VIVA! Communications

04/09/2026

Exciting news for the VIVA! team! ⚡

Together with our valued client, InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders, we have been named a finalist in x2 categories at the 2026 PRIME Awards.

Our campaign supporting the launch of InsideOut Institute’s world-first, free eClinic has been shortlisted for:
🌟 Category 1 – Best Public Health Initiative
World-first, free eClinic transforming Australia’s eating disorder public health response
🌟 Category 5 – Best PR Campaign: Awareness & Advocacy
World-first, free eClinic delivering life-saving eating disorder treatment to Australians

To receive such prestigious recognition for such an important campaign shows how significant it is for Australians to be armed with multiple, accessible, & evidence-based treatment options for eating disorders.

A huge thank you to our clients for their trust & ongoing support, & to the PRIME Awards judges for the time and expertise invested in recognising the industry’s best work.

Tickets for the awards ceremony are now on sale. We look forward to celebrating with everyone on the night! ⚡🌟🎉

01/09/2026

We’re thrilled to share that VIVA! Communications has been shortlisted in the Media Relations Campaign category at the 2026 Communication and Public Relations Australia Golden Target Awards! ⭐

Our campaign, ‘Breaking the Silence: Earning national media attention for Australia’s first free eating disorder eClinic’, which we launched in July last year with the InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders, has been recognised alongside outstanding work across the communications industry.

We’re super proud of this campaign & the opportunity it created to shine a light on the InsideOut Institute’s free eClinic & invaluable support for Australians living with eating disorders.

We look forward to celebrating with all deserving nominees later this month, with the GTAs celebrating their 50th year! 🥳🥂🎇

18/08/2026

In exciting news, VIVA! Communications has been shortlisted as a finalist in two categories at this year’s Health Industry Hub Catalysts for Change Awards!

We’re thrilled Team VIVA! has been shortlisted as a PR & Advocacy Agency Team of the Year finalist, with our Principal, Kirsten Bruce, also selected as a finalist in the PR & Advocacy Individual of the Year category.

We’re truly honoured to receive this recognition – a testament to the unswerving efforts of our team to deliver health & wellness communications that genuinely make a difference.

We can’t wait to celebrate alongside all the deserving nominees in November this year! ⭐

05/08/2026

We’ve moved beyond awareness.

Women’s health needs action.

While awareness has shone a light on important health issues, now we must turn it into action, with earlier diagnosis, better conversations & improved health outcomes.

🎥 In our latest Hologic breast cancer announcement, media personality, TV host, wife of former Sydney Swans champion & mum of two, Lynette Bolton, shared her breast cancer survival story.

Her diagnosis came as a shock. She had:

No family history.
No symptoms.
An aggressive cancer that turned her life upside down.

Tragically, Lynette’s experience is not unique.

Her story is a strong reminder that breast cancer can affect anyone, & why listening to your body, speaking up & seeking medical advice when something doesn’t feel right is crucial.

As Lynette’s oncologist told her: “Give me one year & I’ll give you 50 more.”

Please take a moment to watch Lynette’s story.

It’s a poignant reminder of what’s at stake & why ongoing action in women’s health must remain a priority.

22/07/2026

VIVA! Communications today proudly staged & coordinated the national media launch of the Year 5 Australian Report of Hologic’s Global Women’s Health Index (GWHI) with key stakeholders at Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney – a landmark report shining a light on the state of women’s health in Australia & globally.

The launch featured a screening of Conquering Breast Cancer, a new Australian documentary highlighting the urgent challenges of detecting & treating breast cancer, reinforcing why the GWHI findings demand immediate attention.

Across five key dimensions of women’s health – Preventive Care, Emotional Health, Opinions of Health & Safety, Basic Needs & Individual Health – Australia’s results have declined compared to the Year 1 Report.

Critically, just 23% of women & girls aged 15+ reported being tested for cancer in the prior year.

We are proud to support this important initiative, reinforcing the need for continued investment in women’s health, improved early detection, & better health outcomes for women across Australia.

21/07/2026

A lovely morning in the office celebrating our wonderful Principal, Kirsten Bruce, on her birthday today! 🥳🎉

From everyone at Team VIVA!, we’re wishing you love, joy & wellness for this next year ahead. Enjoy your special day, Kirsten! ✨

15/07/2026

Too many women & families experience pregnancy loss alone at a time when support matters most.

For more than a decade, the Pink Elephants Support Network has provided compassionate, tailored & accessible support to those navigating miscarriage & pregnancy loss.

At VIVA! Communications, we’re proud to support our friend & former colleague, Mahsa Fratantoni, who is raising funds to help ensure no one must endure pregnancy loss alone.

If able, please consider donating or sharing.

Your support can help reach someone who needs it most 🩷

https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/fundraise/steps-for-kawana

I received many flowers from loved ones when I lost my unborn baby in 2024. While well meaning, I eventually found true solace in nature and picking Kawana (an indigenous word for wildflowers) from my garden and surrounds. My fundraiser, Steps for Kawana, is for everyone who has experienced miscarri...

14/07/2026

A child born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and a child born in Sydney develop the same cancer. Tragically, only one is likely to survive it.

That's the story behind WHO's new Global Status Report on Cancer 2026, released this month. It projects cancer cases will climb from 20.6 million to almost 35 million by 2050. But the real story isn't the growth curve. It's who gets left behind by it.

Some of the numbers are hard to reconcile:
• 87 per cent five-year breast cancer survival in high-income countries. 42 per cent in low-income countries. Same disease.
• Medicines available in 94 per cent of high-income countries reach just nine per cent of the lowest-income ones, not because the science doesn't exist, but because it doesn't arrive.
• Fewer than one-in-three countries fund cancer care through universal health coverage at all.

Ethiopia's former health minister & the first African to hold the role, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, didn’t mince words: “Whether a person survives cancer should never depend on where they were born or what they earn. The inequities documented in this report are not inevitable; they are the consequence of choices, and they can be reversed."

The science to treat cancer is advancing faster than the systems built to deliver it. Closing that gap isn't just a health challenge, it's a choice governments, industry & communities must make together.

Read the report: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240123977

09/07/2026

VIVA! Communications spent a fab afternoon filming with Lynette Bolton this week for an exciting women’s health project set for imminent release.

Stay tuned for details & to learn more about Lynette’s journey with breast cancer.

06/07/2026

Australia doesn't have a vaccination problem. We have a trust problem.

Here's what's concerning: childhood vaccination rates in Australia have dropped to around 91–92 per cent. For herd immunity to work – protecting babies too young to be vaccinated, & those whose immune systems can't tolerate a vaccine – we need to be at 95 per cent.

In 2024, Australia recorded over 57,000 cases of whooping cough. That's the highest number ever recorded in this country.

When confidence in vaccines drops, disease returns. That’s what’s happening right now.

After years of public health campaigns, policy reform & investment, here's what we've learned: the problem was never that people don't have access to information.
It's that people no longer feel heard.

Misinformation plays a role, but so does fatigue, inconsistent messaging, & health communication that talks at families instead of with them.

So the question isn't "how do we educate people?" It's "why aren't we listening to their concerns?"

Rebuilding trust won't happen through larger public health campaigns or louder messaging. It occurs through trusted local voices – GPs, community leaders, & the people families already trust – having real, two-way conversations, even when there's disagreement.

Trust isn't rebuilt overnight. It's rebuilt through what follows.

What's shaping your family's decisions around vaccination? Share your thoughts in the comments.