Blog post
June 25, 2019

Confidence, complexity and thinking beyond the first step

Worry is a terrible use of imagination.

Worry, fear and second guessing are everywhere. It’s hard to say if it’s at an all-time high or if it just feels like it with the rise of fake news, social media amplification and the proliferation of stories that keep our minds hunting for the truth. Whatever the reason, we seem to be entering an age where there are no breaks or breathers for our consciousness to just stop and focus on what we can discern as truth, or measure with certainty. We are knee-deep in thoughts and worry, not just between 9-5pm, but now 24/7 and 365 days a year – there is noise all around us.

Of course, there is the other side of the coin that says all this complexity has only made us clearer about our collective want for simplicity. We crave confidence, feelings of clarity, the ability to see a path, and to pinpoint the underlying message before we try to forecast the future. With books like ‘It’s Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America’ by David Cay Johnston on one side and ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ by Mark Manson on the other, it’s easy to agree that 2017 may have been a little overwhelming. 

However, if we spend too much time worrying, we leave no room for imagination. We waste energy on what might be, and not on what could be. Yes, the line is very similar, but it has a distinct difference. Imagination chooses to see possibilities – it’s best friends with innovation, and in a business context it can help you regain focus on your desired end goal.

This isn’t to say that you never think beyond the first step when developing your communication strategy, influence program or press release. This is crucial to ensure you’ve thought everything through thoroughly, but also should include things like risk register that will help you minimize risk, accept the things you can’t control, and make the decision to go ahead with the knowledge that you have done what you can to avoid late night worries.

Once you’re off it’s about having the tools in place to reduce worry and creating time for imagination or innovation. We like to fight worry with confidence. Our clients often use our Mediaportal Alerts or the Isentia App to alert them to news that needs attention, giving them peace of mind that someone else is on the case and the freedom to use their mind elsewhere. Or in some cases, it’s going to bed knowing that they will get an early morning daily brief of news coverage so that they can start the day with a clearer picture of what to priorities.  Whatever’s going to give you back some confidence to let your mind refocus on producing more amazingness, do it.

You won’t regret a good idea. But you will regret the ones you never discover.

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Interning at Isentia was enriching and fulfilling

I had the pleasure of interning at Isentia, and my experience was nothing short of wonderful. 

Having only just graduated from university, I could not help but feel slightly apprehensive starting my internship. However, from my very first day, I was greeted with friendly faces all around the office. Before I knew it, I was having morning coffees with my team mates, and soon my colleagues became familiar friends. I was pleasantly surprised by how inclusive and positive the culture proved to be. 

My leader and colleagues from the marketing team were patient when it came to sharing knowledge and took the time to give me tasks that enhanced my learning experience. 

During my internship I gained a deeper understanding how to execute a social media campaign. The planning that goes behind each campaign was so extensive and detailed, which I found intimidating initially, but nevertheless proved to be a great learning experience. For example, I was introduced to the concept of publishing paid advertisements, SEO and content creation. I was even given the chance to write blogs, a responsibility I took on-board with great enthusiasm. 

My experience was not limited to marketing, I was fortunate enough to get involved with the client experience team, where I learnt more about Mediaportal and the amazing insight services Isentia provides. Time flew by quickly and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to learn and grow.

Isentia isn’t all about working hard; it provides a holistic experience with various social activities and events so everyone has a chance to get to know each other better and learn about the different roles that help to make everything happen. 

I am a strong believer in an enriching environment and Isentia has exceeded my expectations as a company, which teaches and places value in those who work there. The knowledge I have gained is invaluable, and I am thankful for the friendships I have made along the way. 

I highly recommend working at Isentia and leave the team feeling much more confident of the future ahead - a big thanks to everyone who added to my experience.

 Nicole C.
Sydney University, Marketing Graduate

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My experience as an Isentia Intern, Nicole

Interning at Isentia was enriching and fulfilling

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How would I sum up my experience as an intern for Isentia? Interesting, rewarding, challenging, and engaging.

Hi, my name is Allan. I am currently an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering and Business Management student studying at the University of Technology, Sydney – and have recently completed an internship with Isentia’s HR department.

First of all, you might be wondering what an Engineer is doing as a HR Intern – they don’t exactly fit together, do they? It was for this reason that I was initially hesitant in applying for the role as I didn’t know whether it would align with what I wanted out of my future, or whether I would be a good fit.

However, I soon learnt that being an intern with Isentia was a rewarding and interesting role, not to mention the fact that I was also surrounded by a group of incredibly supportive and knowledgeable people.

Having put myself forward as a mentee for the Australian Human Resources Institute’s mentoring program, I was inspired to learn more – an interest that ultimately led me to this exciting role.

Being an HR intern at Isentia wasn’t just any job – I took on this role because of the challenges it would provide to explore a different area of expertise. And yes, there were definitely new and interesting projects waiting to test my capabilities!

I do have to admit, I always seemed to find myself applying a bit of my engineering experience to the way I undertook each task, but I think this was an approach that helped bring a new and alternative perspective to the team. Who knows, maybe I taught them something new too?!

Along with the day-to-day operations of a HR department, I also gained skills across areas such as policy development, the intricacies of an intranet, and how a strategic HR function operates within a large business.

I would highly recommend Isentia for all future interns wishing to challenge themselves with something new and exciting – I certainly loved my time there and will carry that experience with me throughout my career!

Allan Soo 
Student from the University of Technology, Sydney NSW
Combined Degree in Business Management (Hons) and Mechanical Engineering (Hons)

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Blog
An unforgettable, positive and awesome experience

How would I sum up my experience as an intern for Isentia? Interesting, rewarding, challenging, and engaging.

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Optimise your customers' journey across all touchpoints to achieve a holistic and customer-centric experience

Customers now have a powerful voice in sharing their experiences and with it, comes an expectation for actions to take place as a result of their feedback. In our digital world, customer data is nearly limitless – but people are much more than data. Their lives are defined by driving wants, needs and desires with an endless amount of choice and more often than not, brands believe they are delivering a better experience to these people than they actually are.

For those brands or organisations that choose to close the experience gap and embrace maximising the customer experience (CX), are finding themselves in a race to the top. By understanding what drives your customers’ decisions and the other influences that are out there, you can improve overall business growth and success over your competitors by making decisions based on customer intelligence.

Optimising the customer experience

A customer’s feedback has the power to transform your organisation through innovation and by improving their overall experience it can reduce customer churn. No matter where your organisation is in terms of CX maturity or customer feedback management, it is important to have access to customer insights in order to implement strategies to retain them. 

Here are 3 steps to maximising the customer experience:

1.       Illustrate the customer journey

The customer experience is made up of many customer journeys – the path customers take to solve a problem or need. The better experience your customers have with your brand or service, the more engaged they become, and the more opportunities become available. Having a great customer experience can also promote customer loyalty and as long you continuously optimise every element along their journey you will have satisfied customers.

Understanding the steps of your customers journey through various touchpoints, engagements and interactions with your brand will help to properly target your customers and understand their requirements and their pain points. Divide the customer journey into phases and pay close attention to each component by measuring the outcomes, collecting feedback and applying this feedback where possible. This will maximise customer success.

2.       Drive value from experience data

Looking at both quantitative and qualitative approaches across various facets of your business must be considered to give a complete picture of your customer data. Looking at one source will only give an incomplete representation.

Customer experience is more than sending surveys and collecting feedback – having this information is important but it’s also about enriching and humanising the experience and using these unique experiences to create a positive customer centric culture. Sharing insights and developing processes to improve the customer experience and create business value allows the best experience possible. It also generates the maximum return on your efforts. Obtaining this information can be done through swapping knowledge between cross functional groups by identifying where there are gaps as well as what's working well. A team dashboard can also be created that specifically looks at different touchpoints and their success. Whatever data you do gather, turn it into actionable insights that directly improve your customers 'experience.

3.       Learn from churn when it happens

Reducing customer churn is always sought after, however is quite difficult to achieve. Churn happens from poor experiences (both operational and strategic) and can have a drastic effect on your bottom line but it can also be helpful and insightful for your brand to learn and improve. For the customers you’re not able to prevent from churning, be sure to find out why they decided to move on. Conduct a short exit interview with the customer to understand their experiences and their pain points and take this knowledge to make improvements.

Fundamentally, it’s important to ensure a positive customer experience to encourage your customers to build brand loyalty. Customers hold the power in today’s business landscape which is why seeking feedback on their experiences is valuable to your brand or organisations' performance and reputation.

Happy customer, happy life.

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Blog
Experiences are the new differentiators

Optimise your customers’ journey across all touchpoints to achieve a holistic and customer-centric experience

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If there’s one topic Australians never tire of debating, it’s housing. Whether it’s at the pub, around the dinner table, or dominating headlines, property prices, rent hikes and the “can I ever afford a home?” questions are constant fixtures of the national conversation.

But let’s be honest—rising house prices aren’t new. What is changing is how the conversation is evolving, who’s shaping it, and which narratives are starting to stick.

 Using Lumina’s Stories and Perspectives, we analysed 19 stories and over 50 perspectives across a 30-day period from 15 March to 14 April 2026 to understand what’s actually driving the housing narrative in Australia right now—and why it matters. 

 

Which are the stories shaping conversation and who's driving it?

 

 

Housing Supply and Affordability Divide — Analysts and economists link supply shortages directly to soaring prices. Cities that built more homes saw far less price growth. 

Key drivers: Gerard Burg (Cotality), Peter Tulip (Centre for Independent Studies), Australian Associated Press

Tax Reform Debates Heat Up Ahead of Budget — 14 competing perspectives. Advocates say reforms are essential for fairness; the property industry warns they’ll push rents up 30%. 

Key drivers: Anthony Albanese, Jim Chalmers, Angus Taylor, Housing Industry Association, Saul Eslake

Grattan Institute Connects Housing to Democratic Trust — A major report argues that the housing crisis is eroding public confidence in democracy itself. 

Key drivers: Aruna Sathanapally, Grattan Institute

 

 

Australians make housing supply the biggest story


This perspective was
100% of the coverage of this story and generated 85 media items, making it the most widely covered story of the entire period. The main insight is the public drawing a direct line between housing supply levels and property prices across Australia’s capital cities. 

Perth and Brisbane, where home construction has lagged well behind population growth since the pandemic, have seen property values surge massively. Meanwhile, Victoria — which built a proportionally higher number of new homes — saw less growth, compared to the national average.

It ran everywhere from PerthNow to regional papers across NSW and Victoria. The fact that the Australian Associated Press syndicated the data meant it hit dozens of outlets simultaneously.

 

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The key drivers are property analysts Gerard Burg from Cotality and Peter Tulip from the Centre for Independent Studies. Both are pushing the same message. If you want to fix affordability, you have to fix supply. Their proposed solution is liberalising zoning laws, particularly in NSW and Victoria, to allow more homes to be built faster. 

 

Why does this matter for communicators?

This story had the widest media footprint of the entire period, reaching outlets from The West Australian to regional mastheads across the country. If your organisation operates in housing, property, or urban planning, the “supply-equals-affordability” narrative is now firmly established in public discourse, and therefore, your messaging needs to account for it. Audiences know of the supply argument before, and with experts aligned on the issue, it’s harder for policymakers to dismiss it easily. 

It’s also worth noting how the analysis around who the key drivers are adds a layer traditional media monitoring might miss. The AAP’s role as the primary distribution channel meant this story reached dozens of the bigger mastheads like PerthNow and The West Australian  and  hyperlocal outlets like the Cobram Courier and Benalla Ensign, simultaneously. For communicators, this distribution pattern indicates that a story has penetrated both metropolitan and regional audiences, making it impossible to dismiss as just a capital-city concern.  

 

Tax reform rebates are the most contested story of the month

The housing tax reform debate was the most contested generating 14 distinct perspectives across 23 media items becoming by far the most multi-sided story of the month. However, the top three perspectives were the most interesting to look at considering how disputed the opinions of either side are and sit at the highest level in the government. 

At the centre of it is the Albanese Government’s consideration of reducing the capital gains tax discount and limiting negative gearing ahead of the May budget. The country is essentially split down the middle on this one. 

Perspective 1: This made up for 34.8% of the story coverage. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and housing advocacy group Everybody’s Home are arguing that the current system unfairly benefits wealthy investors while locking out first-home buyers. Economist Saul Eslake backs this view. Together, they account for about a third of the story’s total coverage.

Perspective 2: This had an equal share in coverage at 34.8% of the story. Opposition figures Angus Taylor, the Housing Industry Association, and Victorian Libertarian Party Leader David Limbrick are warning that scrapping these tax incentives will scare off investors, shrink rental supply, and push rents up by as much as 30%. They command an equal share of the conversation (Herald Sun)

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What’s interesting is what sits beneath these two dominant perspectives. A third angle that was 17.4% of the story coverage  was driven by Chalmers and Greens Senator Nick McKim, frames the whole debate as a question of intergenerational fairness. And then there are the young “rentvestors” who rent where they live but own an investment property elsewhere. They’re worried about getting caught in the crossfire of changes that weren’t designed with them in mind (Australian Financial Review)

Trust is eroding in the Australian democracy — and housing is the problem

The Grattan Institute released a report warning that trust in Australian democracy is under pressure, and housing is one of the reasons why. This soon became the second biggest story, generating 58 media items. 

Led by Grattan CEO Aruna Sathanapally, the report argues that persistent inequality, including the housing affordability gap, is eroding the social contract between citizens and government. The report explicitly names the housing crisis as one of the major unresolved challenges fuelling public disillusionment. Sathanapally is the key driver of this story, commanding over 93% of its coverage. Her influence matters because she’s reframing housing as something bigger than an economic problem. She’s positioning it as a threat to democratic stability. That’s a powerful narrative shift, and one that gives housing advocates a new way to make their case. 

For anyone in public affairs or government communications, this connection between housing and democratic trust is worth watching. It’s the kind of framing that can reshape how policymakers prioritise the issue. 

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How does this inform PR & Comms strategy?

  1. Know which side of the debate your audience sits on: The tax reform story alone has 14 perspectives. If you’re crafting messaging around housing policy, understand which perspective your stakeholders identify with and who they consider a credible voice. A one-size-fits all approach might not work.
  2. Follow the key drivers, not just the headlines: The unexpected pairing of Greens Senator Nick McKim with Treasurer Chalmers on intergenerational fairness suggests this issue is cutting across traditional party lines in ways that could reshape coalition dynamics. Meanwhile, the "rentvestor" audience represents a politically orphaned group that neither side of the debate is referencing or considering, making them a potential swing audience whose concerns could quietly shape how any reform actually lands.
  3. Watch the emerging narratives: One Nation’s growing support, the “rentvestor” demographic, and the connection between housing and democratic trust are all stories that could become dominant in the months ahead. 

 

What does this tell us about the Australian housing conversation?

It’s not a new crisis anymore. It’s a nationally entrenched issue that is now being addressed by the public by way of debates along with policymakers and experts at the highest government level. These debates are on solutions, trade-offs and fairness. The conversation is much more sophisticated where audiences are not just talking about “prices being too high”, but discussing supply, investments, short term relief vs long term reform. What’s also essential is to look at the key drivers or the key voices driving the top narratives.  From economists to policymakers to advocacy groups, the voices gaining traction are influencing how the issue is understood and what solutions feel viable.

Understanding not just what’s being said, but who is driving the conversation and why it’s resonating, is becoming critical for organisations looking to engage credibly. That’s where Lumina’s Stories and Perspectives comes in, helping you move beyond headlines to uncover the narratives and voices shaping the issues that matter most. 

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Want to see these insights for your own industry or brand? Discover what Lumina Stories and Perspectives can surface for you.

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What’s really driving Australia’s housing conversation right now?

Explore how housing in Australia has become a nationally entrenched issue where audiences participate in shaping conversation as much as the policymakers.

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