The Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA), the national industry body representing independent media agencies, has announced independent agency Enigma as the overall winner of its inaugural Pitch-Chella program.
The Enigma team, made up of Noah Smith, Tracy-Lea Meyer, Tom McLoughlin and Poppy Rhodes, took out the first-ever Pitch-Chella competition, impressing the judges with their “Blak Tank Australia” pitch. Inspired by global hit TV show Shark Tank, the concept envisioned a TV series that would highlight Indigenous-owned businesses, showcasing their investment potential to a broad market. Their idea impressed the judges for its potential to spotlight the unique value of Indigenous enterprises while also inspiring a national audience.
A combined team from indie agencies Assembled Media and Hatched, featuring Chelsea Schultz, Sophie Morris, Lauren Campagna and Bella Masters, took out the silver award for their “Deadly Leaders in Business” campaign, which celebrated Indigenous entrepreneurs. Their campaign aimed to highlight the exceptional quality and profitability of Indigenous businesses and the long-term value delivered from supporting them.
The Media Store’s Daniel Paoli, Adriana Catanese and Emma Davis received the bronze award for their TikTok challenge pitch, which encouraged TikTok users to get involved in Ducktober. Using a clever ‘I Give a Duck’ filter to prompt engaging conversations, the team also proposed leveraging TikTok’s donation function to allow viewers to contribute directly.
A special award for Best Media Mix was given to Enigma’s Sarah O’Toole, Grace Haddow, Joshua Richardson and Amelia Sultana. Their pitch championed inclusivity, bringing Ducktober to regional and rural Australia and providing opportunities for participation in local waters. Using taglines like “Don’t have a body of water to duck into? We don’t discriminate, we have you covered,” their pitch aimed to shine a spotlight on the often-overlooked mental health needs of people in regional areas.
The Pitch-Chella awards were presented at the program’s closing party at Sydney’s Beresford Hotel overnight, with celebrations held for the winners and the 76 participants, representing 21 indie agencies who competed in the inaugural program.
Pitch-Chella, created by a steering committee of indie agency leaders, was designed to support and nurture emerging independent media agency talent, encouraging collaboration while developing much-needed pitching skills. The inaugural event was proudly sponsored by Audience360 and supported by Meta.
The participants had to prepare written pitches for campaigns for two national charities: the Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network (NTIBN) Buy Blak campaign or the Waves of Wellness Foundation (WOW)’s annual Ducktober fundraising event. The selected finalists then had to present a virtual pitch to a panel of marketing experts, ensuring their pitches were executed with clear attention to objectives, strategy and effectiveness, while also showcasing their use of TV, digital, out-of-home, publishing and news, cinema and audio channels to tell their campaign stories.
The Pitch-Chella judging panel included gold sponsor Audience360’s Managing Director, Jenny Parkes, Sparrow’s Nest Consulting’s Greg Graham, TrinityP3 Global Media Consultant, Stephen Wright, Kennards Hire General Manager Marketing and Customer Experience, Manelle Merhi, Tumbleturn Marketing Advisory Partner, Daniel Johns, and Orand Founder and Senior Media Consultant, Adam Hickey.
IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, said the response to the pilot program had been overwhelmingly positive. “All 76 participants threw themselves head-first into Pitch-Chella, embracing the event’s spirit of collaboration, innovation and creativity. The judging panel was incredibly impressed with the calibre of entries and talent showcased by everyone involved in the program. Our teams thoroughly explored every element of the briefs provided and developed pitches that were well-rounded, competitive and well-executed. On behalf of the IMAA, I’d like to congratulate all our participants and thank our judging panel for lending their time and expertise”.
“Pitch-Chella is another example of the IMAA’s commitment to professional development and upskilling. We have a wealth of emerging talent across our indie sector and it’s wonderful to see these next-generation marketing professionals coming together to enhance their skills. Additionally, Pitch-Chella is a good example of industry mentoring at its finest, with our senior, highly experienced industry experts sharing their expertise and learnings with our up-and-comers”.
The Pitch-Chella initiative was spearheaded by a steering committee of independent agency leaders, including Mike Wilson (Hatched), Jessica Bray (Audience Precision), Jac Ely (Apparent), Lisa Blackshaw (Edge), Taylor Fielding (TFM Digital) and the IMAA team.
