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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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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A weekly tracker tracing the stories, figures and policies driving media and social coverage in the 2026 Victoria State Election across Online News, TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazine, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Blogs and Forums. This edition covers conversations and coverage from 26th October - 2nd November 2026, highlighting what’s shaping the election conversation.

1. Election Conversation

7,571
total relevant mentions this week (3,649 media + 3,922 social)

Media = news coverage of the Victorian state election (TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, online news). Social = public posts across X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Forums and Blogs — everyone posting, not just media outlets. The two are counted separately and summed, with no overlap between them.

2. Media Issue of the Week

Party Leaders Agree to Four-Way Election Debate

Cross-party229 media items · about 1 in 16 election news items

The week began with a long-running political standoff over the election debate format finally breaking. Opposition Leader Jess Wilson had spent weeks demanding a one-on-one contest with Premier Ben Carroll, framing it as a straightforward choice between the two major parties. Carroll, however, had pushed for a 'three-way contest' that included One Nation's Warren Pickering, a move some commentators saw as an attempt to split the conservative vote. The deadlock ended on Tuesday when Wilson reversed her position, agreeing to a four-way 'People's Forum' hosted by News24 and the Herald Sun, but only on the condition the Greens' Ellen Sandell was also included. Wilson then told media that Carroll was 'hiding' and needed other leaders as 'comfort blankets'. The final agreement, confirmed on Wednesday, will see all four leaders face questions from undecided voters in a single event next week.

The debate format is part of a wider contest over how the campaign is framed. Wilson's initial position would have presented the election as a choice between government and opposition. Carroll's push to include Pickering was seen by some as an attempt to draw support away from Wilson on the right. By agreeing to a four-way format on the condition that the Greens were included, Wilson presented Carroll as avoiding a direct contest and herself as open to a broader discussion. Wilson's 'comfort blankets' line became the week's most repeated soundbite.

The story dominated political coverage from Monday through Thursday, generating over 220 articles. It was largely a story about campaign process rather than policy. Headlines like 'Snags and snipes: Leaders sizzle over debate' focused on the personal friction between the leaders, while sustained coverage also followed each change in the negotiations.

3. What's happening across media and social?

How the same issues and parties are landing in the news versus in public conversation

MediaSocial
Issues
Campaign & Election Process
Media
37.2%
Social
59.8%
Government Integrity & Accountability
Media
9.8%
Social
10.7%
Health & Hospitals
Media
13.8%
Social
4.6%
Cost of Living & State Finances
Media
12.4%
Social
3.9%
Transport & Infrastructure
Media
8.5%
Social
3.2%
Parties
Liberal
Media
67.9%
Social
46.2%
Labor
Media
68.0%
Social
44.5%
One Nation
Media
42.6%
Social
51.9%
Greens
Media
11.6%
Social
11.6%
Nationals
Media
3.5%
Social
2.5%

One Nation is punching above its media weight online, drawing a bigger share of social conversation than news coverage. Campaign & Election Process is a bigger talking point in public conversation than it is in the news.

4. Party Share of Conversation

Combined share of media + social mentions this week — attention, not polling

1Liberal
32.3%
2Labor
31.8%
3One Nation
27.0%
4Greens
6.6%
5Nationals
1.7%
6Libertarian
0.6%

Shares add up to 100% of the six parties shown. Share of conversation measures how much each party was mentioned across media and social this week, not polling, voter intention or electoral support.

5. Top candidates this week

Ranked by combined media + social mentions · share of mentions among the five candidates shown

1Jess Wilson
Liberal · Opposition Leader
42.5%
2Ben Carroll
Labor · Premier
34.8%
3Warren Pickering
One Nation · One Nation leader
14.1%
4Ellen Sandell
Greens · Greens leader
5.3%
5Amanda Dow
Liberal · candidate for Yan Yean
3.3%

Mentions measure attention, not popularity, approval or electoral prospects.

6. Election issues

Top themes this week

Top themes this week, media + social combined · share of mentions among the four themes shown

1Campaign & Election Process
64.2%
2Government Integrity & Accountability
13.4%
3Health & Hospitals
11.8%
4Cost of Living & State Finances
10.5%

What's inside each topic?

The specific stories driving each theme above, as a share of that theme's own coverage

Campaign & Election Process
Polling and vote intention
9%
Leaders' debate arrangements
7%
Personal attacks
6%
Preference deals
3%
Government Integrity & Accountability
Government transparency pledge
11%
Pickering abuse allegations
8%
One Nation costings refusal
5%
Airport rail corruption allegations
2%
Health & Hospitals
Dental clinics pledge
44%
Regional health gaps
10%
Regional health wait times pledges
2%
Hospital ED expansion pledge
1%
Cost of Living & State Finances
Business Council ranking criticism
23%
State debt and revenue downgrade
8%
Meghan Markle security funding
1%

What's driving conversation about each party?

Each party's top issues in social conversation this week

Labor
1Government Integrity & Accountability
2Health & Hospitals
3Transport & Infrastructure
Liberal
1Government Integrity & Accountability
2Health & Hospitals
3Crime & Community Safety
Nationals
1Transport & Infrastructure
2Crime & Community Safety
3Emergency Services & Disasters
Greens
1Government Integrity & Accountability
2Cost of Living & State Finances
3Housing & Planning
One Nation
1Government Integrity & Accountability
2Crime & Community Safety
3Health & Hospitals

7. Top election promises

This week's most-covered costed pledges, media + social combined

Labor
Labor Doubles Pledge to 20 Free Dental Clinics Statewide
222 media · 28 social
$230 million
One Nation
One Nation Pledges Transparency While Refusing to Release Policy Costings
165 media · 73 social
Nationals
Coalition Pledges $200M for CFA Fire Trucks and Stations
122 media · 19 social
$200 million

8. Where the coverage came from

Media type and social platform split this week

Media type
3,649
Online News69%
AM Radio10%
Newspaper9%
TV7%
Other (FM Radio, Magazine)5%
Social platform
3,922
X69.6%
Facebook21.9%
Instagram3.1%
TikTok2.7%
Forums1.7%
Threads0.6%
Blogs0.5%

Top outlets: 3AW, News24, ABC Radio Melbourne
Most active accounts: JackLit10200548, Commoncents21, Dedicatedlyfirm

9. Issues to watch

What communicators should keep an eye on next week

  • Monitor the debate's impact on leader credibility, as the four-way format could elevate minor parties and reshape voter perceptions of competence, forcing communicators to prepare for a more fragmented narrative landscape. Watch for post-debate polling shifts and which leaders' styles resonate on key issues like cost of living.
  • Track how business groups respond to Victoria's 'worst for business' ranking, as parties will face pressure to address economic confidence in their messaging. Look for new policy announcements aimed at reversing this perception and any attempts to link it to government integrity debates.
  • Assess the fallout from candidate controversies, as One Nation's social media scandal and the assault charge could test party discipline and public trust. Watch for how each party manages these reputational risks and whether they shift focus back to core policy pledges like health and infrastructure.


If you want to find out more about how Isentia can help you understand the Victoria state election media landscape, please reach out to us here.

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Victoria State Election 2026: Debate Deal, One Nation Strong Online, Campaign Process Leads

What shaped the Victorian election 2026 conversation, 26 Oct–2 Nov: a four-way debate deal, One Nation strong on social and campaign process in the lead.

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