We help you get recognised

WHO WE ARE

We are a Canberra-based communications consultancy that helps government and corporate enterprises to discover, shape and tell their story for maximum reach, recognition and impact.

We provide a strategic framework and hands-on product development so clients can:

  • make a heartfelt connection with audiences through laser-targeted distribution of compelling and powerful content
  • get the recognition they deserve for their hard work
  • become the gold-standard communicator in their sector and community.
OUR BACKGROUND

After 30 years in media as a journalist, editor and executive, Stuart Howie founded Flame Tree Media in 2014.

​“I am passionate about helping people to communicate so they can realise their best. And it’s in my blood,” Stuart says. “My father, Bill, was a radio announcer with Melbourne’s first radio rock station, 3AK, and this took me into the beating heart of media and gave me an intimate understanding of the power of mass communication. I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Stuart began as a teenage cadet journalist on a country newspaper, and quickly rose through the ranks of Australian media. He was the youngest editor of The Ballarat Courier and went on to become deputy and acting editor of The Canberra Times, and then editor of the Walkley Award winning Illawarra Mercury.

As an editorial director with Fairfax Media, he oversaw a vast empire of 180 regional and rural titles in every state and territory in the country, and a newsforce of some 800 journalists. He designed the innovative digital news model NewsNow, which set a new standard and strategy for the company.

Since establishing his company, Stuart has created and delivered profound newsroom and communication programs in Australia and New Zealand. His work has won clients national and global recognition, including at the Attitude Awards in NZ, EducatePlus and at the International News Media Association awards in London and New York.
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Flame Tree Media founder Stuart Howie: a former Fairfax executive, he is known for creating and implementing big transformation projects.
HOW WE HELP

Flame Tree Media helps organisations and their leaders extract maximum return from their communications by:

  • working with them to unpack their problems and design customised communication solutions
  • helping them set up a DIY Newsroom™ for ultimate control and reach of their messaging
  • providing specialist consultancy in communications, transformation projects, and media and newspapers.

We run workshops, design and deliver communication strategies, implement projects, write speeches, and distil company strategy and initiatives into engaging corporate presentations.
WHO WE HELP

Flame Tree works with a range of organisations, from high-performing corporates and working one-on-one with their executives, through to ambitious not-for-profits and their boards. The prerequisite? That the organisation has a capacity and willingness for change.

Even experienced marketing and comms teams find today’s media landscape daunting as they seek to stand-out in the Attention Economy. We know their frustrations.

Unfortunately, many companies are too busy blazing away in a scattergun approach, or are stuck in the headlights, to craft and implement a strategic plan that will bring them the success they crave.

As a result, they make these sorts of mistakes:

  • Paying content marketers or others for services that don’t make a lasting difference
  • Ignoring the expertise within their own organisation
  • Winging it without the right approach, and exposing themselves to huge reputational risks and costs
  • Either over-relying on social media or not using it sufficiently because they have not defined their “media ecosystem” nor developed a content calendar
  • Keeping to old-school PR and wondering why they are falling behind competitors.
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Putting method to the madness: Stuart Howie's new hardback, The DIY Newsroom, is both a manifesto and practical reference guide to modern communications.
OUR SECRET SAUCE

Our point of difference is our SMART Way™ - a five-step methodology to delivering powerful and strategic communications using your own resources. SMART stands for Strategy Media Authenticity Results Teams.

Stuart Howie has bottled this secret sauce in his new book, The DIY Newsroom, which has been sold internationally and is critically acclaimed.

The DIY Newsroom is a must-read for the modern communicator, putting method to the madness of communicating today.

My book arrived today. I started reading it when I got home and couldn’t put it down until I finished it. Such a great read. Simple, elegant and immensely practical. Congratulations ...  it is about to be put to good use as I rebuild my new ‘newsroom’ ... I mean marketing team!

- Dean Gould, Chief Marketing Officer, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, Australia​

Register for discovery session

Do you want to assess your communications health? Would you like to tap into world’s best practice?

Register your interest for a SMART™ Communicator discovery session.

In these workshops, we assess your communications, drill into your problems (beyond the symptoms) and provide you with immediate solutions and an initial treatment plan.

Memberships