Thinking Of Entering B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards? Read These Tips From The Judges First!

Thinking Of Entering B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards? Read These Tips From The Judges First!
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine



In case you’ve been living under a rock, entries for the B&T 30 Under 30 Awards 2018 opened a few short weeks ago – and if you haven’t submitted yours yet, we’ve got some hot tips to help you submit the best entry possible.

Entries close in just two weeks, BTW, so you better get started – on time entries close February 23!

We’re on the hunt for the most determined, talented and innovated young guns in the industry – and you could be one of them.

Some of our winners may already be in positions of leadership while others may be starting out, but these awards will champion those that go above and beyond and demonstrate excellence.

There’s 10 categories and three winners per category – plus a Grand Prix Award for the most influential individual overall. If you enter, you’ll also be a part of the People’s Choice poll, which will open for voting after entries close.

To select the young champions of our industry, we’ve got a panel of killer judges who seriously know their stuff – from Partners to Directors to CEOs and Founders. Take a look at this years lineup:

  • Adam Jeffrey – Strategist, Imagination
  • Adam Freedman – Head of Consumer, Red Agency (Consumer)
  • Angela Smith – Director of Strategy, Affinity
  • Anna O’Dea – Founder, Agency Iceberg
  • Ben McCallum – GM Sydney, Mediacom
  • Brenton Moore – Managing Director,  MAARS
  • Carla Vella – Head of Radio Sales Sydney, Southern Cross Austereo
  • Caroline McLaughlin – MD, DDI
  • Charlie Murdoch – Marketing Director, NewsMediaWorks
  • Christina Peyton – Head of Marketing & PR APAC, DigitasLBi
  • Dan Clark – General Manager, Sydney, The Hallway
  • Dominique Hind – COO & Co-founder, WiTH Collective
  • Fern Canning-Brook – MD, Edelman
  • Gaye Steel – Strategic Marketing, rubin8
  • Glenn Murray – CTO, Partner and Digital Strategist, Conn3cted
  • Jarther Taylor – CEO, Datarati
  • Jasmine Lansdell – People & Culture Director, The Works Sydney
  • Jeff Miller – Executive Manager, Consumer Credit and Foreign Exchange (Group Marketing and Strategy), CBA
  • John Butterworth – Head of Digital Services, The Gruden Group
  • Julia Edwards – Head of Foxtel Content & Brand Partnerships, Multi Channel Network
  • Kartik Rao – “Chief Information Officer”, Lifecycle Digital  (previously Global Red Australia Pty Ltd)
  • Kim McKay – Communications Director, Klick
  • Lauren Small – General Manager, Spark Foundry
  • Lucia Elliott – Principal, Creighton Ward
  • Luke Robinson – Head of Trade Marketing & Communications, Nine
  • Mari Kauppinen – Marketing Executive, Channel and Performance Marketing , IBM Australia
  • Martin Cowie – People & Development Director, OMD Sydney
  • Matt Taylor – MD, Milkmoney
  • Matt Robinson – Founder & MD, Analogfolk
  • Mitch Waters – General Manager, AU/NZ, Tradedesk
  • Natalie Giddings – Managing Director, The Remarkables Group
  • Nicole Taylor – Managing Director, DDB
  • Olia Krivtchoun – Head of Innovation, Blue 449
  • Paul Fenton – Founder, YOLO
  • Paul Taylor – Creative Director Experience Design, SapientNitro
  • Ralph van Dijk – Founding Creative Director, Eardrum
  • Richenda Vermeulen – Founder and Managing Director, Ntegrity
  • Ruby Grennan – Marketing & Communications Manager, Adshel
  • Sam Hegg – Chief Strategy Officer, Carat
  • Sharyn Smith – CEO and Founder, Social Soup
  • Simon Hadfield – Leadership Consultant, Hourigan International
  • Stewart Gurney – Head of Strategy, PHD Australia
  • Stuart Archibald – Partner, Archibald/Williams
  • Tim Addington – Director and Founder, TAG PR
  • Vanessa Liell – Agency Leader & Managing Partner, N2N Communications
  • Virginia Hyland – Founder, HM Comms
  • Wai Kwok – Founding Partner, Orchard
  • William Leach – Partnership Owner, The Leach

There you have it, folks – these are the people to impress. Luckily, we’ve rounded up their best tips on entering the 30 Under 30 Awards, so you can submit the best entry you possibly can. No need to thank us.

  • “Give the judges a real picture of who you are beyond merely listing your accolades.”
  • “Get someone to proof read your entry before submitting.”
  • “Get references from your clients – not your boss!”
  • “A laundry list of achievements on their own won’t tell us much about you. Put some colour around these to demonstrate your contribution and why you’ve achieved what you have.”
  • “Judges score according to the criteria so address each and every one of them. If you don’t, we can’t score you for that section.”
  • “Focus on the things that differentiate you from your peers and create the opportunity to demonstrate a unique opinion and perspective.”
  • “Be humble, be truthful and don’t be afraid to show flaws. Overlay your personality also, because the best entries tell a story.”
  • “Don’t tell us what you do, tell us why you do it.”
  • “Don’t be shy when spruiking successes in your application but make sure you keep it truthful. The judging panel consists of professionals who are familiar with their industries and well networked, so any falsehoods are likely to be caught.”
  • “Like any great member of a team you’re only as good as the people around you. No one gets ‘there’ on their own – clever, respectful and grounded people know this. I think acknowledgement of that is crucial in an entry. There is nothing more attractive than humility.”
  • “Take them seriously and start working on your entries now.”

Early bird tickets for the awards are now available here, and (to follow that last tip) you can get going on your entry here, but the most important thing is you absolutely have to be under the age of 30 on the day of the event to enter.

This year, the 30 Under 30 Awards will be held on Thursday 12 April at the SMC Conference & Function Centre in Sydney – but for more info on the awards head here.

30 Under 30 Awards sponsor block




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