Jondayah Martin wins Young PR Talent of the Year
From the Torres Strait to the top of her profession, Bastion Amplify’s Jondayah Martin has come a long way – and her journey has been crowned with her being named as Best New PR Talent of the Year at Mumbrella CommsCon 2023 in Sydney, Australia’s peak annual awards for the PR and communications industry.
Jondayah – Jondy to her colleagues and friends - joined Bastion Amplify’s Gold Coast office in November 2020, immediately after graduating from Bond University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and International Relations. She had previously completed a Bond work experience placement with Bastion during which she was identified as an outstanding recruitment prospect. True to expectations, she quickly progressed from a junior account executive to an account manager, routinely managing key campaigns and clients.
Jondy grew up on Thursday Island and is a Torres Strait Islander from Mabuiag, Moa, Masig with ties to the Wagadagem and Ngaragi Tribe. An active member of the Indigenous community, she has mentored Indigenous youth as part of the 2019 Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME), assisted NFP Access Community Services as International Account Assistant and acted as Community Correspondent for the ABC in 2015.
She is among Bond University’s most distinguished Indigenous alumni, having received the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence, represented Bond during the WIMUN United Nations Conference in New York City in 2020 and delivered the keynote address at the 2019 Bond University Indigenous Gala.
Similarly, Jondy is a celebrated alumnus of the Yalari program, founded by Queensland education trailblazer Waverley Stanley AM to offer secondary education scholarships to Indigenous children at leading Australian boarding schools. At the 2022 Yalari Brisbane Dinner, Jondy delivered a keynote address to more than 700 guests at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
In just over two years with Bastion, Jondayah has already managed major campaigns for companies in the non-profit, legal, tourism, arts, health and property fields. She has worked on secondment to Bastion’s Sydney office on national accounts and has been instrumental in the introduction of Welcome to Country and other Indigenous cultural practice within Bastion’s 350-strong national staff network.
Her Mumbrella award recognises her work in senior client-facing roles with major listed companies in Queensland and her instrumental role in achieving phenomenal media coverage for her clients during the past two years reaching audiences of more than 10 million across the spectrum of print, television, radio and digital media. She has also worked on major social media and community engagement campaigns across multi-billion-dollar property projects in Queensland, managing all organic content, posting and community management and boosting post impressions and engagement for her clients by figures well above industry standards.
Jondy’s client list also includes Indigenous-centred organisations such as Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF), Australia’s largest and most celebrated First Nations visual art event now in its 16th year.
Her culturally-informed approach to her PR work includes her lead role on Bastion’s 2023 Indigenous Fashion Projects and David Jones Pathway Program release in Sydney.
“It was really important to me that we emphasise the importance of two-way learning and took a strengths-based approach when discussing Indigenous designers’ part of the program ,” Jondy said.
“Historically, a story on Indigenous designers might forget this aspect and only discuss the benefits that they will be receiving from David Jones.”
Bastion Amplify Managing Director Richard Chapman says Bastion, as Australia’s largest independent communications agency, employs dozens of aspiring young PR professionals annually.
“I can confidently say that Jondayah Martin is one of the most promising and talented young people to walk through our doors in years,” he said. “There’s no-one inside our team or among her clients who doesn’t hold Jondy in the highest esteem.
“Her First Nations heritage and work in the Indigenous community has added a new maturity to our business that belies her youth, particularly in the use of culturally informed language and the power of indigenous educational opportunities. With her personality, emotional intelligence and people skills she is, frankly, capable of achieving anything within Bastion and in her future professional career – the Mumbrella judging panel got it right.”
