The advertising, media and marketing industry is renowned for influencing change, particularly when it comes to advertising goods and services, and setting cultural trends.
However, another superpower this industry possesses is its ability to influence societal change by championing important causes such as gender diversity, representing people with disabilities, sustainability and climate change and workplace culture.
In this week’s Best of the Best, we are taking a look at those in the industry who made a real influence to champion good causes in the past year. In future lists, we’ll be looking at the industry’s Best of the Best Casting Directors, Experiential Producers and Business Support staff. To nominate someone, please email editorial@themisfits.media.
But back to today. Although the list is ranked, every name and organisation in this feature are winners in our books.
10. Stephen Hunt & Nina Nyman, CEO and CMO, Unltd.
In April, there was a changing of the guard at the industry charity Unltd, with long-serving CEO Chris Freel handing over the baton to Stephen Hunt.
Although it is early days, Hunt – alongside the incredible Nina Nyman – has already made solid strides to inspire fundraising efforts across several events, including the annual Big Dream, Adland Bail Out, Splash For Good, Untld Open golf and various other sports events.
An initiative that stands out and is still in its infancy is the Raise the Age campaign that will garner industry support to lobby governments to change the minimum age of incarceration for young people in Australia.
There are few industry bodies that provide such vital support to various youth charities across Australia.
9. Louise Wilson & Lauren Thornborough, co-founders, The Village
One of the more novel industry social change initiatives of the past year is the launch of The Village.
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions’ head of new and emerging business Louise Wilson and UM client partner Lauren Thornborough – working mums with a combined 35 years of media experience – set up The Village to provide a nurturing community for industry professionals who are planning a family, expecting, or already caring for children.
The long-term vision is to push for industry-wide changes to address staff retention issues faced by new parents in the relentless fast paced media industry.
Research commissioned by The Village revealed 80 per cent of parents in the media are concerned about an overbearing mental load as a barrier to performance.
Wilson and Thornborough have spread the word at industry events including the Cairns Crocodiles and inspired an impressive list of members to champion the cause.
8. Cherie Clonan, CEO & founder, The Digital Picnic
Growing up in foster care and later receiving an Autism diagnosis, Clonan used her experiences to champion neurodiversity in the workplace.
She is a standout leader, advocate and innovator in the digital marketing industry, and the CEO and founder of The Digital Picnic, which provides an inclusive and empathetic workplace culture, particularly for neurodivergent individuals.
Her policies include using inclusive language in job ads, providing interview questions in advance and accommodating diverse work styles through flexible hours and remote options.
Clonan’s public speaking engagements and advocacy work has raised awareness and championed change in the way the industry supports neurodivergent women.
Her impact in driving change was acknowledged by winning the coveted Glass Ceiling and Woman of the Year categories at B&T’s Women in Media Awards.
7. James Greet, co-founder, The Payback Project
In mid-2023, adland veteran and former CEO of OMD, Mindshare and Ikon James Greet launched UK venture The Payback Project, in Australia.
The project aims to help the media and marketing industry deliver sustainable and responsible media. It was first set up in the UK by former Nestle head of media communications, Steve Pollack.
In Australia, agencies have focused on decarbonising their own operations and supply chains but have not given much thought to how ad spend could be invested in more sustainable ways.
To that effect, Greet has worked tirelessly, raising awareness and getting more agency leaders on board at various industry events, including a day at the upcoming SXSW.
Australia lags behind the UK when it comes to climate change policies and decarbonising the advertising and media ecosystem. Greet understands the challenge at hand and plans to play a pivotal role in driving the industry towards Ad Net Zero.
6. Lisa Muxworthy & Kerry Warren, campaign leads of News Corp’s “About Bloody Time”
Endometriosis affects millions of women a year but its symptoms have too often been dismissed by medical practitioners as bad period pain. News.com.au’s Kerry Warren and former editor-in-chief Lisa Muxworthy led a News Corp campaign, “About Bloody Time”, to change that perception, calling for longer consultations for gynaecologist appointments for those with endometriosis.
Launched in March, the campaign petition received well north of 40,000 signatures, placing pressure on Health Minister Mark Butler to announce a $49 million investment into tackling the condition. From July next year, women with endometriosis will have longer specialist consultations of 45 minutes or more covered under Medicare.
Muxworthy and Warren’s campaign highlights how committed campaigning journalism can be one of the most effective tools to drive positive social change. The pair even won the Social Changemaker category at this year’s B&T Women in Media Awards.
5. Jasmin Bedir, founder, fckthecupcakes
There are few who have done more to tackle misogyny in the industry than Innocean CEO Jasmin Bedir. She set up fckthecupcakes to highlight, discuss and fight against gender inequality in Australian culture and the workplace with one important difference to other initiatives – bringing men into the conversation.
Bedir has led several campaigns recently but two stand out. “The Invi-tate-tion” turned the hateful words of misogynist and alleged sexual predator Andrew Tate into an open invitation for men to show up to International Women’s Day, which reached 21.8 million people worldwide and spawned a 59 per cent lift in male engagement.
This year Fck The Cupcakes launched “Yeah The Pies”, which brought together senior men in the industry to learn more about gender inequality and what they could do to influence change while baking pies.
Bedir is also a regular supporter of other industry causes and has been spotted spending a night in juvenile detention to raise awareness about youth incarceration. She is a genuine force for good.
4. Dylan Alcott AO, co-founder, Dylan Alcott Foundation
It’s only been a bit over a year since former tennis superstar and Paralympian launched the Shift 20 initiative with Special, but its impact has been profound.
Almost 20 per cent of Australians have some form of visible or non-visible disability. Yet, only one per cent are represented in advertising, excluding over 4.5 million Australians.
The Dylan Alcott Foundation wants to change this and initially enlisted 13 brands – including the likes of McDonald’s, P&G, AAMI, Kia, Bonds and Uber – to create ads that starred talent with disabilities. The campaign has been so successful that several brands are embedding the principles of the project into their advertising plans permanently, helping to shift perceptions about a section of Australian society that is often invisible on our TV screens. It also recently launched a diverse talent casting initiative with TikTok.
Alcott, a former Australian of the Year, is a passionate advocate for disability awareness and has inspired organisations and individuals of all abilities to become the best version of themselves. He has also taken his message abroad, including at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
3. Victoria Curro, managing director, R/GA
Victoria Curro, the managing director for R/GA Australia, has been a transformative leader in adland since the late 90s. Starting her career when female executives were rare, she quickly rose to leadership roles and her early work included some of the most significant projects in recent history such as the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.
Throughout her career, she has supported initiatives such as ‘Unearthed’ and SheSays. She addresses taboo subjects, including advocating for menstrual health in Uganda and bringing domestic violence issues to the boardroom.
Curro has been critical in shaping R/GA’s domestic violence policies, including leave entitlements and safety protocols, lifting the agency to become a market leader. She also supports development through programs including Women Rising and WomanUP.
Her dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion, innovative thinking and leadership make her a more than deserving winner. In recognition of her work, she won the Champion of Change category at this year’s B&T Women in Media Awards.
2. Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli & Rob Galluzzo, founders, 36 Months
When radio presenter Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli and Finch founder Rob Galluzzo launched a campaign to raise the minimum age Australian teenagers can sign up for social media accounts from 13 to 16, they could not possibly have imagined the success it would have.
Taking on social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter (or X, if you rather) is something that regulators in the US and closer to home have struggled with in the past.
But Wippa and Galluzo’s campaign has found support in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has publicly backed raising the age. And, remarkably, the campaign has also received support across the aisle in the House of Representatives with Peter Dutton also backing it.
Hyundai was the first brand to throw its support behind the move, and the pair reckon more brands will eventually follow suit.
It remains to be seen whether the campaign will lead to legislation and how effective raising the age will ultimately prove, but their efforts to get the discussion into the public domain and receive bipartisan support in parliament is impressive, to say the least.
1. Sunita Gloster AM, non-executive director, UN Global Compact Network, chair, Diversity Council of Australia
Sunita Gloster is such a positive force of nature and champion of good that B&T would need to write a novel just to list them all.
Her profound and consistent impact on changing the industry and business for the better is second to none.
In the past year, Gloster joined the Diversity Council of Australia as its chair, bringing strong commercial acumen with an unwavering commitment to diversity.
Gloster is a non-executive director of UN Global Compact Network Australia where she sits on its remuneration and nominations committee.
She was also a prominent advocate in rallying the business community to get behind the ‘Yes’ campaign in The Voice referendum.
In a glittering 30-year career, Gloster has held senior roles in media, marketing technology and sustainability, and now spends a lot of her time campaigning for some of society’s most important causes.
She has delivered moving and thought-provoking speeches urging the industry to do better at events including this year’s Cairns Crocodiles and B&T Women in Media Awards, where she was ranked number 1 in this year’s Power List.
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