In the past year, there have been over 280,000 media mentions of the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
When you look at the sheer scale of coverage for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, it’s amazing to think just how complex and diversified the voices within that noise are. As Australia’s largest sporting event this decade, the Games are attracting worldwide interest – providing a perfect example of how media intelligence is crucial for any organisation to remain empowered and informed.
Supporting the work of the Commonwealth Games by delivering invaluable insight to those working behind the scenes enables the team to digest huge volumes of content into bite-sized pieces of knowledge that can be used to take action, address key topics or issues, and keep the broader organisation informed.
From a personal perspective, it’s been amazing to watch as the Commonwealth Games preparation unfolds – setting somewhat of a ‘gold’ standard when it comes to media intelligence and insights.
Why? Because the team have recognised the value of not only pulling out pertinent coverage daily, but engaging in media insights to better position themselves and react to negative press accordingly.
If you do the math, 280,000 media mention averages out to around 780 media items a day across social and mainstream – and that’s during a non-Games time period.
Now let’s multiple this number by about 10 to account for the increase of coverage during Games time. This team is tasked with staying across more than 7,800 media items per day across social and mainstream, globally.
It’s easy to understand the need to prepare, because the numbers don’t stop there. For example there’s expected to be a TV audience of 1.5 billion, 1.5 million spectators, 6,600 athletes and over 15,000 volunteers – all engaged and ready to be part of #GC2018.
With those numbers spinning around in my head, it’s easy to see how clients can become overwhelmed. Analysis is simply a must-have in this scenario – even just to get some perspective on the sheer volumes of coverage.
When you think about an event like GC2018, there is a lot of information that needs to be tracked – and much of it is not about the sport itself. From the infrastructure, to local community issues, to travel issues, ticketing, athletes and venues (the list goes on!) to beautiful PR pieces, hosting media at the Commonwealth Games Village (CGV), and briefing ambassadors on crisis management.
Being able to distill, digest and make sense of this volume of coverage is something we’re proud to be supporting – providing the tools to capture instant quantitative insights as well as tracking trends and peaks in coverage against issues or topics to support the team’s decision-making processes during the Games.
From our broadcast monitors, to our daily briefing editors to our operations and account management. From our senior analysts who work on our key sporting client’s insights, to our client service support – we’ve all been working towards this event in some way or another for the past few years, and the countdown is now on! We’ve also had countless conversations about making sure we’re ready for every possible scenario that may impact the Games (and as a result, the media environment surrounding it). The Isentia team have workshopped and considered issues from power outages, to weather conditions, to doping scandals, to village incidents, to buses of athletes crashing. We need to make sure we are positioned to meet anything that comes up, and that includes having an embedded staff member at HQ from now until the end of the Games, providing always-on support.
Similarly, the Commonwealth Games team are busy building infrastructure and creating impact from the Games which will result in generational benefit for the Gold Coast region and Queensland. It’s not just a one-time sporting event. The Games venues will leave world-class infrastructure for future international events, while the Commonwealth Games Village will become the heart of the Gold Coast health and knowledge precinct.
When you’re in the sport of media intelligence and supporting crisis management, it’s critical to be able to map out scenarios that may impact clients, ensuring the both of you are prepped and ready for what’s ahead. At Isentia, we pride ourselves on being an extension of our client’s team. And for an event like the Commonwealth Games, we are sitting side-by-side, every step of the way – excited to support Queensland’s growth well into the future.
Isentia is proud to be supporting the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games by delivering powerful media intelligence and insights all the way to the finish line. Read more from John Bissinella, Head of Client Success about how we stay ahead of the games to deliver the best possible service for our clients here.
Loren is an experienced marketing professional who translates data and insights using Isentia solutions into trends and research, bringing clients closer to the benefits of audience intelligence. Loren thrives on introducing the groundbreaking ways in which data and insights can help a brand or organisation, enabling them to exceed their strategic objectives and goals.
We’ve implemented a lot of changes over the last six months to ensure our clients are ready for the years ahead – working on what’s important to ensure that we deliver the best possible service.
Shifting forces
Issues can move quickly with almost hourly twists and turns, some snowballing from a single simple tweet. Unless you’re checking multiple channels regularly, it’s easy to lose track of a story’s trajectory.
Take the recent news focus on Barnaby Joyce. The story developed over two weeks and each day delivered a new angle, with influencers from both sides weighing in via different forms of media. If you’re like me, the story would have had you hooked with an impressive volume of chatter and numerous voices shaping the overall picture. With Mediaportal, stories like this are much easier to get a handle on - tracking velocity, following the twists and turns, seeing who is driving the agenda and tracking its geographical impact.
We’re passionate about this connection point where our clients can navigate this dynamic, rapidly changing landscape to apply or build-out strategies that place their knowledge at the heart of action. This vision to both discover and inform our clients so they know their media better than anyone else with a team behind that technology that knows exactly what they’re trying to achieve, is what’s driving the year ahead for Isentia.
Our roadmap for Mediaportal is designed to be agile to respond to evolving needs and deliver greater interconnection between information and understanding. All designed to give our clients the ability to harness the game-changing potential of real-time actionable media intelligence.
The laws of simplicity: People and tech
If you’re the weightlifter, consider us your spotter. Our teams work hard to understand your business and the issues that are important to you. We’re here to partner with you for the long-term and have real people picking up your phone calls. Our approach to the simple yet powerful combination of people and technology makes us fairly unique and it's one our clients really value. Having someone to work with so that your content is more accurate and relevant, allowing your team to spends less time sifting through mountains of irrelevant content is just the tip of the ice-burg.
We are your backup when the board comes knocking for answers. Clients who have tried less sophisticated services on the promise of “something different” and a budget price, invariably come back to us with stories of painful service, and unfulfilled promises. With us, you have confidence and a solution that's ready to go without the hassle - it's a big reason why so many clients recommend us to others.
That’s why we’re invested in having the right people with the best minds for our business to build on our personalised service, delivering the largest scope of content anywhere in the Australian market.
Channelling an athlete’s mindset
Our commitment to our industry cannot be questioned. We continue to lead and innovate - focusing on delivering the best service for our clients and making their lives easier. And like Commonwealth Games greats Ian Thorpe, John Landy and Dawn Fraser, we made it here through hard work, commitment and passion. As the external environment has changed, we have remained ahead of the pack - never compromising on our desire to equip our clients with accurate, curated insights into their media landscape.
For us, Client Success means delivering rich and accurate data for our clients so they remain on top of breaking issues, and are able to better understand how their strategic communications and business initiatives are truly interpreted by their various stakeholders through the lens of media coverage and social discussions.
We are our clients’ support team – their high-performance coach, and we continue to strive for greatness as we cheer the real athletes to glory in this year’s Commonwealth Games and beyond.
Isentia is a proud partner of the GC2018 Commonwealth Games, delivering powerful media intelligence and insights all the way to the finish line.
John Bissinella, Head of Client Success for Australia
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Blog
Staying ahead of the game
Isentia is a proud partner of the GC2018 Commonwealth Games, delivering powerful media intelligence and insights all the way to the finish line.
Across the communications landscape, teams are being asked to do more with less, while staying aligned, responsive and compliant in the face of complex and often shifting stakeholder demands. In that environment, how we track, report and manage our relationships really matters.
In too many organisations, relationship management is still built around tools designed for customer sales. CRM systems, built for structured pipelines and linear user journeys, have long been the default for managing contact databases. They work well for sales and customer service functions. But for communications professionals managing journalists, political offices, internal leaders and external advocates, these tools often fall short.
Stakeholder relationships don’t follow a straight line. They change depending on context, shaped by policy shifts, public sentiment, media narratives or crisis response. A stakeholder may be supportive one week and critical the next. They often hold more than one role, and their influence doesn’t fit neatly into a funnel or metric.
Managing these relationships requires more than contact management. It requires context. The ability to see not just who you spoke to, but why, and what happened next. Communications teams need shared visibility across issues and departments. As reporting expectations grow, that information must be searchable, secure and aligned with wider organisational goals.
What’s often missing is infrastructure. Without the right systems, strategic relationship management becomes fragmented or reactive. Sometimes it becomes invisible altogether.
This is where Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM) enters the conversation. Not as a new acronym, but as a different way of thinking about influence.
At Isentia, we’ve seen how a purpose-built SRM platform can help communications teams navigate complexity more confidently. Ours offers a secure, centralised space to log and track every interaction, whether it’s a media enquiry, a ministerial meeting, or a community update, and link it to your team’s broader communications activity.
The aim isn’t to automate relationships. It’s to make them easier to manage, measure and maintain. It’s about creating internal coordination before the external message goes out.
Because in today’s communications environment, stakeholder engagement is not just a support function. It is a strategic capability.
Across the communications landscape, teams are being asked to do more with less, while staying aligned, responsive and compliant in the face of complex and often shifting stakeholder demands. In that environment, how we track, report and manage our relationships really matters. In too many organisations, relationship management is still built around tools designed for […]
The Singapore general election was quick and felt like more of a touch-and-go event, but a lot was observed and could be learnt from media and audience reactions to the event.
We analysed, using Pulsar TRAC, more than 270k mentions across online news, podcasts, TV, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, X, forums and blogs in Singapore between March 28th - May 7th 2025, to see how the conversation was moving and being influenced by media and audiences. Based on this, we listed what we’ve learnt from this year’s election.
Which industries gained the most spotlight?
Chee Hong Tat’s defence of the GST hike shows the PAP leaning heavily on long-term fiscal planning. This was mainly covered by media outlets like the CNA, mentioning how these hikes were to eventually work on providing benefits to the seniors of society and that it wouldn’t be possible if these hikes weren’t in place. Audiences across X and Facebook expressed their concerns around this, but were equally appreciative of open dialogue with the public.
The US and UK covered the election when their media focus was majorly on Trump’s tariffs
The peak in the US mentions were partly a consequence of Trump’s trade tariffs that wasn’t received particularly well by the rest of the world. PM Wong expressed his opinions on how Singapore continues to be a partner to the US but would expect a fair tariff rate in return. Big foreign peaks were tracked by Reuters and The Guardian that framed the election poll as a barometer of regional politics. Many of the foreign media talk about the opposition parties in Singapore and express that a healthy opposition makes for important parliamentary debate on essential matters like rising living concerns and jobs in Singapore.
Social saw the most audience discourse
The Straits Times leads the election coverage with many of its articles being linked or reposted around social media, mostly Instagram, Facebook and Reddit with audiences giving timely updates on speeches, election street campaigning or their favourite candidates, intending to start conversation. CNA and Mothership show the same pattern, each pulling far larger numbers once clips hit Facebook, X, TikTok and Reddit.
Which hashtags saw the most engagement online?
#ge2025 sat far above every other tag, yet party tags #pap and #rp still drove thousands of mentions. On keywords, PM Lawrence Wong outranked party names with the most mentioned on social posts. It’s important to note that these mentions are by audiences on social media like TikTok, X, Reddit, Instagram and Facebook. Lately, even short clips from podcasts around elections are becoming viral, not just on Instagram or TikTok, but even on Facebook that generally hosts long-ish format videos, second to YouTube.
Podcasts become new medium for election content for younger audiences
Yah Lah BUT logged more than a hundred election clips, nearly double its nearest podcaster, The Daily Ketchup. Audio hosts mixed humour, policy, and hot‑takes that travelled into short‑form video. These podcasts have been a growing trend in Singapore, hosted by youngsters who often invite political candidates onto their shows and pose questions that a young Singaporean would like to ask their leaders. These podcasters have seen their content travel fast on TikTok and Instagram reels for quick insights, but still have most of their audience engagement on YouTube.
Singapore’s GE2025 didn’t just offer political drama—it showed how media, both old and new, shape what people see and feel. From viral videos to policy debates, from mainstream reports to TikTok podcast clips, every format played a role.
5 things we learnt from the Singapore general election 2025
The Singapore general election was quick and felt like more of a touch-and-go event, but a lot was observed and could be learnt from media and audience reactions to the event. We analysed, using Pulsar TRAC, more than 270k mentions across online news, podcasts, TV, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, X, forums and blogs in Singapore […]
This was not an election won or lost on policy alone. While political parties released detailed plans around cost-of-living relief, energy, healthcare and education, the battle for attention played out across a different terrain. One shaped by identity, digital influencers and polarised media narratives.
1. Policy set the agenda, but didn’t hold it
At the start of the campaign, traditional media focused on familiar priorities. The Labor government’s May budget led with cost-of-living relief, fuel excise changes and increased rental support. The Liberals responded with proposals for nuclear energy and a plan to cut 40,000 public service jobs. While these issues framed the early weeks, they were quickly overtaken in online discussions by stories with more cultural weight.
On social media, a video comparing Peter Dutton to Donald Trump circulated widely, while Anthony Albanese’s “delulu with no solulu” moment during a Happy Hour podcast interview was picked up by national outlets and widely shared on social platforms. Personality often generated more interest than policy.
2. Messaging strategy went beyond the platforms
Both major parties tried to engage younger voters where they spend their time. Albanese’s appearance on podcasts and his interviews with influencers like Abbie Chatfield reflected a values-driven approach. Dutton’s appearance on Sam Fricker’s podcast targeted young men through a more casual, conversational format.
Mainstream media covered these appearances but often through the lens of political tactics rather than substance. When Abbie Chatfield’s pro-Greens posts attracted AEC scrutiny in early April, the story became more about influencer regulation than her political message.
3. Polarisation dominated public debate
The second leaders’ debate on 10 April marked a turning point, with stark contrasts on energy, education and immigration. Dutton's focus on crime and border control drew backlash, while Albanese was seen as calm but cautious. Instead of clarifying party differences, the debate intensified existing divides.
Online commentary quickly split along ideological lines. Audiences did not just debate the leaders’ points but used the debate to reinforce partisan views, highlighting how polarised public discourse has become.
4. Influencers reshaped election storytelling
Influencers became central to election storytelling. Abbie Chatfield faced strong support and criticism after posting about the Greens and questioning the Liberal Party’s media strategy. The Juice Media released satirical videos targeting defence and energy policies, resonating with disillusioned younger audiences.
Even incidents unrelated to official campaigns became flashpoints. In February, a video from an Israeli influencer alleging antisemitic comments by NSW nurses went viral, triggering political statements and shifting media attention to broader issues of hate speech and accountability online.
5. Culture wars outpaced policy in the final stretch
As the election neared, cultural tensions gained traction. On 12 April, media attention turned to Peter Dutton after reports emerged that his Labor opponent Ali France was leading in Dickson. Around the same time local authorities dismantled a tent encampment in the area while Dutton was campaigning in Perth. This raised questions about leadership and visibility on local issues.
Across social and news media, themes like Gaza, curriculum debates and identity politics took centre stage. Slogans such as “Get Australia back on track” were interpreted as echoes of US political rhetoric. Jacinta Price and Clive Palmer were both linked to similar messaging, fuelling memes and commentary about the Americanisation of Australian politics.
Rather than rallying around shared policy concerns, audiences engaged with content that reflected deeper anxieties about national identity and international influence.
What stood out the most wasn’t necessarily the policy itself, but the moments, memes, and messages that tapped into cultural tensions. The freedom for media and social media users to connect with and amplify these narratives created an arena where some politicians struggled to engage effectively. While some stuck to party lines without fully understanding the patterns driving media and social discourse, others embraced the shift, adapting to the rhetoric that was emerging online. The lesson is clear: in today’s media environment, ignoring what people are saying or the patterns of conversation isn’t an option.
Media and social highlights from the election campaign 2025
This was not an election won or lost on policy alone. While political parties released detailed plans around cost-of-living relief, energy, healthcare and education, the battle for attention played out across a different terrain. One shaped by identity, digital influencers and polarised media narratives. 1. Policy set the agenda, but didn’t hold it At the […]
