The Banksia Pod

The pandemic is once again the force that is driving most of the stories on the front pages, and there's plenty at stake for politicians, businesses, and citizens alike.

In this mini-series of MA Explains... we're exploring the different factors in the COVID recovery process.

Today's guest is Dr Paul Guerra. He is the CEO of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Victoria's peak business group, a role he took over in February 2020.

Today's conversation centres around one key premise: what does business expect from government through the pandemic?

Topics discussed in this episode:

•What was the Chamber's response to the Victorian COVID-19 Recovery Road Map

•How important is it to provide an alternative when you're contesting government policy?

•How do you balance that health challenge with the challenge COVID-19 poses to businesses?

•How important is it to given a 'north star' to motivate people to change behaviour?

•What role should businesses play on the matter of vaccine uptake?

If you're interested in strategic communications advice for your business, the Michelson Alexander team is here to help. Get in touch with us via our website, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Hosts: Jack Banister, Michelson Alexander Head of Content & Shannon Gill, Michelson Alexander Senior Associate

Guest: Paul Guerra

The pandemic is once again the force that is driving most of the stories on the front pages, and there's plenty at stake for politicians, businesses, and citizens alike.

In this mini-series of MA Explains... we're exploring the different factors in the COVID recovery process.

Today's guest is Dr Andrés Noé. He's a medical doctor, a Rhodes scholar and one of the clinicians involved with the development and trialing of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

As well as vast experiences working on malaria and malaria vaccines, Noé has also spent a decade focused on the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. He has now developed high-level COVID-19 expertise via various projects, and led contact tracing teams in the UK. He is currently working at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Topics discussed in this episode:

•What can Australians expect in the next 12 months?

•How has the COVID response in Australia differed to the UK response?

•Why does vaccine hesitancy occur and how do we approach it?

If you're interested in strategic communications advice for your business, the Michelson Alexander team is here to help. Get in touch with us via our website, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Hosts: Jack Banister, Michelson Alexander Head of Content & Shannon Gill, Michelson Alexander Senior Associate

Guest: Dr Andrés Noé

The pandemic is once again the force that is driving most of the stories on the front pages, and there's plenty at stake for politicians, businesses, and celebrities alike.

This week, Michelson Alexander's Senior Associates, James Fitzpatrick and Shannon Gill, dissect the major stories.

What can businesses do to encourage their employees and customers to receive a COVID-19 vaccine?

Why did the public take exception to Scott Morrison's Father's Day trip to Sydney to see his family?

And if they had their moments over again, what would Nadia Bartel and Guy Sebastian do differently?

On Michelson Alexander Explains, we've been looking at the Olympics and how the stories of the Games cut through with the public, much of which were in lockdown.

This week the Paralympics starts at a time when we are all in need of good news stories.

Don Elgin competed at three Paralympics in Athletics and won four medals. He is an amputee, having been born without the lower half of his left leg. He is now the Head of Wallara Online and remains connected to our Paralympic team via StarAmp Global, a management company he founded to support amputee athletes.

Don joins us to talk about what the Paralympic movement has meant to his life, the messaging around disability, and how the moment in the media spotlight the Paralympics will have over the next few weeks can communicate messages far beyond sport.

TOPICS:

How do the Olympic/Paralympic narratives differ?

Do the all-abilities communities see the Paralympics as a time to progress the community at large? What is the overriding message that can be communicated?

We celebrate the inclusion the Paralympic Games show - but how can we do better in the other three and a half years, as businesses, leaders, and employees?

If you're interested in strategic communications advice for your business, the Michelson Alexander team is here to help. Get in touch with us via our website, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Hosts: Jack Banister, Michelson Alexander Lead Copywriter & Shannon Gill, Michelson Alexander Senior Associate

Guest: Don Elgin

The Tokyo Olympics marks the end of, this time around, a 5-year cycle for athletes that will result in a well-earned mental and physical break. But the same applies for those that work with the athletes, including communications professionals.

Lucy Benjamin has worked across the globe in several sports, but most recently, she's been Australian rowing's communications and government relations manager.

Lucy is finishing up at Rowing Australia at the end of the Games, so, in this episode of Michelson Alexander Explains, we talk to Lucy about how the Olympics function from a comms perspective.

TOPICS:

What was the Olympic experience like, given it wasn't what most might've been expecting?

What does the day-to-day of a comms professional look like during the Olympics?

Is there much sense of what Is happening outside of the 'Olympic' bubble?

How does the communications process work for an Olympic sport? What sort of adjustments do you have to make to fall under the AOC's banner?

The Olympics is the peak of media attention and interest from the wider public - from a comms perspective, how important are these two weeks in terms of promotion?

What would it have meant if the Olympics had not been staged? What damage would be done to rowing?

How do you prepare and position your sport for an Olympic year so that you have maximum impact when that year arrives?

How do you convince athletes that telling their stories will help themselves and the sport?

If you're interested in strategic communications advice for your business, the Michelson Alexander team is here to help. Get in touch with us via our website, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Hosts: Jack Banister, Michelson Alexander Lead Copywriter & Shannon Gill, Michelson Alexander Senior Associate

Guest: Lucy Benjamin

One of the stories of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games has been the strength of the First Nation's athletes representing Australia.

Basketballer Patrick Mills carried the flag; the Matildas posed for a photo with the Aboriginal flag before their first game; and the team uniforms are adorned with Indigenous designs.

There are 16 First Nations athletes in Tokyo - a remarkable number given that only 52 First Nations athletes have represented Australia at all Olympic Games.

On this episode of Michelson Alexander Explains... Nova Peris, the first Indigenous Australian to win an Olympic gold medal joins to discuss what all organisations, including our Olympic team, can do to let First Nations people to shine.

TOPICS:

How much has changed for First Nations athletes since 1996?

When storytellers are working with First Nations stories, what steps can they take to do so sensitively and in a way that gives subjects control?

Is Brisbane in 2032 an opportunity to drive representation on and off the field as we host these Games?

How can we help to promote Indigenous excellence in sport, and in everyday life?

If you're interested in strategic communications advice for your business, the Michelson Alexander team is here to help. Get in touch with us via our website, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Hosts: Jack Banister, Michelson Alexander Lead Copywriter & Shannon Gill, Michelson Alexander Senior Associate

Guest: Nova Peris

The long-overdue 2020 Olympics kicked off on Wednesday, July 21 when Australia was resoundingly thumped by their Japanese hosts on a softball diamond in Fukushima.

These Olympics come after months of anything-but-softball from the IOC, which has forged ahead despite repeated outbreaks of COVID-19 globally, and in the host city, Tokyo.

On the first episode in a three-part mini-series about the Games, the Michelson Alexander team will be looking at Tokyo 2020 through a strategic communications lens.

TOPICS:

83% of the Japanese population did not want these Olympics to proceed... What sort of challenge did this context present for the IOC? What was their approach? What sort of narrative should one try to create in this situation?

What are the major topics for discussion, now that the Games are underway?

What are the key lessons for brands and businesses from these Games?

If you're interested in strategic communications advice for your business, the Michelson Alexander team is here to help. Get in touch with us via our website, LinkedIn, or Twitter.

Hosts: Jack Banister, Michelson Alexander Lead Copywriter & Shannon Gill, Michelson Alexander Senior Associate

Michelson Alexander is excited to be launching our new podcast, Michelson

Alexander Explains...

Our team comes from a diverse array of backgrounds, and has vast experience in a range of sectors, including the media, communications, legal affairs, politics and policy.

On the show, we'll be taking a strategic communications lens to the stories you'll find on the front page of your morning paper and talking to the movers and shakers that are breaking and making those stories.

You can expect to hear interviews with prominent Australians, explainer episodes on key government policies, and analysis from our team about whatever crisis has been leading the six o'clock bulletins.

We'll pull back the curtain to show you how and why news and policies are made, what's really happening behind the scenes, and how it affects you and your business.