What it means to think big and support The Big Issue.
From being founded in 1982 by advertising pioneer Neville Jeffress, Isentia has grown beyond the shores of Sydney and has established itself as a leader in Media Intelligence with a strong reputation for smart tech and smart people across Asia Pacific.
With over 1,200 staff in 12 locations, it’s no surprise that the ‘big picture’ isn’t often spoken about at a local level. However, with the rise of homelessness across Australia, and in particular Sydney where Isentia’s Headquarters can be found – the topic is never too far from the mind of CEO, John Croll who this Monday stands beside Michael, a vendor of The Big Issue, to help sell for the cause.
If you’re unfamiliar with The Big Issue, it’s a fortnightly, independent magazine that’s sold on the streets by homeless, marginalised or disadvantaged people. Vendors buy copies for $3.50 and sell them to the public for $7, earning a meaningful income.
“It’s a great opportunity to give back and make a real difference in someone’s life. With our proud heritage in media and our journey from small beginnings to one of the largest media intelligence companies in the world, helping to sell The Big Issue felt like a natural fit and an honour. The team do so much to build a community environment that Vendors can grow from – so if you’re in the neighbourhood, come and grab a copy.”
Monday 5th February will see John and Michael selling Edition #554 – a celebration of Vendors and interviews with filmmakers, writers and musicians alike. If you’re interested in learning more about the cause or to see where you can buy a copy visit https://www.thebigissue.org.au/
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.
Australia has been a hot destination in higher education for international students, but with recent policy changes and growing anxiety around housing, the student journey has seen a shift, impacting intake into the top Australian universities and making the process a bit unpredictable.
In our analysis we also zoom into the Southeast Asian region, where we uncover what priorities drive students from this region to apply at Australian universities, how housing plays a role and what kind of career outcomes they would expect post-study.
In this report we analyse over 3k posts across social and online media to unpack:
How Australian universities are navigating a "crisis of governance" and public trust, with intense media scrutiny on budget deficits, leadership accountability, and long-term financial sustainability.
How the rapid integration of AI is seen as both a transformative academic toolkit and an existential threat, forcing institutions to prioritise AI literacy and redesign assessments to combat risks like deep fakes and academic misconduct.
How shifting Australian migration policies have made policy safety the primary concern for Southeast Asian students, influencing how they weigh university reputation against visa hurdles and long-term career ambitions.
Reflecting on the media reporting from 2025 provides institutions with the tools to craft communication strategies that address both the domestic demand for accountability and the international student's need for security and value.
Please fill in the forms below and access our reports to get a deeper insight on audience sentiment and behaviour when deciding an education and career in Australia.
Access the SEA insights report here
Access the ANZ insights report here
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Blog
Analysing Australia’s higher education landscape in 2025
A deep dive into how global audiences perceive Australian higher education and the university sector with a spotlight on the SEA region.
The media landscape is accelerating. In an era where influence is ephemeral and every angle demands instant comprehension, PR and communications professionals require more than generic technology—they need intelligence engineered for their specific challenges.
Isentia is proud to introduce Lumina, a groundbreaking suite of intelligent AI tools. Lumina has been trained from the ground up on the complex workflows and realities of modern communications and public affairs. It is explicitly designed to shift professionals from passive media monitoring back into the role of strategic leaders and pacesetters.
“The PR, Comms and Public Affairs sectors have been experimenting with AI, but most tools have not been built with their real challenges in mind.” said Joanna Arnold, CEO of Pulsar Group.
“Lumina is different; it is the first intelligence suite designed around how narratives actually form today, combining human credibility signals with machine-level analysis. It helps teams understand how stories evolve, filter out noise and respond with context and confidence to crises and opportunities.”
Setting a new standard for PR intelligence
Lumina is centered on empowering, not replacing, the human element of communications strategy. This suite is purpose-built to help PR, Comms, and Public Affairs professionals significantly improve productivity, enhance message clarity, and facilitate early risk detection.
Lumina enables communicators to:
Understand & Interpret: Move beyond basic alerts to strategically map the trajectory and spread of narrative evolution.
Focus & Personalise: Achieve the clarity necessary to execute strategic action before critical moments pass.
We are launching the Lumina suite by making our first module immediately available: Stories & Perspectives.
In the current fragmented, multi-channel media environment, communications professionals need to be able to instantly perceive not just how a story is growing, but also how it is being perceived across different stakeholder groups.
Stories & Perspectives organizes raw media mentions into clustered, cohesive Stories, and the Perspectives that exist within each, reflecting distinct media, audience, and public affairs angles. This unique functionality allows users to:
Rise above the noise: Instantly identify which high-level topics are gaining momentum or fading from attention.
Get to the detail, fast: Uncover the influential voices, niche communities, and specific channels actively shaping the narrative.
Catch the pivot point: Precisely identify the moment a story shifts—from a strategic opportunity to a reputation risk—or when a new key opinion former begins guiding the conversation.
"Media isn’t a stream of mentions," said Kyle Lindsay, Head of Product at Pulsar Group. "But rather a living system of stories shaped by competing perspectives. When you can see those structures clearly, you gain the ability to understand issues as they form, anticipate how they’ll evolve, and act with precision. That’s what we mean when we talk about AI built for communicators, and that's what an off-the-shelf LLM can't give you."
The Lumina Roadmap: AI tools for the future of comms
The launch of Stories & Perspectives is the first release of many. Over the upcoming months, we will systematically roll out the full Lumina roadmap, introducing a comprehensive set of AI tools engineered to handle every phase of the communications lifecycle.
The full Lumina suite will soon incorporate:
Curated media summaries: AI-driven daily summaries customized specifically to the priorities of senior leadership, highlighting only the most relevant stories.
Reputation analysis: Advanced measurement tracking how critical themes like ethics, innovation, and leadership are statistically shaping corporate perception.
Press release & media relations assistant: Tools designed to accelerate content creation and craft hyper-focused, personalized pitches that reach the precise contacts faster.
Predictive intelligence layer: Technology engineered to track and anticipate story momentum and strategic change before the window of opportunity closes.
Intelligent agents: Background agents continuously scanning all media channels for emerging key spokespeople and previously undetected reputation risks.
Enhanced audio, broadcast & crisis detection: Complete, real-time oversight of all channels—including audio and broadcast—enabling rapid context building and optimal crisis response delivery.
Want to harness the power of Lumina AI for your PR, Comms, or Public Affairs team? .
Complete the form below to register your interest.
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Blog
Announcing Lumina: The purpose-built AI suite for PR, Comms, and Public Affairs
An intelligent suite of AI tools trained on the language, workflows, and realities of modern public relations and communications.
