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.
In our last update, housing coverage centred on advice for mortgage holders amid rising rates and cost-of-living pressures. In this second release of the series, the conversation has shifted, with news increasingly framing Australia’s housing challenge through construction, innovation, and government action. Reports highlight fast-tracked developments, AI-powered modular builds, and reforms to cut red tape, alongside community-driven projects in Nhulunbuy and pressures on urban infrastructure, showing that solving the crisis requires building both faster and smarter. The patterns in coverage reveal which stories and policy levers are gaining traction, and how different angles from scale and efficiency to localised community impact are shaping the wider conversation.
Government policy is driving much of this coverage, shaping the narratives that dominate media discussion. First-home buyer programs such as the Home Guarantee (5% Deposit Scheme), Help to Buy, and Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee are frequently cited, alongside social and affordable housing initiatives including the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, NSW’s $610 million Social Housing Accelerator Fund, and state-level projects in Toowoomba and Wagga Wagga. Coverage of supply-side reforms, Melbourne high-rise plans, and debates over negative gearing, capital gains, and rental caps illustrates how policy and regulation frame public debate. Across outlets and regions, the way these stories are told signals which elements of housing policy are resonating, which have momentum, and where attention is likely to shift next.
Where previous reporting centred on interest rates and mortgage advice, a calm, and financial “top-down” discussion, the shift to construction and reform places the emphasis on system-level solutions. Yet, as before, a gap remains between media coverage and social discourse.
On social media, the conversation continues to unfold as a “bottom-up” outcry. This month, debates over housing affordability and accessibility have been increasingly framed through immigration. Political groups such as Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and the Family First Party Australia are amplifying anti-immigration narratives on X and Facebook, claiming that new arrivals are the direct cause of housing stress. These messages are countered by voices rejecting both the logic and the racism seen to underpin such rhetoric, instead pointing to investors as the real drivers of market pressures and reframing housing as a human right. Demonstrations such as March for Australia have further fuelled this dynamic, with slogans tying immigration to Labor, raising the risk of political damage.
The conversation shows right-leaning voices continue to dominate online, with more balanced perspectives struggling for visibility. Policy proposals like a “bedroom tax” appear to have amplified anxieties about population growth, giving further oxygen to anti-immigration claims.
Layered over this, the Reserve Bank’s three rate cuts in recent months have become a fresh point of contention. Some argue that lower rates are simply inflating house prices, benefiting existing homeowners while worsening conditions for would-be buyers and savers deepening the perception of a system stacked against the public.
While the media is foregrounding structural solutions to increase supply, public discourse is still driven by frustration, identity politics, and competing narratives of blame. Solving the housing crisis will not only require practical reforms but also careful navigation of the volatile public conversation that risks overshadowing those solutions.
Housing narratives in the media and online: Building solutions, blaming people
In our last update, housing coverage centred on advice for mortgage holders amid rising rates and cost-of-living pressures. In this second release of the series, the conversation has shifted, with news increasingly framing Australia’s housing challenge through construction, innovation, and government action. Reports highlight fast-tracked developments, AI-powered modular builds, and reforms to cut red tape, […]
How is media coverage shaping views of Brisbane 2032 and its global impact?
The stories that resonate, whether it is a stadium cost blowout, a community campaign to preserve green space, or the push to include Australian Rules Football in the program, capture how Australians are gearing up for a once-in-a-generation Games. These specific, contested, and human stories shape the narratives across news and social media and ultimately reflect how the country is experiencing and remembering Brisbane 2032.
Leading Topics: News vs. social
The difference is while the news media is overwhelmingly concerned with the logistics of the Games, the public is more interested in its social and economic consequences.
On social media, the conversation is a mix of excitement and concern, with a strong focus on what the Games will feel like. Discussions about social impact and economic outcomes are prominent, as people debate everything from housing affordability to the potential for new community arts programs.
In the news, the narrative is far more narrow. An incredible amount of the coverage is dedicated to infrastructure, with a particular focus on the cost and controversy surrounding the main stadium. The second-largest topic is the political jousting that accompanies these infrastructure debates.
The most discussed stakeholders are institutions and communities, not individuals
While politicians dominate the news, what's making a real impact on social media are the communities and institutions at the heart of the conversation.
In the news, the most-quoted voices around Brisbane 2032 are overwhelmingly political figures, led by the Queensland Premier and Deputy Premier. Much of the coverage has centred on Premier Crisafulli’s media appearances, including a notable stop at Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River to promote plans for a feasibility study into using the site for rowing events despite concerns about crocodiles and currents.
The Deputy Premier, meanwhile, has been most prominent for his push to build a new stadium at Victoria Park. That proposal has fuelled debate over whether Brisbane 2032 is shifting away from being a sporting project to a political land grab. The discussion is further sharpened by Queensland’s reported shortage of tradies, with calls for urgent measures to recruit more skilled workers to meet the surge in construction and infrastructure demand tied to the Games.
Even Donald Trump makes an appearance in the coverage, with Brisbane’s bid to host the Quad Leaders’ Summit drawing headlines and gaining the support of Prime Minister Albanese.
On social media, the conversation is being shaped largely by organisations and grassroots communities. Victoria Park, now at the centre of the stadium debate, has become a focal point for how people see the legacy of Brisbane 2032, and Queensland more broadly. Campaigns to preserve the green space are gaining traction, amplified both by smaller local outlets such as The Westender and by national publications including ABC and The Guardian.
Defining "legacy": The public hopes and media narratives
The term "legacy" represents the most significant challenge in the Brisbane 2032 narrative, as the data reveals a mismatch between the public's focus on experience and the media's framing of cost and conflict.
On social media, the legacy conversation is aspirational and driven by the sporting theme, where discussions about preserving green spaces like Victoria Park highlight a desire for tangible, long-term community benefits. Other cities are also seizing the aspirational momentum of events like Brisbane 2032, with figures such as Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate using social media to highlight for hyper-local audiences the potential returns on investing in this opportunity. News coverage frames legacy as a political and economic undertaking, dominated by the cost of stadiums, the allocation of funding, and the political conflict between the government and its opposition.
Framing the use of the Fitzroy River as an opportunity for sustainability or presenting construction timelines as local job creation makes the connection between political debates and the community and sporting outcomes people truly care about more resonant, while also painting a positive vision for the legacy of Brisbane 2032.
Specificity wins: Vague PR is ignored, detailed stories drive engagement
Generic ‘good news’ posts or Olympic press tend to generate weaker engagement The content that captures public attention is highly specific, and often human-centric or controversial.
On social media, the most engaging content included the debate around HYROX judging standards, the passionate campaign to include Lawn Bowls in the games, and celebrating the specific achievements of individual swimmers.
In the news, it’s not the general updates that resonate, but detailed reports, whether on cost blowouts at specific venues, the impact of turning a local river into an Olympic event site, or the campaign to include Australian Rules Football in the program.
Media moments and narratives gain traction when meaning is applied. Shift content strategies from generalities to detailed storytelling, focus on journeys, the tangible impact of a new community facility, or a transparent explanation of a complex issue for example. The battle for the hearts and minds of the public ahead of Brisbane 2032 will be won in these details.
See how the right analysis can help you anticipate risks, shape messaging and connect with your audiences. Request a free demo.
Winning the Brisbane 2032 narrative: A media analysis
How is media coverage shaping views of Brisbane 2032 and its global impact? The stories that resonate, whether it is a stadium cost blowout, a community campaign to preserve green space, or the push to include Australian Rules Football in the program, capture how Australians are gearing up for a once-in-a-generation Games. These specific, contested, […]
Every stakeholder relationship is different, and managing them effectively takes more than a one-size-fits-all approach.
From campaign planning to long-term engagement, having the right tools and strategy in place can make the difference between missed connections and meaningful impact.
This guide covers:
Identifying and understanding your key stakeholders
Mapping and modelling for influence and engagement
Equipping your team to maintain and grow strategic relationships
