This year has been off to a busy start here at Madden & Assoc. In PR there’s a never-ending range of opportunity, from new projects to be tackled, new problems to be solved, new ideas to be shared – and we thrive off the adrenaline it all creates.
As we bid farewell to Q1, we reflect on the quarter that was – we told stories, we built relationships, we developed professionally, and boy, did we have a great time doing it!
We’ve worked hard together but had fun along the way. Here are some of our proudest moments:
We welcomed a new ‘Madden’, literally…
Hey Google, play “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Frank Sinatra!
This March, we celebrated the nuptials of our Founder, Bruce Madden, to his beautiful wife, Penne Madden (Akpene), our Sales and Marketing Director.
The power couple tied the knot in front of family and friends with a Sydney-based scenic ceremony on a bright, sunny day in March.
What better way to celebrate the ethos and values of our Madden team? We have always considered family a huge part of our philosophy, so we were absolutely thrilled to share in the celebrations of the happy couple.
Let’s toast to the newlyweds! Wishing Bruce and Penne all the love and happiness for a fulfilling future, may your union be blessed for an eternity.
We learnt how to invest like a prince!
It’s not every day you get to work with a real-life Prince – who even needs Disney?!
Prince Max von Liechtenstein, son of the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, spoke exclusively with the Australian Financial Review on robots, wind and solar.
According to the prince, solar and wind have been completely underestimated as impactful technologies are able to shift the dial on climate change.
“The opportunity is massive because the challenge is so significant. You have an enormous amount of effort and research and innovation tackling these broader global challenges. And that drives a lot of innovation and a lot of business models.”
Prince Max is chair of LGT, the investment group owned by the Liechtenstein royal family who acquired Sydney-based Crestone Wealth Management last year, creating LGT Crestone, one of the world’s largest privately owned wealth managers.
Sustainable investment was a global megatrend instrumental in bringing LGT and Crestone together said LGT Crestone’s chief executive Michael Chisholm.
Happy birthday GOLD! We celebrated the 20th anniversary of the world’s first GOLD ETF
Did you know oceans are the greatest single reservoir of gold at Earth’s surface, containing approximately eight times the total quantity of gold mined to date? However, the current cost of extracting it is more than the gold is worth.
So how can investors get their hands on it?
Well, two decades ago, on 28 March, the world’s first ever gold exchange traded fund (ETF), unsurprisingly named ‘GOLD’, launched on the Australian stock exchange (ASX). It was the first listing on the ASX with a four-letter ticker!
This product kickstarted the commodity ETF space and now there are over $200bn invested in gold ETPs around the world.
Our team attended the ASX bell ringing ceremony to commemorate this milestone – it was an honour to partake in such a momentous day for Global X.
Congratulations to the Global X team and we look forward to continuing to support you.
We got media savvy with c-suite executives – media training is key to mastering your messages!
Never underestimate the power of media training.
Media training not only assists individuals in creating the message they want to convey but helps them in building the confidence to convey it successfully and with impact.
Run by our Executive Director and Founder, Bruce Madden, our media training and message development programs help brands develop strong, purposeful messages and create a unique voice to build greater engagement and drive better business outcomes.
In the first quarter of this year, Madden trained 16 individuals on effective delivery techniques for their key messages.
On top of nailing their strategic messaging, two portfolio managers in particular gained the confidence to present to their industry peers on ‘high stake’ speaking panels while a further senior executive took over a new regional position based in Singapore.
Madden works incredibly hard on its bespoke media training offering and is proud to continue assisting clients to be the best they can be in front of an audience, a reporter, or internal stakeholders.
We sat down with our media friends to discuss all things currency
We were thrilled to help facilitate a successful media roundtable attended by 7 journalists representing mainstream and trade media outlets.
Insight Investment’s global macroeconomics and currency expert Dr Francesca Fornasari was in Sydney to discuss the global outlook for investors and expectations for global monetary policy, interest rates and inflation, and currency markets.
It made for an interesting and engaging discussion on Quantitative Tightening/Easing by the US Federal Reserve, as well as the impact of the recent Silicon Valley Bank collapse and was a great way to connect with key Australian journalists.
Our very own Senior Account Manager and New Zealand Lead, Natasha Johnston, was even in town for the occasion!
We went behind the scenes of an in-studio podcast recording…
If you flick back to our New Years resolution blog post, you’ll see that virtually the whole team stated that they wanted to increase their podcast exposure (real original, guys…).
So, when we were given the opportunity to go behind the scenes with Julie Moret (Northern Trust Asset Management’s Global Head of Sustainability and Stewardship) in the recording of the FS Sustainability’s Greener Way Podcast, we grabbed the opportunity with both hands!
In an economy which is progressively prioritising sustainable investments, the chance to listen to two influential women in the field (in live time) was incredibly insightful.
PR is all about communication, and discovering new ways in which we can communicate is not only an exciting prospect, but an amazing learning experience for an upcoming project that we are launching in Q2 here at Madden (hint hint!).
You can check out the Greener Way podcast recording here, where Julie and Managing Editor Rachel Alembakis discuss all things decarbonisation and EMUs (energy, materials, and utilities).
Our juniors grew their professional network
Networking isn’t an innate ability, it’s a skill that anyone can learn.
You don’t have to be an extrovert or ‘smooth operator’ to be successful; you just need to use the right strategies!
Our juniors Sarah, Mary-Ann and Grace attended a breakfast session hosted by the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) NSW Young Guns where they heard from a panel of industry professionals to explore how some very common fears can hold us all back from professional growth and what we can do to ‘turn the tide’.
They learnt how to avoid a stall in career progression due to confidence-crushing fears such as fear of failure, fear of what others may think or say and fear of making the wrong decisions – and embrace uncertainty and challenge.
It is true we naturally avoid those things that make us uncomfortable, but there is no growth in the status quo; so take action anyway! Even a small step in the right direction will yield more progress than inaction.
Remember, if you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done!
What a quarter!
It’s been an action-packed start to the year at Madden and reflecting on the key highlights of the quarter fills us with pride.
What a continual flow of opportunities – good thing our team thrives under pressure, right?
Bring on Q2!