The Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA), Australia’s national industry body representing independent media agencies, today announced the finalists of its first-ever ‘PitchChella’ initiative, with eight teams set to present virtual pitches this week to a panel of media industry experts.
The eight finalists were selected from 76 participants, representing 21 IMAA member agencies, that entered the inaugural competition, keen to develop their pitching skills and collaborate with their peers.
The industry-first program, which is proudly sponsored by Audience360 and supported by Meta, was developed by the IMAA to support and nurture emerging independent media agency talent.
Participants with less than five years’ media agency experience were encouraged to participate.
The inaugural Pitch-Chella finalists are:
- Assembled Media/Hatched: Chelsea Schultz, Sophie Morris, Lauren Campagna and Bella Masters.
- AFFINITY: Angus Gawdat, Annabelle Harrington, Lukass Strungs and Nathan Sullivan.
- BCM/Wahoo: Avon Ang, Ellie Fraser, Max McDonald and Alexandra Smith.
- Half Dome: Sophia Lin, Molly O’Sullivan and Hannah Drummond.
- Enigma: Sarah O’Toole, Grace Haddow, Joshua Richardson and Amelia Sultana.
- Enigma: Noah Smith, Tracy-Lea Meyer, Tom McLoughlin and Poppy Rhodes.
- Slingshot/Waples: Alyssa Uzunovski, Florence Gleeson-Cook, Cobey Johnston and Elise
Sinclair. - TMS: Daniel Paoli, Adriana Catanese and Emma Davis.
The successful teams were selected following written campaign pitches for two national charities.
Teams were asked to put together pitches for either Indigenous business advocacy service Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network’s (NTIBN) Buy Blak campaign, which is aimed at boosting the profile of NT Indigenous businesses, and the Waves of Wellness Foundation’s (WOW) annual Ducktober fundraising event, which raises funds for surf therapy to help improve mental health and well-being.
The pitches were then reviewed by a panel of expert marketing professionals, including 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 Mehri, Tumbleturn Marketing Advisory Partner, Daniel Johns, and Orand Founder and Senior Media Consultant, Adam Hickey.
IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, said the judging panel was thoroughly impressed with the calibre of the entries. “The competition for the first-ever Pitch-Chella event was incredibly close, with just a few points
separating the entries. Each pitch demonstrated a high level of creativity and innovation, and a deep understanding of the brief, target audience and desired result. Our teams showed they had thoroughly considered and strategised how best to achieve ROI and engagement for their chosen charities, showcasing a breadth of knowledge, professionalism and understanding well beyond their years of experience in the industry,” he said.
“We have been blown away by the talent, insight, and ideas put forward by all the teams involved – it’s a sign that the future of our industry is in very good hands. We look forward to seeing what the
finalists come up with during this week’s presentations”.
Virtual pitches will be presented to the judging panel on August 30. The official winner will be announced at a closing celebration at Sydney’s Beresford Hotel on September 18.
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.
