Georgia Rickard

Georgia Rickard is a multi-award-winning Australian-born travel journalist, magazine editor, author and media commentator. The former editor of Australia's largest selling travel magazine, Australian Traveller[1] has contributed to News Limited, Conde Nast, Fairfax Media, BBC and several newspapers of note, including South China Morning Post and The Times. [2][3][4]

Early career

Rickard began her career in sales for a recruitment agency,[5] a beginning she later credited as providing the foundations for an unusually entrepreneurial outlook as a magazine editor.[6] Under the tutelage of Valerie Khoo she made the transition to journalism, contributing on a freelance basis to titles such as Cosmopolitan, CLEO, Women's Health, GQ, Prevention, and the Sunday Telegraph.[7][8][9]

At age 23 Rickard was invited to become editor of Healthy Food Guide magazine, making her the youngest Australian editor of a national title at the time. It was her first formal role in publishing. Despite the globally declining climate of magazine sales, the title began to post consistent growth, going on to remain the nation's fastest growing food title for the four consecutive audits of her tenure.[10] Rickard assisted in the launch of the UK edition of the same title, was twice nominated for 'Best Health Magazine' at the Australian Magazine Awards (2009, 2010) and developed an impressive media resume, appearing as a journalist and expert on Australian television programs such as Sunrise, Mornings with Kerri-Anne, Today Tonight and Channel Nine News and presenting regular segments on breakfast radio, most notably on Classic Rock FM's Sydney program 'Mornings with Anthony Maroon' and 4BC's Brisbane breakfast program with Jamie Dunn and Ian Calder. She also worked as an industry advisor to the Australian Democratic Party, providing advice and an industry perspective on shaping government public health policies in 2010.[7][11][12][13][14][15][16]

At the time of her resignation, Healthy Food Guide's circulation had grown from 31,670 to 44,025, with her final issue closing at 50,000 copies.[17][18][19][20]

Her first book, Weight Training for Dummies (Australian and New Zealand edition), was released in 2011.[21]

Travel journalism

Rickard joined the team as editor of Australian Traveller magazine in 2012, aged 26. During her three-year[22] tenure she posted consistently aggressive circulation wins,[23] achieving the fastest growing magazine circulation of any title in Australia in the audit period of Jan–Jun 2014.[24] She received significant industry plaudits for her work including top four shortlisting as Editor Of The Year,[25] top-four shortlisting for Magazine of the Year,[25] and winner overall of Niche Magazine of the Year[25] at the prestigious Australian Magazine Awards, as well as finalist listing for Food Travel Writer of the Year by the Australian Society of Travel Writers.

Chief among her improvements to the title were the instigation of celebrity covers, which starred notable Australian females such as journalist Lisa Wilkinson,[26] actress Claudia Karvan [27] and model Megan Gale,[28] as well as collaboration with emerging Australian influencers such as Lauren Bath and Melissa Findley (notable given that Instagram was not yet a prominent platform) and an 'image-first' approach to storytelling, which involved sending photographers to destinations without an accompanying writer. This was a tactic she later noted was initially met with reluctance by industry and publicists, until it proved an adaptive means of communication for the changing needs of an increasingly time-poor and digitally focused reader;[29] she also instigated guidelines on a company-wide approach to social media, dedicating considerable resources to the growth of the magazine's official Instagram account at a time when social media was not generally considered a priority for print publications. During her tenure, Rickard also began strengthening the relationship between Australian Traveller and Australia's national tourism body Tourism Australia which, at the time, still included domestic tourism promotion in its remit.[30][31] The Australian Traveller editorial team, led by Rickard, produced several custom publications on the organisation's behalf.[32][33][34]

Rickard resigned in February 2015[35] and commenced an associate editor role at Marie Claire Australia in March 2015, recruited as part of a two-person team by legendary fashion editor, Jackie Frank, to move the publication into its next phase alongside new editor Nicky Briger. After just four months in the role, Rickard resigned in August 2015.[36] Shortly thereafter she rejoined Australian Traveller on a consultative basis, working with Tourism Australia to oversee production of content for its Coastal and Aquatic campaign.

In 2016, Rickard was recruited by Fairfax Media as Managing Editor, to lead production on Tourism Australia's million-dollar overhaul of Australia.com[37] alongside multi-award-winning content agency, Storyation.[37] With Tourism Australia's internal team, Rickard and her hand-picked team – some 20 of Australia's most respected travel journalists[38] – produced over 710 feature articles,[38] overhauling site into an editorial destination of its own right. The project achieved measurable increases in several notable metrics;[38] industry publication AdNews later asserted that the project "redefine[d] content" in the Australian market.[38] The project received Finalist for Best Content Driven website in 2017's worldwide Content Marketing Awards.[39]

Entrepreneurialism

Rickard is part-owner of The Travel Bootcamp, an immersive consumer event with a focus on digital storytelling and influence sponsored by Olympus Australia and Intrepid Travel.[40] The event was co-founder by Lauren Bath – a travel Instagrammer often referred to as "Australia's First Professional Instagrammer"[41][42][43][44][45] – and Liz Carlson, founder of prominent travel blog[46] Young Adventuress and TedX speaker.[47] The Bootcamp has appeared on 60 Minutes (Australian edition) and in Sydney Morning Herald.[48][49][50] The trio also founded the Modern Travel Media Summit, a bi-annual industry conference held in Australia in partnership with industry body, TravMedia.[51]

She holds a Bachelor of Communications and a diploma in International Marketing from the University of Technology, Sydney.

References
  1. "Advertise with Australian Traveller". Australian Traveller. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  2. "Georgia Rickard". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  3. "I scored an invite to the Maldives' hottest beach party". NewsComAu. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  4. "Georgia Rickard | Emergence Creative". www.emergencecreative.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  5. "Georgia Rickard: Transformed her life | Australian Writers' Centre blog". Australian Writers' Centre. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  6. Rickard, Georgia. "Georgia Rickard, Content Creator, Mumbrella NeXt Awards, 2018". Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  7. "Girl With a Satchel: GWAS Girl In Media – Georgia Rickard". girlwithasatchel.blogspot.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 March 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Weight training for dummies / by Georgia Rickard, Liz Neporent and Suzanne Schlosberg | National Library of Australia". catalogue.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  10. "Magazine ABCs & readership: Famous, GQ and The Monthly are up - mUmBRELLA". 17 August 2009. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  11. "audioBoom / The Potatoe Diet with Georgia Rickard". audioboo.fm. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  12. "Georgia Rickard interview on Mornings Live – YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  13. "This weekend with Kim Dennison 13th and 14th of November – ABC Queensland – Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)". blogs.abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  16. "Georgia Rickard talks fussy eaters on Mornings with Kerri-Anne, 2009 – YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  17. "Magazine ABCs & readership: Famous, GQ and The Monthly are up – mUmBRELLA". Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  18. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. http://mags360.com/cookingfoodwine/healthy-food-guide-launched-in-the-uk/
  21. Rickard, Georgia; Neporent, Liz; Schlosberg, Suzanne (2011). Weight training for dummies (2nd Australian & New Zealand ed.). Richmond, Vic. : John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780730376606.
  22. Rickard, Georgia (2018). "Linked In Profile: Georgia Rickard". Linked In. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  23. "Content Agency Storyation Appoints New Editor & Marketer - B&T". B&T. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  24. Ward, Miranda (15 August 2014). "ABCs: Cleo and Dolly continue to struggle as several monthly mags increase". Mumbrella.
  25. "Real Living named Magazine of the Year at the AMAs - AdNews". Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  26. "Lisa Wilkinson - in search of 'real' Australia". Australian Traveller. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  27. "Claudia Karvan's Uluru therapy". Australian Traveller. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  28. "The evolutionary tale of Megan Gale". Australian Traveller. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  29. "Modern Travel Media Summit 2017". mtms.travmedia.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  30. Tourism Australia. "Tourism Australia: 2012 Strategy" (PDF).
  31. Tourism Australia. "Tourism Australia: 2012–2013 Annual Report" (PDF).
  32. Rickard, Georgia (April 2014). "16 Ultimate Escapes, Tourism Australia & Australian Traveller" (PDF).
  33. "Natural Australia: 16 Ultimate Escapes". Australian Traveller. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  34. "101 unforgettable beach & coastal experiences for your family". Australian Traveller. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  35. "Emily Taylor appointed editor at InStyle, editorial resignations at Australian Traveller and NW". influencing.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  36. Rickard, Georgia. "Linked In Profile: Georgia Rickard".
  37. "Tourism Australia Appoints 'Made' By Fairfax & Storyation To Evolve Australia.com - B&T". B&T. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  38. "Case study: Tourism Australia redefines content - AdNews". Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  39. "2017 Finalists and Winners - Content Marketing Awards". Content Marketing Awards. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  40. "The Travel Bootcamp – Kickstart Your Travel Career". thetravelbootcamp.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  41. "Australia's First Professional Instagrammer Shares Her Photography Tips". Women Love Tech. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  42. "Australia's first professional instagrammer offering mentorship - Australian Photography". Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  43. "Lauren Bath is Australia's first professional Instagrammer". Lost At E Minor: For creative people. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  44. "Meet Australia's First Professional Instagrammer, Lauren Bath". The Fox Magazine. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  45. "15 Australian travel Instagrammers you have to follow". Australian Traveller. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  46. "I turned my passion into a career". NewsComAu. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  47. TEDx Talks (21 July 2014), The fear of disconnecting | Liz Carlson | TEDxWanaka, retrieved 24 October 2018
  48. 60 Minutes Australia. "Social influencer Lauren Bath reveals how to take the perfect selfie".
  49. Canaway, Jane (9 August 2017). "Creative thinkers doing work their way". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  50. "This bootcamp promises a career as a travel influencer - Travel Weekly". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  51. "Modern Travel Media Summit 2017". mtms.travmedia.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
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