GovComms: The Future of Government Communication

“There is so much to be told in Australia’s history, and there are terrible truths that need to be spoken about but there is also much to celebrate, and I hope we continue to build on that celebration.” A poignant closing from our guest this week, CEO of the Lowitja Institute, Australia’s national institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, Dr Janine Mohammed. On this week’s episode of GovComms, Dr Janine Mohammed sits down with our host, David Pembroke to discuss closing the health gap, creating a culture of safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the role of the Lowitja Institute as the only health research that has a sole focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues. Dr Janine Mohamed (née Dutschke) is a proud Narrunga Kaurna woman from Point Pearce in South Australia who has dedicated her career to the Indigenous health through roles in nursing, management, and policy for over two decades.  Recently, Janine has contributed to the establishment of the Close the Gap campaign and was part of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Peoples’ delegation that participated in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2011 and 2012.   Janine was appointed CEO of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINatM) in 2013 and led the organisation for five years.  Janine has been recognised for her contributions on multiple occasions, including a University of South Australia Alumni Award in 2016, the ACT Health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander “Individual” NAIDOC Award in 2018 and the 2019 NATSIHWA Lifetime Achievement Award due to her integral role in establishing a national professional association for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Health Practitioners.   She has also been awarded an Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity Fellowship and an Honorary Doctorate from Edith Cowan University. Discussed in this episode: -          Finding the language to discuss racism -          Creating systems that support cultural safety and lifelong learning -          The magic ingredients of effective communication -          Navigating unintended consequences of media coverage -          Ensuring research is relevant and accessible to those who need it -          The legacy of Lowitja O’Donoghue Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How is COVID changing the way we operate? Some researchers are pivoting their focus, and looking at how people are coping with lockdown. With a background in psychology, our guest this week is researching the wellbeing of Australians during COVID and how government needs to adapt communications strategy in this time. In this episode of GovComms, contentgroup CEO, David Pembroke, is joined by Garrett Tyler-Parker in #studio19, to discuss research during a health crisis. As a second wave hits, Garrett stresses the importance of creating communications strategy that is engaged with the world, and reflects how people are feeling. Garrett is the Canberra Managing Director of Pollinate Research, an independent market and social research company. With research experience in Australia and South East Asia and previous experience in The Parliament House Federal Press Gallery, Garrett brings a well-rounded, real-world perspective to research, incorporating human behaviour and systems thinking, to deliver actionable results. Garrett’s experience covers a broad range of categories; from small not-for-profit organisations to local, state and federal government agencies, through to nation-leading companies and multi-national organisations. Garrett’s specialisation is strategic Government research, and bringing the voice of the public into the decision making process. Garrett is also a guest lecturer at ANU and UNSW on Market Research and was recently published in The Australian Journal of Psychology. Discussed in this episode: How are Australians dealing with COVID-19? Using research to ensure wider systems approaches Why psychographics drive engaged government communications The importance of rich picture exercises Understanding the why behind decision making The disruption of COVID and the why research is vital Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Glasgow to Pennsylvania State, Rose Cameron is a well-travelled communicator who brings curiosity, perspective, and resilience to her communications strategies. She has created success in her career by using her ingenuity. Like many Scots, Rose is driven by questioning the norm; why is it that way? Is it really needed anymore? And what do we need next?   Rose’s interest in cultural anthropology has led her to a long career in delivering communications strategies that transfer value to individuals.   In this episode from the 2015 archives, contentgroup CEO David Pembroke sits down with Rose Cameron to talk about the importance of elasticity in the workplace, staying young, learning and being real in the advertising industry.   Discussed in this episode: Knowing what topics fascinate people, and what will keep people engaged in your conversation Communicate by listening first Contextualising your communications strategy Transferring value – the new way of marketing Advice to government communicators in the digital age Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of GovComms we go back to 2015 when contentgroup CEO, David Pembroke sat down with Executive Manager, Communications & Engagement for the City of Boroondara, Deb Ganderton. Deb is the Executive Manager Communications and Engagement for one of Australia’s most innovative local council areas, the City of Boroondara in Melbourne. Her work at the City of Boroondara has seen the creation of a matrix style department successfully blending traditional communications and customer service roles with community and employee engagement and research. She has led projects achieving national and international recognition for strategy and evaluation. Currently, Deb is the President of International Business Communicators, an industry association dedicated to excellence in government communication. Deb is a legend of Australian municipal government communications. Her and David discuss Boroondara’s communication structure and how her team has implemented an award-winning content marketing strategy. In this conversation, we discuss building capacity within teams to add value to government departments and share their important work with the community. Discussed in this episode: Developing a strong internal communications network Consulting early and widely to ensure a smooth policy roll out The importance of co-creating Measuring the impact of an activity by knowing your goals and desired outcomes Creating autonomy within your team Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Content communication can come with a minefield of legal issues. How do you identify legal issues? Who owns the content you are distributing? What happens when there is an intellectual property claim? This week go back to 2015 when contentgroup CEO, David Pembroke, sat down with leading commercial lawyer, Shaun Creighton, to discuss the copyright implications of creating and curating content. Shaun Creighton has specialist expertise in the identification, protection, and commercialisation of intellectual property rights. He has expertise and experience negotiating technology, broadcasting and commercial agreements. Previously, he has provided in-house Legal Counsel for the Australian Sports Commission and Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation. As a dual Olympian, Shaun has an extensive network in the sports and events industries. As part of ARETE Group’s thriving sports law practice group, he represents professional athletes, national sporting organisations, media outlets and event organisers on matters ranging from drafting sponsorship and merchandising agreements to broadcasting rights disputes, copyright advice, trade mark registration services, selection appeals, privacy, governance advice and Competition and Consumer Act issues. Discussed in this episode: Intellectual Property Law – what is it? Why we need contracts - indemnity and liability How content marketing fits in with law The legal questions that arise when distributing content Resolving issues by identifying them upfront The potential risks of using social media channels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Communications is about going with your gut. Our guest today, uses core values to create marketing campaigns that she knows will stand out. She understands when to use speed and when to be strategic and insight led. In this episode of GovComms, City Marketing Coordinator at the city of Ballarat, Lucy Ibrahim, joins contentgroup CEO, David Pembroke, to discuss the importance of delivering communications plans that connect with community members. Working in a city that shows genuine care and compassion for their community in the toughest of circumstances, Lucy talks about how to take those values and deliver effective communications solutions to big problems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lucy has led her community by engaging with stakeholders and supplying the city of Ballarat with accurate and accessible resources. Today, we dive back to when Lucy delivered and launched a marketing campaign, Be Kind Ballarat, in less than 24 hours. The campaign was a kindness initiative launched in response to COVID-19, which she reflects on as one of the toughest and most rewarding campaigns she has worked on. Lucy Ibrahim has over 18 years’ experience covering brand strategy, marketing, events and tourism. Prior to working for the City of Ballarat, Lucy served as Head of Marketing at Visit Ballarat, and Managing Director of PLAY communications. Work produced under Lucy’s direction has been recognised at over 15 international and local awards. She has most recently been recognised for the 2020 Ad Campaign of the Year at the Mumbrella Travel Awards for her campaign Made of Ballarat. Lucy is passionate about insight-led creative, efficient execution and measurement to optimise outcomes. Discussed in this episode: Using core principles within government policies to develop clear communications plans Delivering an effective campaign in less than 24 hours Using communications to support residents and provide relief Responding and recovering from the fallout of COVID-19 The nature of work for a communications professional Using hard metrics to measure effectiveness within industry and media sentiment Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are coming into the golden age of communications. Perhaps the most important thing a government can do, is communicate effectively with their citizens. Communicators are the people in control. They make sure that information is available and importantly, accessible, to citizens. The technology has increased the visibility of communications system, but what are the challenges that come with these advances? What are the challenges facing government departments? Where does change comes from in the public sector? In this episode of GovComms, contentgroup Founder and CEO, David Pembroke, is joined by the Head of GovCom Group, Alun Probert. Before heading GovCom Group, Alun spent nine years as the Executive Director of Strategic Communications in the NSW Government, with the responsibility for advertising and digital policy including managing the NSW Governments and Premier’s website, overseeing approval of Government and all advertising campaigns and managing whole of Government media contracts. Alun’s global communication experience spans 25 years. In this conversation from the archive, Alun shares valuable insights on adopting new media and the opportunities within content marketing.    Discussed in this episode: -          Opportunities for content marketing in government - what does success look like? -          Understanding how people consume government media -          Aligning a communication plan to strategic objectives -          Setting ambitions and achieving measurable targets -          Clear communication - removing barriers that connect government to citizens -          The evolution of information and communications technology Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of GovComms, contentgroup Founder and CEO, David Pembroke, sits down with business and technology innovator, Michelle Melbourne, to discuss how technology is impacting the communications. They talk using data to create a personalized experience for your audience, the importance of learning and where technology is headed.   This episode is a must listen for leaders in any sector, with valuable insights into how to harness and use technology in a manageable and workable way.   With 30 years’ experience in government technology, Michelle Melbourne, Co-Founder of Australian software maker Intelledox (now SmartIQTM, a product of Smart Communications), has a long history delivering better online process for citizens. Michelle evangelized the term Digital Transformation years before it was commonplace, and her company pioneered the use of AI to automate business processes. She has helped many large and complex customers to modernise their processes, and more importantly, to transform their team culture and behaviours to maximize the outcomes for citizens.   In 1998, Michelle started a highly successful technology, communications and logistics company - The Communication Link - working on behalf of corporate and government VIPs from around the world. This involved arranging official visits to Australia by Madeleine Albright for senior U.S Government officials and the management of various Sydney Olympic and Paralympic projects. She is currently a Board Member of Smart Communications, Governor of the ANU Foundation Board and an Entrepreneur In Residence for the Canberra Innovation Network. Discussed in this episode: -       Translating an inspiration into reality -       The importance of understanding technology -       How to apply personalized services to your customers -       Adopting new technology during COVID-19 -       The future public service as automation takes hold and AI matures -       The skills we need to enable digital transformation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the Archives:This week on #GovComms, we are going back to a very special episode. In 2015, contentgroup Founder and CEO David Pembroke, met with guests Inga Davis and Richa Arora to discuss rebuilding the University of Canberra website. This episode takes us through the whole journey. They tells us how they met their objectives and managed to bring more than 15,000 pages of content under one umbrella.Inga Davis gave this interview on the eve of her last week at University of Canberra. Having spent the last 10 years working her way through the ranks at UC; as a marketing manager, alumni manager, Director of Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker's Office, Director of Advancement and finishing up as Director Advancement, Marketing and Communications.Working closely with the Vice-Chancellor, Inga has led projects integral to building the University's profile; including the university's 40th anniversary celebrations in 2008, the latest "breakthrough" re-brand, content marketing strategy and most recently an enterprise-wide upgrade of UC's 10,000 page website. A project with 15,000 staff and student users, 50 stakeholder representatives, 25 senior managers and 3 million annual visitors.Richa was the project manager for the redevelopment of University of Canberra's website and closely worked with marketing and content producers on the content strategy for the new website. Richa believes that the aesthetics of a website are important for a friendly user experience, but people visit a website when they need information. The up to date content targeted to its audience is the key to a functional and engaging website. Richa has worked in public and private sector leading user workshops, stakeholder engagements and managing change and communications. Richa is a specialist in business process analysis, process re-engineering, solution design and implementation and project management. Richa is currently a Deloitte Consulting Manager in Technology Advisory team at Deloitte.Discussed in this episode:-         Operating a website and using a distributed authorship model-         Using health checks to keep websites clean-         SMART website goals Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The internet has changed the way we consume content, has it also impacted the way we advertise? In this week’s episode of GovComms contentgroup Founder and CEO, David Pembroke, sits down with industry leader, Bob Hoffman, to discuss how traditional advertising remains the primary income for internet platforms such as Facebook. Bob Hoffman is the author of five bestselling books about advertising. He is one of the world’s most sought-after speaker on (this topic/subject) advertising and marketing. Indeed, one of his books, ‘Bad Men: How Advertising Went From A Minor Annoyance To A Major Menace’ exposed many of the dangerous data abuse practices that are leading to a re-evaluation of the role of the major platforms around the world. Discussed in this episode: ·       Transformation of media and advertising ·       Using creative methods to create strategic advertising campaigns ·       Eroding of local media platforms ·       Dominant major advertising platforms ·       Is antitrust on the backburner? ·       The future of traditional paid advertising   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.