Jacqueline (Jaci) Burns

Some old adages stand simply because they're true. When I think about public risk, vulnerability, and crisis all day, it's hard to reconcile that even after the PR crisis failures across the past six months, we're not all remembering that "a stitch in time saves nine." Real talk? The general public is stretched and strained in the current environment, and their appetite for poor performance is low. What you could get away with in the public sphere, even 12 months ago, is vastly different to now. In matters of reputation, public risk, and crisis communications, the key is preparation. *Crisis media training is different to any other media training *Murder Boards/Worst Case Scenario planning is hard but good work - there is nothing better than this work to feel and be really prepared for the hard scenarios. * Have a trusted advisor who tells the truth and isn't a "Yes" person. Better to face the hard questions from a friendly first. Thanks so much to Adam Lang, Neil Griffiths and Lauren McNamara for having me on Mumbrellacast yesterday to discuss two of my great loves: politics and crisis communications. https://lnkd.in/eNZHc9SF

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Do get in touch if you would like to discuss how a new political environment may impact your business or if you just want to meet for a coffee to discuss the ins and outs of the election!

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After some bluster at the NZX Limited annual meeting over directors' fees, Hamish McNicol and Calida Stuart-Menteath had a great Last Word on the NBR - National Business Review about reviving out local capital markets. I was pleased to see it's very much on the agenda of Andrew Bayly with the Capital Markets 2029 Report back on people's required reading list. There were some good ideas in there that seemed to flounder in recent years and fresh impetus would be a good thing. Hopefully some people might even dust off the older Capital Markets Taskforce report, another very helpful tome of suggestions. The rise of Sharesies in stoking interest in investing among people who have been hard to reach for a long time has shifted the ground substantially and if MBIE can finally get around to finishing its review into the Financial Markets Conduct Act, maybe we'll be in a stronger position to actually make the step changes needed to breath life back into our local stock exchange. https://lnkd.in/gbRFBTwk

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Research by the University of the Sunshine Coast, has identified a lack of understanding and communication between small businesses and digital marketing providers as key contributors to disputes, with almost 70% of small businesses reported parting ways with their chosen digital marketing provider within the first year. #digitalmarketing #smallbusinessowners #SMBs

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here are my thoughts on how the various industry and lobby groups reacted to the Federal Budget...I emphasise the importance of strategic public messaging, highlighting its role in shaping future policy dialogue and fostering effective advocacy. https://lnkd.in/ehTK_7zF

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The timing of the next General Election might still be up in the air, but behind the scenes, the parties will be readying themselves for the campaign. With #communications strategies so intrinsic to success at the polls, the Institute for Government hosted an event last week exploring how parties target the electorate; score points against the opposition; engage with journalists and grapple with social media. It was an eye-opening session, as the panel discussed how the evolving media landscape and an increasingly divided society are creating significant challenges to clear and fair communication: ➡ Social media is often now driving the narrative rather than reflecting it. Clickbait or viral content is influencing politicians and journalists more and more, leading to fake news and/or overhyped information. ➡ People are consuming media in different ways. Several panellists referred to 'the power of the picture', as many will be watching the news or scrolling through social media feeds with the sound down. Politicians are increasingly curating events to ensure the visuals communicate their key messages. ➡ There is little opportunity for nuance and detail. Long form interviews - previously a centrepiece of any campaign - are losing their relevance in an era of short, snappy content. Soundbites and slogans are the order of the day. When you consider that recent research has revealed that only 9% of people trust politicians, it's clear they've got their work cut out to win voters - and communication will be absolutely key to doing so. --- Jill Rutter, Institute for Government Anushka Asthana, Deputy Political Editor at ITV News Katy Searle, Head of BBC Westminster (2017–20) and Executive Editor of BBC Politics (2020–22) Lee Cain, Downing Street Director of Communications (2019-2020) James Schneider, Labour Party Head of Strategic Communications (2016–20)

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The ESPR regulations are the start of a new era for sustainability regulations in Europe, and that will undoubtedly have a significant effect on all of us here in Australia. Kudos to the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence for raising this timely topic. I look forward to talking about the impact of this new framework during Friday's webinar and hope to see many of you there with your questions as we unpack the changes and how trusted third-party certification can help with the resulting transition.

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⭐️So honoured to be this month’s spotlighted IABC New South Wales member. Thanks Paula Batho for asking me and the write up! Some of the things we talk about are: 🔵How I started my career 🔵What I enjoy most about communications and marketing roles 🔵 Tips for people starting out in their career. You can check the story out here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gbcaxMxz — #communications #marketing #internalcommunication #ESGcommunication #sustainabilitycommunication

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An interesting article here from Euan Black at The Australian Financial Review about why more workers are turning down roles that involve managing people. Many years ago, I remember a conversation I had with a PR agency boss of mine about working one day every two weeks from home and one of the reasons why he declined was that I had a management role. I had a team. And that meant being in the office. It was one of the reasons why I set up BENCH to have a flat structure, one with only team members who were experienced and excellent at what they did and I didn't need to 'manage'. Unfortunately, the truth certainly in PR agency land, is the more senior you get, the less actual 'PR' you do. I know people who have accepted the 'pay rise' and added responsibility of managing a team and regretted it quickly afterwards. Interesting that there are organisations now offering their staff a choice between managerial roles or 'expertise roles', as I think this is a growing challenge for companies to retain their top talent. #PR #management

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Working on Defence Australia (DFR as it was known) was a career highlight for me, so this one is close to my heart! The recent ANAO report highlights a major gap and what I find frustrating is; it's 2024, they're one of the largest advertisers for the fed gov with a mission critical role to play, yet they're still relying on outdated audits well after the fact and not equipping their teams and agencies with the right tools and data points to inform better marketing decision making. I would highly recommend Defence invest their money in tooling in this space rather than more audits. Tools that enable advanced analytics, econometrics, and market mix modeling (MMM) in real time. ASAP. Use Econometrics & MMM to quantify the impact of various factors (including macroeconomic) and media channels, ensuring budget is allocated efficiently and wastage is minimised. Then continuously update market analyses and forecasts to keep campaigns relevant and responsive to changing dynamics. Then Defence can prove the impact of its spend, accurately predict outcomes, improve effectiveness in real-time, and adapt swiftly to the ever-changing marketing landscape. Or simply, get in touch with Mutinex to sort it out. Credit: Ashley Regan https://lnkd.in/gmmiuGGz

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Communications lessons to be learnt from Peter Costello’s bump with the journalist at Canberra Airport.   1. Beware of hypocrisy As chair of an organisation that aggressively questions others, he should be prepared to take what Nine gives. And presumably, he hasn’t forgotten his years of political experience on how to handle ‘pesky’ journos :)    Even if he doesn’t believe what the video appears to show, that he ‘bumped’ the journalist, why didn’t he help him up? Quite something to watch...   2. Media training should have taught him... He could have stopped and parried the questions with a polite comment about not wanting to pre-empt the independent investigation. There are multiple ways to do that and not sound dismissive, or evasive. My bet? Other journos are going to stake him out and try for a repeat!   3. The scope of the independent investigation into behaviour at 9Now’s newsroom It will have a broad enough scope, hopefully, to examine the Board’s role, and Costello’s, in the apparent dysfunction. Staff expect that depth typically, and I suspect journalists have higher expectations than most professions.   Intersection, the independent investigating company, with former sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins, conducted the independent review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces, and then published ‘Set the Standard’. That publication now guides best practices on managing bullying and cultural change in large organisations. So, if the terms of reference allow, Nine's report should be a substantial read.       4. Get ahead of the commentary From a communications POV, we recommend that organisations anticipate the outcomes of an investigation and make whatever changes are likely to be recommended before publication. That proactivity raises trust.   The alternative is to wait for the recommendations and then appear untrustworthy because they've had to react to why the changes, which generally appear obvious once in print, haven’t already been made.

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Great topic Melbourne Press Club. Australian Associated Press (AAP) Factcheck and global factcheck outlets came to our aid in 2022 to set the record straight when it came to incorrect claims on social media about 'sudden arrhythmic death syndrome' or 'sudden adult death syndrome' and COVID-19 vaccines. As an organisation that prides itself on providing evidence-based information, this was really concerning for our Institute, not to mention the researchers at the coalface dealing with the brunt of this. One option is not to engage but in this case, there was an avalanche of misinformation. And, as per the discussion today, it was of a consequential nature and there was evidence to show it was false. The learning for us in this situation when facing such a significant amount of dis/misinformation, which quickly took on a life of its own on social media, was to proactively reach out and engage with factcheck organisations as one lever to help set the record straight. Interested in the views and experiences of others? Catherine Butterfield Christine Elmer SCMP MAICD Melea Tarabay Ursula McGinnes

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"The country needs a high-functioning, evidence-based approach to cross-party working groups which operate with a clear consensus on target outcomes for Aotearoa. Ideally, #AI policy should be treated like trade policy: seen as a good thing for the country from all sides." Pulling a quote, comment here from Ben Reid's newsletter today related to the NZ Governments latest AI Paper. Echo his sentiment here. While NZ has some remarkable AI tech and capability, we are not leaders in AI. Across Public and Private sectors we are miles behind on policy, adoption and mindset maturity. Everything we do needs to enable NZ to catch up and stay in touch with the rest of the world that's investing in and adopting AI at a far greater pace than us.

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"Fast-food PR models are doing far more harm than good" writes my dear friend/sounding board/co-crisis commentator Phoebe Netto in Mumbrella. Phoebe shares the fears of many of us about the anti-ethics PR models we see popping up. In these models, staff and leadership get no agency (no pun intended) over the type of work they do for clients or the type of clients they work with. This can certainly be damaging to their own brand and reputation. For me, the key concern is that this creates a factory output, a culture of churn and burn, and does not teach younger operators craft. Additionally, I'd argue that the type of "add to cart" PR services are setting clients up to fail with fast PR. I saw someone promoting their PR services with "I can literally make you famous in a day". Stunts/clicbait/s#x stories, maybe - but not long-term, robust reputation and brand building. It takes concerted, tailored effort, teamwork, and a good understanding of the client's needs. It requires critical thinking and human connection. For PR and Public affairs professionals, a constant challenge is managing client's expectations about being on the front page of the The Australian Financial Review, 730 on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) or on the Today Show Couch in week one of engagement. This fast PR adds to unrealistic expectations. I'm all for growth and innovation. That is a key pillar of our business. But new ways need to bring value and add professionalism to our industry. Not dumb it down. There is a time and a place for fast. Growing media reputations and building reputations is not that time or place. https://lnkd.in/gRh5GmQp Shelley Hammond Meg Hutchinson Troy Bilsborough #crisispr #prindustry #publicrelations

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Did Costello resign, or was he pushed? Best practice is that Nine's Board acted. It is not a passive role.   If that’s the case, from a communications POV, there are two more immediate proactive steps that will impact the reputation of the Board to staff, shareholders and others.   1. Catherine West, the new chair, can broadly flag her (the Board's) philosophy and the company’s pending cultural change. She can either make a headline announcement or the Board can act by engineering further changes, or both.   Saying/doing nothing is not a good option.   2. If the Board decides to continue with more change, to act, then CEO Mike Sneesby is a target. If the Board wants to continue clearing the house, any other ‘dinosaurs’ can go.   Then, of course, there’s a review of the $1m payout to Darren Wick.   This is simply best practice communications, measured by ‘Does it meet the communities’ expectations?’   3. A presentation? Catherine West’s option, ideally from a comms POV, is to talk to staff; the more interactive, the better. It will go public, leaked or otherwise, so it reaches shareholders, etc. It doesn’t have to be detailed. An investigation is underway, and it’s usually fairly easy for an insider to predict many of its findings. Getting ahead of the investigation’s findings with the obvious creates trust. It will be stabilising for staff particularly (it's also a chance to flag Nine's financial challenges). She can identify certain cultural principles that are essential: a broad commitment to cultural inclusiveness, no harassment, a complaints mechanism, cultural training, etc. She must be honest. A commitment to a degree of transparency is also an essential; how that's engineered can be managed later.   Some of these principles are already Nine Board policy: “The Board sets and monitors progress against measurable objectives to track our performance in engaging, retaining and fostering a diverse and inclusive culture”, is the Environmental, Social and Governance Policy – https://lnkd.in/gZ7iM6zk.   The other ‘rule’ in this headland conversation is not to commit to detail. CEOs and Chairs have long learned the hard way to avoid making early commitments that they can’t keep. That’s not an absence of transparency; it's common sense.

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The latest Trust Barometer research from BBS Communications Group's global partner firm Edelman focuses on innovation and technology and contains some interesting insights into who and what Aussies trust. 🥡 Key Takeouts 🥡 1️⃣ Innovation without good implementation won't cut it - explain the science and manage impacts (a response to COVID perhaps?). 2️⃣ Business and government should partner for change. Through innovation, CEOs should be safeguarding jobs and taking a stand on ethical concerns. 3️⃣ Scientists are still trusted but more is needed from them to explain research and engage in dialogue to maintain trust in their innovations and recommendations. 4️⃣ People who feel in control of how innovation affects their lives are more likely to embrace them. Our major societal institutions need to listen for concerns and be open to questions. Read more or download a copy via the link in the post below.

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AI is the Fourth Industrial revolution. Businesses need to harness it. Here's a how to book by Jo Cribb and David Glover straight out of Aotearoa in The Post ... https://lnkd.in/g5iFytAQ

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Thanks Dave Martin - this is why Our Kinds will be sustainable in the long term We focus on the friction points and provide ease in the supply chain CAFES -This is where the outcomes are delivered -The transition is expensive and hard for cafes  -As a community we must support the delivery of these outcomes -When we do, WE CAN ACHIEVE 100% REUSE IN CAFES and scale that model globally. CONSUMERS - we remove the blockers to reuse and change a habit -no cost, apps, tokens, fines. -a gentle reminder that it’s an everyday choice -#justbringitback SUPPLIERS - we collaborate to redesign flow to enable reuse -washing, stock, training and more… INVESTORS -underwrite our team -support the testing of trials  -trials avoid creating waste while we see what works CORPORATE and COUNCILS -opportunities to support the change locally and globally -support reuse in your business -support reuse in your local cafés -achieve outcomes against ESG through your support of the Our Kinds movement STATE GOVERNMENT -we educate local members and Ministers / Shadow Ministers of the challenges inherent in their regulation and ways in which they can support the transition to reuse. Our Kinds is the only reusable cup model globally that has taken this collaborative approach. Probably because it requires real life conversations, deep connections, committed partnerships and respect for time. Two years in its now our time to grow. Would you like to support the movement? #globalcollaboration #540billionsinglesusecups #justbringitback #femalefounder “Witnessing Karen is like watching a storm happen in a drought-it's disruptive, happens like lightning and any environment will be better off after.”

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