PR Profile: Founding Director of Niche Marketing Group Lyndelle Morgan

Meet Lyndelle Morgan, Director of Niche Marketing Group and founder of the communications agency in 1991.

Firstly, tell us a bit about Niche Marketing Group and what you specialise or excel in.

Niche Marketing Group (NMG) is a fully integrated communications agency offering Creative, Branding, PR, Content, Social Media, Digital and Event Management. We work across a range of industries including home, building & architecture, lifestyle, food, education, health & beauty as well as the not-for-profit sectors, to deliver campaigns that drive business objectives.

This year is a very special year for us celebrating 30 years in business. We are very proud to be one of Australia’s leading independent agencies.

You have many years experience in the PR industry – are there any strategies or techniques which used to be effective that you wouldn’t dream of using now? On the other hand, what strategies are you now using in response to newer technologies such as social media?

Modern public relations is constantly evolving but always adhering to the core purpose of building understanding, earning trust and delivering ethical communications. PR has always been about storytelling and communicating the clients’ story to the right audience, so with the newer technologies such as social media there are more opportunities to amplify stories to target audiences. When developing our clients’ PR strategies we look at fully integrated communication campaigns across public relations, social media, influencers and content comms, and how we can communicate with the audiences to support the brand’s business objectives.

Relevance is a priority for success. For example, social media it’s not about building our clients’ brand to have a large following if those followers aren’t relevant or engaged. Social media engagement is a vital part of our marketing and PR strategies. We know it’s easy to activate page like ads to grow a page’s organic following, but retention and advocacy is what we want – a place where brands can engage in meaningful conversations and turn those conversations into followers and customers. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin, the content we’re creating needs to resonate with the audience, and if it does, naturally an organic following will follow suit.

A business’s purpose is another important factor to consider when developing a strategy. Our clients work with us on brand purpose, as they know we have industry and customer experience. Our role is to understand their purpose and support this through authentic storytelling. How do we move the brand to a position of continued trust and loyalty?

Is there a campaign that you’ve worked on recently that has particularly excited or interested you? What made it successful?

There are so many amazing campaigns that we have worked on, it’s hard to pick a favourite, however there is a common theme in that we leverage case studies, thought leadership and research to bring the stories to life.

One of campaigns that has the potential to help people in need is a mental health campaign we developed with our client, Zoetis, and partnering with Beyond Blue. The campaign involves creative, PR and social media so a number of the NMG team work together. Our role is to amplify the story of mental health in the vet industry, and for those living in rural and regional areas who face a number of challenges which can take a toll on their wellbeing. We develop case studies, create content such as webinars and videos, speak with industry groups and partner with industry professionals to continue to gain momentum on the topic. Our media contacts are also very supportive of the campaign.

Another campaign that has heart warming stories is our disability in employment client, in which we are generating awareness of the advantages of a diverse and inclusive workforce. atWork Australia helps thousands of people living with disability, injury or a health condition find meaningful work. Through this client we hear some wonderful stories of what a difference a job can make to someone with a disability, where it’s about their strengths and abilities.

How has the pandemic impacted your work? What have been the biggest challenges and silver linings to come out of 2020?

2020 was certainly a disruptive year, and if there are a few things the pandemic taught us, it is to be nimble, resilient and mindful. Amid mandatory lockdowns, like everyone, we had to rapidly move operations online and adapt to work-from-home formats. It was extremely important for us to continually check in with our team during this stressful and confusing period to make sure they felt supported.

For our clients it was important to reassess key messages to make sure they continued to be relevant throughout and post pandemic, and that the content we were producing hit the mark. Post Covid this remains the case, and our clients see us as trusted advisors to determine what strategies and tactics would be the most effective in a rapidly changing environment. Media relations programs must be more focused than ever, so how can we support marketing efforts from top-of-funnel demand generation to support for middle and bottom of the funnel in the buyers’ journey?

Events moved online which meant we had to restructure event plans and deal with virtual technological and communication logistics. We see that virtual and hybrid event formats will continue, and in some ways this means we’ll be able to include media who might not have been able to attend in person previously.

The silver lining to come out of 2020 is the focus on mental health. Business leaders have become more aware of pandemic-related stress, mental exhaustion, and burnout, and it is being spoken about openly.

Diversity and inclusion is an important issue in which society is now shining a light on and spurred positive changes throughout the business world. Communicating mindfully, authentically, and honestly in a way that is representative and inclusive of a diverse audience must be at the forefront of all communications.

The world of communications has seen a revolution in 2021, and we have all had to move with it, ensuring we deliver creative, strategic content that conveys relevant messages to clients’ audiences across multiple platforms. The NMG team has continued to work hard and be pro-active for our clients to get the best results.

As the founding director of Niche Marketing Group, do you have any advice for others looking to start up their own businesses?

• Be strategic – have a business plan outlining your goals and the strategy to move towards them

• Be passionate about what you do

• Be open to learning, and learn from your mistakes

• Work as a team, as you can achieve so much more when you utilise the strengths of the team

• Be prepared to put in the hard work, look at best practices and how you can apply them to your business

• Understand your customer and be client / customer centric

• Develop resilience, and if you get knocked down, get back up and have another go

What are your hobbies and interests outside of work?

I have a passion for renovating, spurred on by our many building and home clients! I also love travelling with my family, and pre-covid we had some amazing trips overseas. Most recently we went swimming with the whale sharks at Ningaloo in Western Australia which was the most incredible experience.

Living on Sydney’s east coast means there’s lots of great walks around the Tamarama area and bike riding in Centennial Park is a weekend favourite for a catch up with girlfriends.