Media and Publicity Officer - Barkly Regional Council

SITUATION:

A remote Council in the Northern Territory faced challenges such as outdated digital infrastructure, branding issues, and damaged media relations due to a community incident that garnered negative national media coverage. The Council needed to promote the $100m Barkly Regional Deal by the Federal, Territory, and Local Governments, focusing on improving living conditions and infrastructure post-scandal and national attention.

TASKS:

Responsibilities included building robust media relationships, managing databases, crafting strategic plans and policies, and overseeing a rebrand following the Australian Government Style Manual. Additionally, the website redesign was led to comply with WCAG 2.2 accessibility guidelines.

ACTIONS:

During this period, the global pandemic disrupted some initiatives, prompting a shift towards communicating with remote Indigenous communities. Addressing misconceptions that the virus only affected Caucasians, collaboration with the Department of Chief Minister was undertaken to produce COVID-19 content in seven local Indigenous languages. Additionally, Kym Lenoble played a key role in the Southern NT communications emergency response unit alongside the Territory Government.

Expanded responsibilities encompassed promoting the Barkly Regional Deal through comprehensive communications and community consultations using the IAP2 methodology. Management of Australia Day events, crisis communications, and reputation management was undertaken, working closely with community services to develop youth crime reduction programs. Oversight was provided to overhaul digital assets, social media platforms, and the Council's website to modernise practices and refresh the Barkly brand, including producing a style guide.

RESULTS:

Achievements included partnering with the ABC Chief of Staff to host a live week of ABC Radio in Tennant Creek, showcasing the community positively and mitigating reputational damage. The Council was represented as a judge for NT Australian of the Year, and funding was successfully secured for installing the first digital signage around the town's central clock tower. Dynamic content was introduced to the website's landing page, and project management and social media management software were implemented to streamline operations.