Previous work
Variety is the spice of life, and I’m fortunate enough to have worked on a wide range of projects for clients. From campaign launches to election campaigns, and more.
You can find out about some of these projects below.
Zeroing in on the ‘optimal pathway’ for a historic $368b program.
Strategic advisory
Report writing
Stakeholder engagement
The South Australian Submarine Taskforce (SASTF) was led by Defence SA, and supported the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Taskforce (NPSTF) established by the Department of Defence to deliver an optimal pathway for the AUKUS submarine program.
Hired as the Associate Director of Stakeholder Communication for the Minister for Defence and Space Industries, as represented by Defence SA, the role was designed to identify the South Australian stakeholders associated with the program, and recommend the communication medium, timing, style and message that should be used to engage or inform the various stakeholder groups.
Work included;
Identifying a list of key stakeholders, stakeholder engagement and consultation (individual meetings) and assessment of each stakeholders’ sentiment on the program. Stakeholders fell into eight broad categories including Government of South Australia, Local Government, Industry Groups, and Environment Groups.
Collaboration with senior nuclear technology specialist, Director Maritime and other members of the Defence SA team as required.
Delivery of a report for the state and federal government that outlined key outcomes of the stakeholder engagement program, including critical insights and learnings, priority actions, and recommended engagement plan.
Working closely with the Director Marketing and Communications, Defence SA on progress findings to ensure the team could implement any findings and sensitivities within communications plans.
Collaboration with the Defence SA Communications Team and NewsCorp editorial team to contribute story angles and relevant insights for the ‘Defending Australia’ special edition content.
This was a four month contract for two days a week.
Helping deliver Labor’s “historic landslide” election victory.
Event Production
Strategy
Production management
Copywriting
Digital marketing
Earned media (PR)
Agency collaboration
Stakeholder engagement
Working as an extension of both the South Australian Labor Party and the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, I was hired initially to help support marketing and communications both prior to the election, and then as part of the 2022 State Election Campaign Team.
I worked directly with a broad team that included the Leader of the Opposition (now our Premier, Hon Peter Malinauskas), prospective and existing Members of Parliament, and the behind-the-scenes team that achieved a “historic landslide” victory to oust the incumbent single-term government.
Work included;
Production of key events for the campaign including the Campaign Launch & Election Night (Adelaide Oval), SA Labor State Convention & Health Rally (Adelaide Convention Centre) and Community Consultation Events (forums). This included location searches/scouting, all event setup, RoS, talent search and management, event collateral, styling, invitation and attendance management, liaison with media and more.
Analysis of campaign asset qualitative research results and dissemination of insights and learnings for use in campaigning.
End-to-end production of stills & video shoot(s), working with award-winning political and portrait photographer, Ben Baker. Included development of shot list based on strategic requirements, talent and location scouting and selection, pre-production management, post-production oversight.
Collateral development and production, including working with designers, editors and print production, image selection and art buying.
Secured earned media to support the campaign objectives.
Worked with external agencies (creative/advertising and digital) to deliver campaign assets including the Gold Effie-winning TVC, and website development (back- and front end).
Management of the website via CMS including copywriting, adding Policy information, ‘How To Votes’, candidate images and bios, campaign videos, more.
This was a six-month contract for three days a week (including weekend work when required).
Assisting people to ‘Find Their Place’ in SA’s defence industry.
Copywriting
Stakeholder engagement
Digital Marketing
‘Find Your Place’ is a campaign driven by Defence SA to raise awareness of the career paths to, and opportunities for, employment within South Australia’s defence and space industries.
Once an ambassador was identified, I reviewed available background information, conducted an interview and any secondary research required and wrote the content. I also often edited images to suit the web template.
Content was designed for distribution via the Find Your Place SA website, on social media channels, and via eDM.
This was project-based work that ran across 4 months, working remotely when available, and when it suited stakeholders. Where specific delivery dates were communicated, work was planned to meet them.
Ad-hoc content creation for SA’s lead government agency for defence.
Copywriting/Content Creation
Stakeholder engagement
Digital Marketing
Utilising the knowledge gained through previous DefenceSA projects, I have provided assistance to the team on various copywriting tasks across the portfolio of brands.
Work has included writing press releases for upcoming announcements, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and Veterans’ stories, and creating editorial articles in industry press.
This work has been contracted as required, and performed remotely. Where specific delivery dates were required, I have work with the team to ensure these can be met.
‘Talking Sh!t’ to increase prevention and early detection of Australia’s 2nd most deadly cancer.
Agency & partner collaboration
Stakeholder management
Content creation - copywriting & design
Event production
Analytics and campaign measurement
The Jodi Lee Foundation was granted funds from the Australian Government for a campaign to drive awareness of the impact that early detection can have on bowel cancer prognosis.
While the original campaign execution included a regional speaking tour, COVID had other ideas. So, in my previous role (at KWP, now KWP+Partners), I helped ideate and develop the idea for an online content series called ‘The Talking Sh!t Show’.
The series features Australian icons such as Merv Hughes, Gavin Wanganeen, Wendy Harmer, Richard Wilkins and Dr Ginny Mansberg, making serious information an whole lot more fun to digest.
Further into campaign development, I joined the Jodi Lee Foundation team (client-side) to extend the campaign and prepare for in-market launch.
Work included;
Working with the integrated team including leadership, design, social media management, finance and more.
Content development (copywriting and design) of assets for eDMs, Health Professional educational material, online events (webinars), event signage, FAQs, stakeholder presentations.
Collaboration with creative agency partners (KWPX) to deliver final edited content, social media content & paid media scope, SEM, and website landing page.
Collaboration with GPEX and Tonic to deliver educational material for Health Professionals to support the campaign, including development of a Health Professionals resource website hub.
Working with PR Agency (THEY) on media release development and event coordination.
Set-up and management of a new CRM system, including creation of event invites, managing guest lists and invite send out.
Set-up of Zoom Events, event testing and RoS for consumer online webinar events.
Development of campaign KPIs and measurement framework, including set up of GA4 and analytics dashboard (HootSuite) for tracking.
Assisting with additional requirements including technology integrations, strategic partnership proposal development, asset creation and stakeholder engagement as required,
This was a six-week contract for three days per week, with flexibility when required.
Building Brand Authority Through Thought Leadership
Thought-leadership & strategic advisory
Content creation - copywriting & design
Digital Marketing
Analytics and campaign measurement
Working with Senator Andrew McLachlan CSC, I provided communications, positioning and LinkedIn (and X) content support to help highlight his interest in environmental stewardship, conservation and responsible climate policy.
The work was designed to strengthen the Senator’s visibility, credibility and association with these issues, while ensuring content remained consistent with his voice, values and broader parliamentary work.
This was not treated as a standalone social media exercise. Content was developed in combination with the Senator’s speeches in the Senate, participation in parliamentary committees, media commentary and broader policy activity.
Work included;
Identifying relevant environmental, climate and conservation issues suitable for public commentary, particularly where they aligned with the Senator’s interests, values and parliamentary work.
Development and refinement of LinkedIn content to support the Senator’s positioning around environmental stewardship, conservation, climate integrity and responsible policy.
Monitoring relevant media, policy and public debate to identify appropriate opportunities for timely and considered commentary.
Reviewing LinkedIn performance and audience engagement to assess which themes, formats and messages were gaining traction.
Ensuring content remained measured, evidence-led and authentic to the Senator’s voice, including connecting environmental stewardship with values such as responsibility, legacy and care for country.
LinkedIn performance increased significantly vs. P400D achieving;
594,106 impressions
215,326 members reached
13,648 content engagements
4,402 new followers
Compared with the previous period, impressions increased by 705% and followers increased by 87%.
In combination with his speeches, committee work and broader parliamentary activity, this increased visibility contributed to broader media attention, with coverage in publications and outlets including The Australian, Guardian Australia, Sky News, ABC Radio and more.
This work was contracted over a circa 15-month period, performed remotely, with regular scheduled and ad-hoc check-ins.
Creating ‘The Steward’s Lantern’: From Political Tension to Brand Clarity
Naming, positioning and tone of voice
Copywriting & content creation
Brand strategy
Content strategy & syndication
Podcast development & launch infrastructure
Photography production
Supplier & stakeholder management
Website strategy, UX & build
CRM & email marketing setup
Launch planning & execution
Brand guidelines & handover documentation
Senator Andrew McLachlan needed more than a communications refresh. He needed a clear public platform for a position that does not fit neatly into Australia’s usual political categories.
As a Senator, conservative thinker and passionate conservationist, Andrew believes deeply in protecting Nature, restoring ecological balance and responding seriously to climate and biodiversity risk. His worldview is also grounded in conservative principles: stewardship, duty, prudence, enterprise, democratic institutions and love of country.
The challenge was to make that tension legible, and compelling.
The work needed to show that environmental concern is not the property of one side of politics. It needed to speak to Australians who care about Nature but feel alienated by slogans, culture-war language or ideological certainty. It needed to be serious enough for policymakers and media, but human enough to build a public audience.
From this, The Steward’s Lantern was created: a public platform, podcast and content ecosystem for practical conservation, principled stewardship and a more thoughtful environmental conversation.
At the heart of the project was a simple strategic idea:
Conservation is not a partisan identity. It is a duty of stewardship.
The name The Steward’s Lantern was developed to carry that idea. A steward suggests duty, responsibility and care. A lantern suggests light, clarity and guidance. Together, the name gave the platform a metaphor strong enough to hold its political nuance, environmental purpose and public ambition.
Work included:
Naming the platform and developing the core brand idea, messaging and positioning.
Creating the brief for the visual identity, sourcing the design supplier and managing the identity development process from concept through to completion.
Defining the tone of voice: measured, values-led, pragmatic and occasionally lyrical, with enough conviction to stand apart from conventional political and environmental messaging.
Determining the website technology structure based on the needs of the platform, then securing the domain and building the website from scratch, including UX, design, copywriting, content structure and build.
Developing the podcast concept, format and episode structure, including intro scripts, guest positioning, episode descriptions, show notes, YouTube copy and promotional copy.
Sourcing and managing suppliers for the video podcast, including the animation sequence for the opener and music. This included music selection and sequencing.
Creating guest communication templates and supporting materials to make the podcast process clear, professional and consistent.
Developing the creative direction for the podcast set, including the desired tone, visual style and production ambition.
Sourcing photographers and organising two brand shoots, including client-side production, location scouting, shot planning, set ambition and creative direction.
Developing LinkedIn as the primary thought leadership channel, with posts combining literary references, credible evidence, policy relevance and Andrew’s distinctive conservation voice.
Creating launch communications for the brand and podcast, including messaging to introduce The Steward’s Lantern as a new voice for conservation-minded Australians.
Building a scalable content system across website, podcast platforms, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Setting up Mailchimp as the email marketing platform, including newsletter template creation, audience segmentation, website integration and automated contact capture, so enquiries and subscribers flowed directly from the website into the correct audience segments.
Developing a 100+-page brand guidelines and handover document so the brand could be managed confidently in-house, covering strategy, messaging, tone of voice, visual identity usage, content principles, podcast structures, platform guidance and practical templates.
The result was a fully formed public platform with a clear identity, distinctive voice and coherent content ecosystem. Most importantly, the work gave Andrew a platform capable of holding complexity without confusion.
This work was contracted over a circa 15-month period, performed remotely, with regular scheduled and ad-hoc check-ins.
