• Hello there
    I’m Natalie Staaks

    Chief Communication Strategist

  • Hello there I’m
    Natalie Staaks

    Chief Communication Strategist

About Me

I listen. I take the time to understand you and your brand. I’ll help you tell your story. I’ll get you out of trouble. I have years of experience supporting organisations and leaders in local and state government, emergency management and small business. I have a passion for authentic storytelling, working with organisations, businesses and leaders to develop creative marketing and positioning solutions.

Learn more about me
Natalie Staaks

My Services

I specialise in supporting organisations and leaders that make a difference.

  • Strategic Communication Planning

  • Crisis Management

  • Positioning and thought leadership

  • Communication Team Mentoring

  • Personal Brand Building

  • Storytelling

Communication
Planning

I’ll listen to your communication issues and needs, analyse what you’ve already got, and develop a holistic communication strategy that integrates all relevant tactics and channels. Use my skills and knowledge to re-position, refresh or build. I’m a planner at heart and love a good strategy session.

Strategic
Positioning

I take the time to get to know each client’s business and personality. That way I can create a solid brand building strategy and write clear and engaging content for a range of mediums including website, social media, stakeholder and media that sounds like you, authentically and effectively.

Communicating
Through Crisis

As an external, fearlessly truthful adviser I support organisations and leaders through crisis. I can develop clear messaging and a stakeholder and media strategy designed to lessen the impact and consequences of any crisis. I am a complex problem solver with an agile and calm approach under fire.

“Natalie is a master of communications with knowledge, experience and an eye to the future. Strategic communications, media management and understanding community are only some of the skills that are underpinned by personal commitment to excellence. An excellent writer, a prolific reader and master of the English language all goes to a very successful past and future.”

“Natalie has been instrumental in driving key communications for our company. With an innovative product that introduces completely new technology, the challenge has been to determine the right message for the right audience at the right moment, ranging anywhere from explainer content, through education, to why this product is a good fit. Natalie’s strategic approach was impressive and her aptitude for challenging the status quo –  timely.  The outcome was the development of an excellent communication strategy, delivering targeted stakeholder engagement and keenly constructed (and successful) customer journeys.”

“If you have a strategy to be crafted that reflects the essence of your business, Natalie Staaks is your person.   Natalie has the envied skill of being able to observe your business from the outside, listen to you needs from the inside and process the two with a practical plan to achieve a desired outcome. Natalie is incredibly easy to work with. She is calm and always professional. I can’t recommend Natalie more thoroughly as a social media and publicity strategist with business planning and HR skills as an added extra.”

“I have known Natalie Staaks for the past 16 months after opening my wine shop in Thornbury. She is an important and integral part of my business now and in the future. For the past 12 months she has become responsible for writing, marketing, editing articles for my social media plus redesigning my website to new levels which I am extremely excited by. Natalie is efficient, detail oriented and competent. She successfully finishes all tasks professionally and well before deadlines. She is well organised and never misses a beat. I would highly recommend Natalie as a valuable asset for any organisation.”

Like a boss…….?

Sometimes you feel like a boss lady. And sometimes you’re working in bare feet and drowning in sticky notes. Anyone else relate? My mum bought me the ‘Boss Lady’ desk thingy because it was pink, and because it said words she thought…

In the middle of an evacuation zone

Early in the morning, I was startled out of a deep sleep by the CFA call out siren. Heart pounding, I wondered if that was the sign that a levee at Kerang had broken. Staying in the middle of the almost deserted town, I was part of the ResilientCo…

The ones I never got to meet

I wrote about the lives of many I never got to meet. As a young journalist, I asked questions of their loved ones to learn about them, and to share their lives and loss with the wider world. The love and grief in family, in friends, with…
Risk communication

The risk of risk communication

Government and public health officials are coming up against a universal truth in risk communications and awareness raising - people will make their own determinations about risk using a range of information, feelings, rationalisation and historic…
The name of

Talking in the name of…..

Wow I’ve had a good time talking to people lately.  In the name of work I mean ? For the past few months, I’ve been focusing on writing content for a range of clients based on interviews - both employees and product supporters.  Harking…
Covid19Comms

Examples of good and bad COVID19 comms – discuss

I had a doozy of a topic to facilitate at the IABC  #converge21 communications conference last night - ‘what has your government done well or badly in covid communications?’  Starting with ‘the good’ there was a crazy silence. For…
covid-real

Celebrating our COVID-real moment

Recently I went to a music festival. Not usually noteworthy, but it was a COVID-real moment; possibly one of the first large events outside footy to be held since...you know. Because around this time 12 months ago COVID19 became real. Many…
Culture Keep Up

Culture – keep up

This article about how to keep/instill/grow a corporate culture in a distributed work model made me do a happy dance. https://www-entrepreneur-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.entrepreneur.com/amphtml/364250 A combination of forced work from…
Business travel

How to air travel (for business)

I’ve forgotten how to travel. On a plane. Between States. I can travel 5 kms from my home, or I can drive around regional Victoria. But 12 months of home-time has dulled my air travel knowledge. I forgot to book parking; failed…

How I Work | No Surprises

  • If working with a communications consultant or content writer is new to you, I can take you through every step of the way.

  • I’ll work with you to understand your communication needs and objectives as well as your key drivers.

  • I’ll draft a project proposal outlining the pieces of work and the considered outcomes.

  • You need to get to know me, and I want to get to know you. The first consultation is free; a half hour window where we can chat and I can start to find out what it is you need.