The One Skill Every Tech Marketer Needs (and Misses) - How Dean Civin went from Finance to Marketing Tech

In this episode of South Africa Tech Marketers, Dean Civin, Digital Marketing Manager at ASUS, shares his unconventional path from financial advisor to leading digital strategy at one of the world’s top consumer tech brands.

He reflects on his early days working on Vodacom’s “Please Call Me” and digital services, shifting into brand-side work at Huawei, and finally landing at ASUS where he drives performance campaigns and product segmentation strategy.

Dean offers a grounded look at how South African marketers can navigate global teams, push back on generic international campaigns, and build data-informed programs that resonate with local audiences.

Topics Discussed:

• Moving from financial advisory to tech marketing

• Campaign execution across Vodacom’s digital ecosystem

• Transitioning from publisher to brand-side roles

• Working inside a global tech company from SA

• Managing ROAS as a core performance metric

• Aligning product segmentation with audience strategy

• The importance of localization in global marketing

• Challenges with top-down direction from HQ

• Building psychologically safe, high-functioning teams

• Career advice for early-career South African marketers

Takeaways:

• Strategic thinking is the most critical skill in tech marketing—execution is secondary.

• Localization isn’t a nice-to-have. If you want campaigns to work in South Africa, assets must be adapted to the context.

• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is the first metric Dean checks every day—anything under 5x needs improvement.

• Performance marketers must balance analytics with emotional insight. The best campaigns connect with humans, not just numbers.

• Culture beats creative. Dean would rather work on a weak campaign with a strong team than the other way around.

• Don’t stress about making mistakes. They’re part of growth. What matters is whether you learn and adjust.

• South African marketers have a superpower—adaptability, empathy, and the ability to speak across diverse audiences.