The 6th annual UnLtd: Big Dream event, held on Thursday 12th September, saw over 650 people across the media, marketing and creative industry come together in Sydney to celebrate and showcase the positive impact the industry has had on young people at risk.
The inductees to the Hall of Good were revealed at the event with OMD winning the Good Company category, Danielle Galipienzo from Initiative being awarded as the Social Change Maker and “Don’t You Forget About Me” campaign by Zenith and Cocogun for Missing School chosen as the Campaign for Good.
“Being inducted into the Hall of Good is such an honour and a testament to the collective effort and dedication of our team at Zenith. This recognition is not just about our past achievements with MissingSchool, but about our ongoing commitment to making a positive impact in our industry and beyond. We are grateful to UnLtd for this acknowledgment and inspired to continue driving meaningful change,” said Megan Kay, managing director of Zenith Melbourne.
The event was sponsored by MiQ, oOh!media, Val Morgan Cinema, NOVA Entertainment, Magnite and Yahoo, and raised funds for UnLtd’s work to support charities helping young people at risk.
Guests also had an opportunity to make a tangible dream come true for First Nations children through The Big Pledge for DeadlyScience. Over $87,000 was raised for DeadlyScience’s Dream Makers project to fund 3D printers and learning resources to inspire First Nations students in remote schools to become the next generation of scientists, doctors and engineers.
“Giving back to the community is deeply entrenched in OMD’s DNA and this is evident from their long-term commitment to supporting several causes from foster children to leukemia. OMD has been a committed and valued partner for The Pyjama Foundation for nearly 10 years,” said Jade Harley, director of partnerships at UnLtd.
“With OMD’s support, Pyjama Foundation has been able to grow from a local Brisbane charity to a nationally recognised and respected organisation with a fundraising campaign that raises nearly $1M each year. The incredible media support OMD has rallied for their National Pyjama Day campaign over the years has been instrumental in raising their profile and helping attract new donors and partners,” added Harley.
“We are so fortunate to have UnLtd inspiring our industry and connecting us with incredible organisations that can really make a difference for youth at risk. Giving back to the community is such an important part of OMD’s culture and this is driven by everyone across our agency,” said Laura Nice, co-CEO of OMD Australia.
We are so proud of our passionate and talented OMDers who drive our partnership and work with the brilliant team at The Pyjama Foundation, and those that get involved in all the important events that UnLtd host throughout the year. This recognition by UnLtd as a Good Company is all thanks to our team and client partners who inspire our efforts to keep making a difference into the future,” added Nice.
This year’s Big Dream event saw guests go through a series of creative storytelling experiences to highlight the realities many young people at risk face. The event also saw UnLtd announce their new cause-led direction and their support for the Raise The Age campaign. The campaign, created by Tag with media support from Carat, previewed at the event with the full campaign launching in November.
“For nearly 20 years, UnLtd has brought the industry together to help impactful charities grow. Whilst we will continue to do that important work, we know we can do more. We want to bring experts from our industry and the cause sector together to create tangible, systemic change to end youth disadvantage. One of the first projects we’ll be tackling is the shocking fact that in Australia, children as young as ten are locked up in prisons,” said Stephen Hunt, CEO of UnLtd.
“We know locking up children creates long-lasting harm to children and society and it simply doesn’t work. It creates a ‘revolving door’ of incarceration with 85% of young people returning within 12 months when released from sentenced detention1. It’s also a huge cost for taxpayers – it costs over $1 million per year, per young person in prison in NSW2. We can’t wait to get the industry behind this important campaign to raise the age of criminal responsibility,” added Hunt.
