Who is Erika McInerney?

Erika McInerney smiling, standing outdoors against a colourful brick wall with graffiti in Warragul, Gippsland, wearing a denim jacket, pink blouse, and holding a laptop and phone.

It’s me, hi 👋

Thanks for visiting - I’m really glad you’re here.

If you’ve landed on this site, you’re probably looking for more clarity and confidence in how you communicate - whether that’s through your marketing, your customer experience, or how your organisation shows up more broadly. That’s exactly the work I do.

I’m Erika McInerney. I help small businesses, community organisations, and leaders simplify how they communicate and build trust with the people they serve.

My background spans advertising, marketing, and communications, and I’ve spent the past 30 years working across agencies, corporates, and community organisations. I’ve led teams, run campaigns, owned an agency, and supported thousands of businesses across Australia and New Zealand. Along the way, I’ve adapted to more industry changes than I can count and kept learning, because this work is always evolving.

What I bring to clients isn’t just strategy. It’s perspective.

I have a knack for walking into a business or organisation and quickly seeing where clarity, connection, or ease has been lost, and how to restore it in ways that are practical, human, and sustainable. I translate complex ideas into decisions people can actually act on.

How did I get here?

After moving to Gippsland in 2011, I co-created the Warragul Farmers’ Market and found myself reconnecting deeply with small business and community work. That experience shaped the next chapter of my career and led to the creation of Mac&Ernie in 2016 - built on the belief that good marketing and strong customer experiences should feel simple, kind, and true to who you are.

Today, my work spans marketing, customer experience, and trust-building - helping people and organisations communicate with clarity, credibility, and good judgement.

That’s the short version. The rest shows up in my writing, workshops, and the conversations I have every day with people who care about doing good work and want it to land well.

Erika McInerney

BA (Media & Communications) · Master of Marketing · Certificate in Customer Experience · AMI Certified Practising Marketer

About Mac&Ernie

Here are three key aspects that shape my business, what my small team deliver for our clients and community, and how we deliver on those promises.

I care deeply about honesty, clarity, and doing work that feels aligned - not performative or forced.
I work with small business owners, community organisations, and leaders who want to communicate well, but are often overwhelmed by marketing, social media, or conflicting advice. Not because they lack capability — but because clarity has been buried under noise.
I’m committed to helping people grow their work ethically and sustainably, without shortcuts, gimmicks, or tactics that don’t feel right.
Good communication should build trust, not erode it.
I also care deeply about regional and rural communities. I live and work in Gippsland, and while technology allows me to work more broadly, I spend a lot of time in smaller towns - listening, learning, and understanding the realities of running a business or organisation outside major centres.
Growth in these places matters. Not just for individual businesses, but for the health of entire communities. When clarity and confidence increase, the impact ripples well beyond one organisation.
I design and deliver intelligent, practical training and advisory work focused on marketing, customer experience, and communication.
My work is grounded in real-world context - not theory for theory’s sake - and is designed to help people make better decisions, not just learn new tactics.
That might look like:
- Marketing and social media strategy or policies that actually fit how you operate.
- Training that builds confidence and capability, not overwhelm.
- Guidance for leaders and organisations navigating visibility and public voice.
- Practical tools that support consistency, clarity, and trust
Everything I deliver is designed to be useful, relevant, and applicable - not generic or trend-led.
I take a people-centred approach to marketing and communication, grounded in customer experience and an understanding of how people interpret, trust, and respond to information.
I’m not interested in following the crowd if it doesn’t suit you or your context. AI, automation, and new tools have their place - but clarity, judgement, and human connection still matter most.
I translate complex ideas into clear, practical actions. I avoid jargon, explain things plainly, and keep examples relevant to your world, because there’s no value in learning from case studies that have nothing to do with your reality.
Alongside advisory work, I:
- Deliver one-on-one mentoring and coaching.
- Collaborate with local governments, business networks, and organisations.
- Create accessible training and resources for people with limited budgets.
Through my writing, workshops, podcast, guides, and social channels, I share practical insights that people can use immediately, whether they’re ready to invest deeply or need to take a more DIY approach for now.
My goal is always the same: to help you move from uncertainty to clarity, and from guesswork to confident decision-making.

At Mac&Ernie, my focus is on making marketing feel clearer and more manageable - without losing impact.

I spend my time working alongside small businesses, community organisations, and leaders to simplify how they communicate, build trust, and create systems that support consistent, thoughtful marketing over time.

Based in Gippsland and working across Australia and New Zealand, I bring a grounded, people-centred approach shaped by my values: knowledge, integrity, community, and creativity.

Mac&Ernie is guided by these core values:

Knowledge

I believe good decisions come from understanding, not keeping up with every trend.

Marketing and communication tactics change constantly and can be complicated and messy to navigate. My role is to stay close to that complexity, then distil what actually matters into guidance that’s relevant to your context, your industry, and your capacity.

I strip out jargon and noise, and focus on building strategies and systems that are thoughtful, practical, and fit for purpose - not generic or trend-led.

Integrity

For me, integrity is about clarity and honesty.

It means giving considered advice, naming trade-offs, and offering feedback that is direct but kind. It also means recommending what’s appropriate - not what’s popular or performative.

Trust is built when expectations are clear and decisions are well-judged. That principle sits at the centre of my work with businesses, leaders and organisations.

Community

I’m deeply committed to regional and community-based work.

I live and work in Gippsland, and I understand the realities of operating outside major centres - the constraints, the opportunities, and the importance of connection.

When I work with you, I’m not just focused on individual success, but on how that success contributes to a broader ecosystem.

Community might be local, online, or sector-based - but it’s always central to sustainable growth and meaningful influence.

Through Mac&Ernie, Erika delivers impactful marketing presentations. A room full of women founders from across Gippsland seated learning from Erika.

How does it feel to work with me?

Firstly, I believe that marketing and communication activities shouldn’t feel intimidating or performative.

People often come to me feeling unsure - not because they lack capability, but because there’s too much noise, too many opinions, and not enough clarity. My role is to make the work feel more considered, more manageable, and easier to navigate.

I bring warmth and humour where it helps, but I’m also direct, thoughtful, and honest. Clients often tell me they feel calmer and more confident once there’s a clear structure in place and someone they trust helping them make decisions.

That trust hasn’t been built overnight. It’s the result of 30 years working across marketing, advertising, and communications - and of long-term, authentic relationships formed through collaboration, community work, and shared effort.

The way I work is grounded in a few simple principles:

Results matter - effort should lead somewhere meaningful.
Clarity over hype - no fluff, no bluff, no unnecessary complexity.
Thorough thinking - the big picture matters, but details shape experience.
Feedback is valuable - improvement comes from reflection, not defensiveness.

Based in Gippsland and working across Australia and New Zealand, I support clients through strategy, advisory work, workshops, and training. When specialist support is needed, I collaborate with a trusted network of creatives to deliver brand, design, and digital work, without losing clarity or continuity.

What I offer isn’t a traditional agency or consultancy model. It’s experienced, hands-on support that brings structure, judgement, and calm to work that often feels harder than it needs to be.

Get in touch