With the finalists for Cairns Hatchlings, presented by Yahoo, being announced a few weeks ago, we are turning our focus to the work that earned them their place in the spotlight. This week, it’s all about the digital category.
Want to find out who will claim victory? Come to Cairns Crocodiles, presented by Pinterest!
All entrants must work in pairs. The finalists for the digital category are: Yohei Hamada and Kao So, Priyanka Pradeep Gohil and Aman Ganesh Aragonda, Disha Nikalje and Aria Koudounis.
The duos were challenged to create an integrated, digital-first campaign to inspire corporate partners and sponsors to get behind Women on a Mission (WOAM). Their goal was to showcase the real-life impact of partner funding on WOAM’s expeditions, while empowering female survivors of abuse, violence and war globally.
The brief asked the pairs to raise awareness of WOAM’s mission among corporate audiences, secure sponsorships and demonstrate how donations support expedition success and help to produce meaningful outcomes.
Check out their standout campaigns.
Yohei Hamada & Kao So, Dentsu, Japan
Hamada & So discover that while the realities faced by women living under violence, abuse and war are widely known, they remain abstract. The awareness exists but with immediacy and therefore does not translate into action. Their response frames the issue by placing those realities directly into the environments where decisions are made.
‘STRANGERS’s Schedule’ is an initiative that inserts the daily lives of women in extreme conditions into the email calendars of business professionals. By overlaying these schedules in real time, it forcing a powerful yet confronting comparison. What once felt distant then becomes undeniably present, embedded in the structures of professional priorities.
It aims to prove that driving action isn’t about attention but instead about changing everyday context. When impact is experienced within the system people rely on everyday, collection actions becomes far more likely.
Priyanka Pradeep Gohil & Aman Ganesh Aragonda, Schbang Digital Solutions, India
Priyanka Pradeep Gohil and Aman Ganesh Aragonda aim to tackle a fundamental issue in corporate giving, intent alone isn’t enough without proof. DEI and CSR leaders are under pressure to justify their investments. Their response reframes partnership with WOAM as something far more meaningful than a charity, but instead a way that brands can demonstrated leadership under pressure.
‘ Leading Beyond Limits’, a digitally led campaign designed to stop corporate audiences mid-scroll and place them in the reality of WOAM’s world. The campaign positions expeditions as a shared test of resilience rather than a distant act of bravery. Every touchpoint connects emotional impact with tangible outcomes, linking survivor empowerment with boardroom ROI and leadership development.
It demonstrates that effective marketing does not dilute impact to then gain attention. When brands are to lead beyond limits, participation becomes a statement of credibility.
Disha Nikalje & Aria Koudounis, Omnicom Media Group, Australia
Nikalje and Koudounis address a gap in corporate purpose: although female leadership is widely championed, it is rarely demonstrated. DEI and ESG commitments mostly live within policy but lacks measurable action. Their responses challenges this, reframing leadership as something proven, not declared.
At the centre of the proposed campaign is a LinkedIn-led approach that turns participation in WOAM into an act of public leadership. Instead of simply asking female leaders for support, the campaign invites them to join the mission, embedding the expeditions into their personal identity.
It aims to prove that empowerment cannot remain an abstract promise. When leadership is made visible, participation attracts awareness, and impact can then scale through those willing to lead it.
