Stay informed with the latest insights, success stories and expert opinions from the Spectrum Comms team.
A celebration of diverse voices, bright ideas and multiple viewpoints; your go-to resource for thought leadership, industry trends and updates.

Navigating the challenges of focus groups

27 Jun 2025

Focus groups are a great way to drill down into understanding the “why” behind stakeholder views. They can help to obtain qualitative insights to back quantitative results collected through surveys and polls. But focus groups have their own set of challenges, especially when Covid is forcing them to be held […]

Why it pays to build trust through early engagement

27 May 2025

A project manager said to us the other day “all that early engagement is really paying off now” and we wanted to reach through the phone and kiss him, and maybe erect a little statue somewhere. Instead we urged him to tell all his project manager friends. It’s shiny little […]

How community input fits into the bigger picture

19 Mar 2025

When it comes to consultation, we’re all about giving people plenty of ways to share their thoughts – whether it’s popping into an info session, completing an online survey, or just having a good ol’ fashioned chat. But while community input is super important, it’s only one piece of a […]

The ups and downs of using AI as a tool for communications

19 Feb 2025

In the ever-spinning carousel of communications and public relations, where trends twirl and strategies salsa, AI tools have waltzed onto the scene, turning the whole affair into a tech-infused masquerade ball. It’s time to don your digital masquerade attire because we’re about to plunge into the dynamic world of AI, […]

The power of verbatim in reporting

27 Jan 2025

We’re big fans of using verbatim quotations as part of our engagement practice. Too often we’re told by stakeholders that they don’t feel heard or listened to. Organisations failing to act on what’s been agreed to is a big part of that. But another, and equally important part, is that […]

A place to call our own: Everyone sees and values things differently

27 Dec 2024

There are places I’ll remember, All my life, but some have changed, Some forever, not for better, Some have gone, and some remain. So sang The Beatles in 1965 as part of their hit, In My Life. John Lennon said the piece reflects upon past friends and relationships, and these […]

Beyond the butchers’ paper: The power of table facilitators

27 Dec 2024

When planning a community engagement workshop, it’s easy to focus on the big picture: the keynote speakers, the activities you will run, and even the catering (because we all know that if you don’t have good snacks, you’ll hear about it on the feedback form). However, there is another detail […]

Case Study: Turning a thorny situation into a blooming success

27 Nov 2024

Residents in a beautiful residential suburb were initially less than thrilled earlier this year when one of our clients installed a small piece of infrastructure in a reserve nestled behind their homes. However, when the complaint came through to Spectrum Comms’ community engagement team, we saw that this wasn’t just […]

Great Expectations: The Stakeholder Edition

10 Oct 2024

Managing stakeholder and community expectations is a critical aspect of any project. When we’re developing key messages as communicators, we agonise at great length over the words we use to ensure we are not over promising on project deliverables and under selling project impacts. It’s a fine line between being […]

Lake Macquarie City Council: Business Excellence Awards 2024

26 Jul 2024

We’re thrilled to announce Spectrum Comms has been named a finalist in the Lake Macquarie Business Excellence Awards! Spectrum Comms were selected as a finalist from a large number of applications that were received across 15 different categories. We have been included in the category for Excellence in Small Business […]

Community engagement lessons from the World Cup

02 Jul 2026

As people around the world get behind their national teams, it’s worth remembering something simple: people show up when they […]

Trust, misinformation and information integrity

09 Jun 2026

When silence fuels misinformation: Why communication is now a risk control. Australians are among the most concerned people globally about […]

When team building turns into community impact

15 Apr 2026

At our latest team day, we came together expecting a bit of friendly competition, problem‑solving and laughs along the way. […]

Collaboration beyond the desk: Why embedded teams and relationships matter 

25 Mar 2026

When people talk about collaboration, it is often framed as workshops, meetings or emails. But some of the most meaningful collaboration happens well […]

Culture isn’t a place 

10 Feb 2026

Culture in the workplace is often talked about as something you can see – an office, a desk, a team […]

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