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Your Digital Reputationwith Roger Christie Author: Roger Christie
The Your Digital Reputation podcast - honest, practical conversations with the leaders getting social media right in the moments that matter most. Hosted by Roger Christie, Managing Director @ Propel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Language: en Genres: Business, Management Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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60. Nick Plunkett, Sydney Water | The good + bad of going viral
Tuesday, 2 December, 2025
Trust is built and tested in the moments you don’t see coming. Sometimes, those moments involve a global superstar throwing a bright orange thong off a balcony.When a spontaneous Drake post exploded into 150 million global views for his organisation, Sydney Water's Nick Plunkett had a very clear takeaway: virality is never the goal - trust is. And trust is earned through consistent behaviours, long before a viral moment ever arrives.Nick and his team didn’t just ride the wave; they used it to accelerate Sydney Water’s mission. But they were only able to do so having built critical trust foundations - internally and externally - that gave them the right to act. Because in high-trust, high-stakes settings like government-owned utilities, impressions, reactions and vanity metrics mean nothing compared with lifting water literacy, and driving behaviour change at scale.In the final episode of Your Digital Reputation for 2025, Nick shares with host Roger Christie how his team connected cultural relevance with enterprise priorities, why strong governance and internal trust allowed them to act quickly, and how they now translate social media performance into business outcomes like water conservation and wastewater behaviour change.In his words: “Virality is never the goal. It's about building trust. And if a byproduct is virality, that's great - but, at the end of the day, we want to build that trust.”Tune in for a candid, practical and deeply relevant conversation about the light and dark sides of going viral, and the importance of earning and leveraging trust to drive genuine behaviour change.TIMESTAMPS:00:02:19 - Behind the thong: how the Drake moment began00:06:35 - When a post goes global: excitement vs. fear00:09:12 - The internal trust and governance that made it possible00:13:27 - How virality shifted internal expectations and demand00:15:23 - Measuring what matters: behaviour change, not impressions00:20:56 - Virality’s dark side: trolling, dilution and community rebuild00:22:13 - Proximity vs trust: why mass reach can harm connection00:29:06 - How to take educated risks in high-trust, high-risk organisationsSUBSCRIBE FOR REGULAR INSIGHTSTo sign up to Roger Christie's regular newsletter, head to: https://www.propelgroup.com.au/subscribeCONNECT WITH ROGER CHRISTIEHave a question, feedback or want to connect with Roger? Head to: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerchristie/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
