Commshake

30/03/2026

Last week, our Director Courtney was asked to speak on a panel at the annual LINA Conference ().

Held this year at the Bridgeport Hotel, and hosted by boss - it was incredible to see more than 150 industry leaders from across Australia come together over three days to discuss the future of local and indepedent news.

For this particular panel, the subject matter was community engagement, and the importance of local news understanding what its audience wants and needs from it. Drawing from her 20+ years experience in working for and with the media, Courtney talked through the challenge of local journalists and editors (specifically) having to carefully balance the need to report objective facts in real time, while also being a respectful and compassionate community member. She also discussed the importance of engaging with the community through strategic news advocacy campaigns (ie. people power), and the difference this can make to striking that balance.

Thanks again to Michelle and Peri for having me along, and for the productive discussions with the media reps in the room before and aftwards.

📸 >

16/03/2026

So what’s the boss up to this week!?

Other than emptying out her overflowing bin full of snack packets (sorry Elise 😬), she’s plugging away at:

🔎 Testing a new AI system for the biz
🔎 Reviewing tax documents 😵‍💫
🔎 Drafting RFQs
🔎 Preparing social content for clients
🔎 Continuing work on the new website
🔎 Creating media advocacy plan for client
🔎 Building stakeholder engagement plan for client
🔎 Monthly client meetings + reporting
🔎 And more…

It’s a week of all sorts.

12/03/2026

More AI learning with the team today thanks to and 🤖 💻 🧠.

04/03/2026

This week it's time to put the spotlight on our Head of Media and Engagement Lisa. With decades of experience in her field (and a few awards under her belt) she looks after a broad scope of projects for our regional clients at any one time. Here's a snapshot of what she's been working on this week:

🌿Creating a digital magazine for a national horticulture organisation.
✍️Whipping up a monthly enews to connect local business with clients.
📑Writing a media release to promote an ag group's events, statewide.
🔗Drafting digital content to build a client's LinkedIn profile.

An ex-journo with excellent media contacts, Lisa knows exactly how to get her clients noticed. She's also an IAP2 practitioner and stakeholder engagement pro. It's a powerhouse combo that makes Lisa such a valuable part of the team - and ensures our clients can always trust working with her.

📸 Jacob Jennings Photography

26/02/2026

That moment when you're looking back through client content galleries and come across this guy... 😅

Thanks for the little laugh . We'll see you in the flesh soon pal ☺️.

25/02/2026

What a treat it was to catch up with our old (*young*) colleague .naismith in Murray Bridge this week for lunch.

This young superstar is kicking career/life goals in the city 🏙️ and we could not be prouder! 🙌

We miss you Beka 🥹.

23/02/2026

This week it's Aimee's turn in the spotlight. Another of our Senior Consultants (specialising in media mangement and stakeholder communications), Aimee is getting her hands dirty in regional engagement this week - including:

👷‍♀️ Prepping for project site visits from key stakeholders
🤝 Holding stakeholder meetings to inform community
🚌 Managing events, from catering to buses
📧 Newsletter distribution (drafting, publishing, community updates)
👩🏻‍💻 Database management (sorting who needs what/when)
🧠 Answering all the questions via phone, email, face-to-face

And that's the shortlist.

There's never a dull moment over on the Eyre Peninsula for Aimee. Some days it's wearing corporate suits and hosting CEO's, the next day it's working with community groups and construction gangs. Regardless - she's the ultimate stakeholder chameleon. 🦎

19/02/2026

📝That's it, we can't take it anymore!

Welcome to Typo of the Week - where we turn your copy clangers into perfect prose and make you look like a grammar star. ⭐️

Got a pesky word that always trips you up? Or that one work mate who can’t quite nail “definitely”?

Drop your burning spelling and grammar questions or dob in your mates below — we’ll feature the funniest (and most relatable) typos each week! Because let’s be honest… look at the joy on Lisa’s face, she’s a word nerd in her element. 🤓

And apart from being a part of this challenge (see what we did there? 😉), this is exactly why she should be the one editing all your public statements and formal documents. ✨

APART: two or more people or things separated by a specified distance in time or space.
A PART: one part of something ('great to be a part of this event').

Follow along if you’re as weirdly passionate about typos as we are - new episode of Typo of the Week dropping every week! 📚

16/02/2026

A little peek behind the scenes at the mix of work our Senior Consultant (and digital expert) Emma has been busy with lately.

📣 Building Meta ad campaigns for rural SA farming properties
📆 Pulling together social content on events across SA’s innovation ecosystem
🎨 Creating a ‘how to’ reel on designing, editing and printing custom invitations
🛰 Drafting social posts celebrating stories and wins from SA’s space sector

It’s a good snapshot of the work happening here at Commshake. Strategy, storytelling, practical how-tos, and making complex things easier to understand.

We'll be sharing a little more of what our team gets up to this year (just to continually remind you all of what is we actually do😅).

13/02/2026

This week, we were lucky enough to be invited along to the SA Recreation and Sport 2026 Power of Her Awards night, where we were a finalist in the 'Champion Partner' category.

While we didn't get the win on the night, we were still happy to come runner-up to an exceptional champion - in Adelaide Uni, which took out the accolade for its major sponsorship with Netball SA and the Adelaide Thunderbirds.

Still - we are super proud about the investment our small business puts into women, girls and regional causes. We're fortunate to be in a position where our shared team values and success allows us to do this - and we would encourage anyone else in a similar position to do the same. Even though we're a small agency, the impact we can all collectively have in our communities is enormous.

A big thankyou to the RMNA (specifically outgoing president Emma Swan) who wrote and submitted the award nomination after finalising our historic sponsorship of its rep team players (and of course thankyou to current RMNA VP Tammy O'Malley for coming along on the night as our #1 supporter 🙌).

In 2025-26 we've donated our time, expertise and money into a range of regional causes - including girls' sport, rural/remote medical resources, children's wellbeing, domestic violence, community infrastructure, mental health, rural female leadership and more.

We certainly appreciate the recognition here, but the real reason we do it is because it makes those long and stressful work weeks more meaningful, it powers our personal passions, all the while we are contributing to our own rural communities and those where our clients are based.

Let's see what else we can do in 2026! 💪

10/02/2026

🗞️Another great initiative from AIR EP - Ag Innovation & Research Eyre Peninsula, an organisation once again leading the way for our regional communities. 🙌

Lower EP group to support young farmers across multiple districts