getting close to the customer and understanding the drivers and barriers of getting Aussies and Kiwis back into our gyms.”

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