Making an IMPACT

The team dives into current PR trends and watchouts; influencers to crisis management, to AI, to earned media.  

In the final episode of the e-commerce mini-series, our CEO Nicole Webb speaks to IMPACT's Group Account Director Katie Eastment to explore brand building from a communications agency perspective.   When working with a new client, the first question that e-commerce businesses will ask an agency is: how will you help us drive sales or return on investment? While this is a loaded question, one of the ways agencies can help is brand building.

Modibodi’s Global Chief Marketing Officer shares the brand’s online success story. Liana Lorenzato has worked with Modibodi for almost eight years as the Global Chief Marketing Officer. Overseeing brand, marketing, commercial and communication strategies, and customer experience, she says she has been privileged to see the company evolve from an Australian grassroots start-up to a global business.  When she joined the business in 2013, the taboo topic of periods and incontinence was hardly covered in mainstream media.   In this episode, IMPACT’s CEO, Nicole Webb, explores with Liana, perhaps one of the greatest online marketing challenges: how do you market a product that no one wants to talk about?  

Is your brand struggling with customer ‘cart abandonment’?  In the first episode of this new three-part series, CEO Nicole Webb speaks to IMPACT’s behavioural insights consultant Kris White about the five phenomena dominating consumer shopping behaviours.   When times are good, Australians love to spend. Consumer sentiment is high, business confidence is up, and market competition is healthy.

Discover what it takes to influence the influencer. Taking a leap is never easy, least of all with four children (now five) in tow. Leaving a life in London behind, author and educator, Courtney Adamo, decided to sell everything and take her young family on the road to travel. The move led her into the world of social media as a way to capture and share precious travel moments with her family, building an audience base that is now more than a quarter of a million followers strong!

Influencer manager, Lee Sutherland, shares her views on sponsored content, gifting, the power of ‘no’, and what makes a great influencer/brand collaboration.   Cutting her teeth in the entertainment industry, Lee Sutherland says she stepped into the world of talent management “accidentally”.   After some big life milestones, she started talent management agency, frankie+jet, with a 20-client roster made up of experts with established careers across landscape, nutrition, lifestyle, and parenting.  

From post saturation, gifting and channel selection, our CEO and Group Account Director unpack what influencers, and their managers, really want when working with brands.  In this first episode of the Influencer Pulse Check podcast miniseries, CEO, Nicole Webb, speaks with Group Account Director, Katie Eastment, about highlights from IMPACT’s 2023 Influencer Pulse Check research.    From post saturation, gifting and choosing platforms, Nicole and Katie uncover why the world of influencers and content creators isn’t as spontaneous as it seems. 

IMPACT’s CEO, Nicole Webb, closes out the ‘Influencer’ mini-series talking to Account Director, Trish McGee, and Senior Account Manager, Ebony Stanmore, about what makes a great influencer. Navigating the world of influencers and social media has changed the marketing and public relations landscape over the past 10 years. The task of finding an influencer is a comprehensive process, with the team using a combination of crowdsourcing, direct influencer outreach, and working with agents of influencers and content creators who, in turn, have access to a wide range of contacts in various fields. 

IMPACT’s CEO, Nicole Webb, continues her conversation with Associate Director, Katie Eastment, in the second of a three part podcast series on influencers. Gone are the days where we partner solely with those influencers or content creators who have the biggest following. Nano influencers (1000-10,000 followers) and micro influencers (10,000-50,0000) are just as valuable, if not more.  Follower count alone doesn’t demonstrate true influence. Trustworthiness and relatability are key; the ability to appeal to the ordinary person, to relate and entertain without looking from on high. 

Learn what to do – and what not to do – when creating your influencer marketing strategy. L The first in a three-part series, our latest episode discusses the role of regulation on influencer marketing, and how brands can work with influencers to create compelling, authentic – and compliant – content.

In our first episode of the year, Nicole and Frances discuss the watch-outs for PR, marketing and communications professionals. From the race to establish sustainability policies to ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ messengers, our latest podcast breaks down the opportunities and challenges for PR in 2023.

In our final #IMPACTInsights podcast for the year, the IMPACT team discuss key learnings from the PR and communications industry in 2022 – and what we’ll all be doing differently in 2023. In this bumper episode – which has been split into two parts – Nicole and Frances speak with some members of the IMPACT team about the communications wins – and fails – of 2022, and which news stories captured our attention. From the Queen’s passing to one of the most important name changes in Rugby League history, our team dissects the biggest headlines and most impactful campaigns to uncover the lessons our industry has learned this year.

In our final #IMPACTInsights podcast for the year, the IMPACT team discuss key learnings from the PR and communications industry in 2022 - and what we’ll all be doing differently in 2023. In this bumper episode - which has been split into two parts - Nicole and Frances speak with each member of the IMPACT team about the communications wins - and fails - of 2022, and which news stories captured our attention. From the Queen’s passing to one of the most important name changes in Rugby League history, our team dissects the biggest headlines and most impactful campaigns to uncover the lessons our industry has learned this year.

In this edition of the #IMPACTInsights podcast, Nicole and Frances discuss the technological, legal and environmental issues facing businesses in Australia, and around the world, right now. Continuing on from our last podcast where we discussed the leading political, economic and social issues facing our country, we talk about technology, legal and environmental issues.  But this time, we bring in perspectives from our global partners from the ECCO International Communications Network. Privacy, data security and climate change are key items on all our agendas.

In this edition of the #IMPACTInsights podcast, Nicole and Frances look at the key issues and trends we are seeing in 2022 compared with 2020. At IMPACT we often use the PESTLE model to get an overall feel for what is going on in the world to provide our work with context. The PESTLE model examines the political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental factors that influence an organisation. We leverage reports, research, media and client commentary, expert insights and observations to inform these trends. It is a particularly good process to go through in times of turmoil. We went through this process in 2020, just after we entered lockdown. We’re reviewing it again now as inflation continues to grow, and interest rates are going up… In this edition of the #IMPACTInsights podcast, Nicole and Frances thought it would be interesting to look at what we were seeing back in 2020 and compare it with what we are seeing now in 2022. What a difference two years makes!

As we kicked off 2022, a few of us were slightly on edge. The 'fresh start' that we all expect at the beginning of a new year has all but disappeared. In 2020 we didn't expect COVID. In 2021 we expected it to be over. From the unpredictability of the past two years, what challenges and opportunities face companies and brands in 2022? IMPACT's CEO Nicole Webb asks behavioural psychology specialist, Kris White what we can expect.

Australia is opening up again after the COVID-19 pandemic! Join Nicole and Fry as they discuss the challenges and opportunities for businesses and consumers in a post-lockdown world and why empathy is more important than ever.

IMPACT’s dynamic duo are at it again, this time shooting the breeze about the Australian Government’s approach to encouraging its citizens to get vaccinated. Show notes: Since recording this podcast, Qantas has launched a new TVC to highlight its newly launched vaccine rewards campaign, titled ‘Be Rewarded’. The team at IMPACT thinks Scotty from Marketing should give Qantas’ Chief Marketing Officer, Jo Boundy a call. It’s a ripper!

A totally unprepared Nicole joins Frances to talk about the world of marcomms and eyeballs. A digital and social led trend they've witnessed over recent years is the strong shift towards lead generation and sales activation marketing over brand building and brand equity marketing. Frances says 60% of a marketing budget used to be spent on brand building and 40% on lead gen. Although some brands leaned into purpose and 'we've got your back' sentiments through the pandemic in 2020, the percentage split is not what is used to be and brands will be all the poorer for it.

Recording their first podcast together in person, IMPACT's two amigos (CEO Nicole Webb and General Manager Frances Dwyer) shoot the breeze on what's making headlines and why it's getting harder for brands to get cut through when wasps and exploding pressure cookers take up all the airtime.