About us
Making a difference
Better communicate is a PR and communications consultancy built off the back of decades of newsroom and public relations wins.
Why we built this
Dale spent two decades in newsrooms deciding what made the bulletin and what got left on the cutting room floor. Kate came at storytelling from the other side. She built a career in a corporate world: insurance, health and finance, wading deep into customer experience, relationship management and project management, with roots in the creative industry. She learned how a story moves a company, a board and an audience.
We met in the middle, where the newsroom says hi to the boardroom. We realised most organisations are sitting on great stories. They just don’t know how to tell them.
So we started Better Communicate to do exactly that. We get to choose who we work with and we back organisations doing good work in areas we care about. The story is always easier to tell when you believe in it.
Who we are
Dale
Co-Founder
Different day, different story.
Dale gets them across the line. Specialising in earned media strategy, reputation management and stories that actually get picked up. Dale produced, reported and wrote for TVNZ, Newshub, The Listener, Stuff, BBC, ABC Australia and SBS World News. With contacts up the wazoo, Dale makes moving and shaking look easy.
Kate
Co-Founder
Strategist, relationship builder and business operator. Built her career inside a major health insurer, moving through nearly every part of the business from customer experience, and sales to relationship management and projects. Roots in the creative industry too, across events and visual media. A top level connector who leverages both sides to help organisations tell their story.
When a client offers their name, we're proud to share it.
“The Law Association has worked closely with Dale Owens over the past 12 months and has greatly valued his expertise, professionalism and contribution.
Dale combines strategic thinking with exceptional editorial and communications expertise. He has a unique ability to translate complex issues into engaging, high-quality content that resonates with our members and the wider legal profession.
Professional, collaborative and highly trusted, Dale consistently delivers work of the highest standard.”
Jane Carey
Head of Products, Marketing and Communications
The Law Association of New Zealand
July 2026
How we work
We help organisations build profile by telling stories the media actually want to run.
If you do that consistently then something often shifts. You stop chasing coverage and start being the organisation a journalist calls when they need insight. Building reputation and mana over time, with newsrooms and with the audience.
Plenty of people will take your press release and press send. We would rather ask why you are sending it at all, and whether there is a better story sitting underneath.
So we will push back sometimes. If an idea won’t fly with a journalist, you will hear it from us early, while there is still time to do something better with it. We think that is the most useful thing we can offer, and our clients tell us they value it.
The work goes best when you are in it with us. The clients who get the most are the ones who pick up the phone, tell us the real situation and build the story with us.
Building great things together
The best work happens in the room together. The more we understand about your world, the sharper the story gets. So bring us in, give us the context, and let us do what we do.
The value of good advice
You’re paying for senior level public relations and media advice. If the story isn’t there, we’ll say so. If the timing is wrong, we’ll tell you.
We know who to call and when
We know which journo wants which story, and when the setup shift clocks on. Getting the right person at the right time. Instinct money can’t buy. Except, on this occasion, it can!
Senior people on every job
There’s no B-team or junior hire picking up a client. The people you brief are the people who do the work. That’s us!
A note for our clients
The wins belong to you, the client. We help with our bit for sure, but it’s your story to tell.
We are not really into turning someone’s success into our advertising, we believe this is a fast way to lose trust. The clients who value discretion most are usually the ones we like to work with.
We made a call early on to go easy on naming our clients on the internet. The discretion you’d want for your own reputation is the same discretion we’ll show you.
When we talk, we’ll tell you which outlets we’ve landed coverage in and walk you through anonymised examples that show exactly how we work.
We don’t blast our clients successes all over LinkedIn. Our clients’ stories belong to them. Book a call and we’ll walk you through our work directly.