Illumify Communications

I haven’t popped up on here for a while, and when I have it’s mainly been to share my travel and lifestyle writing. But the truth is, while it’s a huge passion, it’s only one of many hats I (love to) wear. Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of working with many wonderful people from a variety of companies.

Meeting up with an old colleague last week made me realise what sets my approach apart is bringing all these hats together—marketing, communications, brand strategy, account management, stakeholder engagement, budget management and, of course, my writing skills.

I haven’t shared much of that work here, but with the end of the year in sight, it feels like the right time to offer a glimpse. Perhaps there’s a project (or something ongoing) where my skill set could add value to your business.

Here’s a small snapshot of what I’ve been up to this year:

📈 Got the word out about a new sustainable and inclusive accommodation platform, handling the marcomms and PR for its pre-launch phase.

🖥️ Took on a significant website overhaul for a large organisation —redesigning 25 pages to make the user experience smoother and more intuitive while ensuring it felt true to the brand.

📚 Developed comms plans for a new education initiative in the health sector, ensuring the messaging resonated with the organisation’s goals and its member audience.

🎤 Crafted elevator pitches (yes, they’re still a thing!) and fresh B2C messaging to connect and share their updated value propositions.

📊 Ran an industry survey project end-to-end, then dug into the data to write a white paper that pulls out insights the industry can actually use.

📅 Supported event marketing for an industry association— to boost visibility, engagement and sales.

🎓 Continued my role as a Sessional Academic at Deakin University, supporting the next generation of communicators.

While I should probably have a more “professional” photo of me at my desk to grab attention, here’s me in a plane on a recent travel famil flying over to K’gari island— way cooler, right?

In today’s Age / Sydney Morning Herald ✈️🧳

“Before you panic and imagine the many ways in which this would be your holiday from hell, let me be clear: To those in the middle generation, your parents won’t enforce your bedtime. To older family members, this isn’t about being built-in babysitters.”

Every now and then, you experience customer service that truly stands out—and in our case, it left us with huge smiles on our faces.

My extended family—three generations—were on flight a few weeks ago from Uluru to Melbourne. As we boarded, Donovan, the Cabin Manager playfully told my kids that one of them would be seated with “the chickens upstairs”, the other with “the goats downstairs,” while I was offered a seat next to the G&T stand 😂 His energetic and humorous safety instructions made it the first time in years I paid proper attention. Then, when we landed, he joked about waiting until the seat belt sign was off with an “on your marks, get set, go!” approach. Not a single person stood up before the seat belt sign went off. I can’t remember the last time this happened, if ever!

A highlight was my son spotting a “stowaway possum”—a very life-like puppet that Donovan carried down the aisle after meals had been served, entertaining both kids and adults.

Though we often see flight attendants as mainly focused on safety, moments like these highlight the many ways they enrich our journey. Donovan’s efforts turn a “I-don’t-want-to-go-home” flight into a memorable experience.

Kudos to Donovan (who I believe is from Melbourne crew,) for making our journey so special!

I’ve flown Jetstar Airways twice in the past four weeks and have been very impressed.



[photo of Uluru in the distance, at sunrise, taken from Ayers Rock Resort]