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Tragically, almost 30 per cent of all quad bike-related deaths in Australia since the turn of the millennium have occurred in Queensland. The state also has the unwanted record for the highest number of quad bike-related hospitalisations with many very easily preventable. As we’ve seen in many other government campaigns, (the Department of Transport and… Read More

Sentiment essentially relates to feelings: attitudes, emotions and opinions — something everyone has and seems all too willing to share online. In recent years, there are numerous instances of brands and individuals caught out and negatively impacted by ‘keyboard warriors’. As more and more people jump on the sharing bandwagon to express their every thought,… Read More

In today’s always-on news environment, it’s hard to escape the fact we’re currently facing political and economic instability on a global scale. President Trump’s foreign trade threats and controversial border wall policy, the UK Brexit omnishambles, and increasingly violent ‘yellow vest’ demonstrations in France have created an internationally volatile political climate. And while political stability… Read More

Recent changes in the metropolitan media landscape mean that local and state political commentary is almost completely overshadowed by a discussion about federal politics. Local government Operation Belcarra and the Crime and Corruption Commission have cut a swathe through some councils and are likely to continue to impact local operations. The dismissal of Ipswich Council,… Read More

‘Trust is Dead’, scream the headlines. ‘Customers Betrayed, ‘Culture Must Change’, ‘Heads Will Roll’. These are familiar refrains from recent Australian corporate history, with no more glaring example than the long-resisted Banking Royal Commission. ‘Brand promise’ has clearly not matched reality, undermined by a profit-driven performance system, with an overlay of often broadacre indifference to… Read More

I spoke at an event recently where I threw out a not-too-far-fetched scenario to a room of professional communicators. Your brand (I notionally nominated an airport) was in the grips of a crisis — perhaps a fatality, chemical spill, terrorist attack — I’ll let you consider something more suitable to your business. The media had… Read More

Appointments Rowland Chairman Geoff Rodgers has been appointed chairman of Brisbane city’s future fund, the City of Brisbane Investment Corporation (CBIC), and as a board member of Brothers Rugby Club. Fiona Sperou, Rowland’s Chief Operating Officer has been appointed a Trustee of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Trust. Chief Happiness Officer Will Coventry represented Australia in… Read More

Welcome to the April 2019 edition of Rowland On Point. This is our central thought-leadership repository, so I hope you find these articles of interest and value. And that’s critical at Rowland — we only want to work for clients if we can add real value to their businesses. As always, the articles cover a… Read More

I have a confession. Ever since I moved to Brisbane from Sydney more than 16 years ago, I’ve been homesick. Lured here by romance, not by place, I have compared the River City at every opportunity — often unfairly — with my harbour- and beach-fringed home. I have complained loudly that Brissie is bland, lacking… Read More

Time has been called on Google’s failed social network effort. The warning signs were there early on. Launched in June 2011, arguably at the height of Facebook’s growth and just prior to Zuckerberg and Co’s purchase of Instagram, Google+ (or was it Google Plus?) was intended to be a genuine contender for our social hangtime…. Read More