After a whirlwind of creativity, bold thinking and fierce competition, the finalists for the inaugural Cairns Hatchlings, presented by Yahoo, are here!
With entries from the Asia-Pacific region, the inaugural Hatchlings stood out with boundary-pushing ideas and fresh perspectives. Representing Australia, India and Thailand, our finalists will now prepare for the ultimate 24-hour challenge during the Cairns Crocodiles Festival this May.
Buy Your Cairns Crocodiles Tickets To See Who Wins!
Drumroll, please… Let’s meet the standout stars lighting up each category!
Audio – Sponsored by Acast
- Meg Mayger & Jack McBryde, Nova Entertainment — Australia
- Sarah Brighton & Sally Fiddes, Ogilvy — Australia
- Shilpi Dey & Shabbir Abbas, VML — India
Design
- Annabel Begeng & Lily Lazzarotti, Thinkerbell —Australia
- Veerisa Boonrod, ESIC & Atipa Rungrojboon, Boonrawd Trading —Thailand
- Annabel Cook & Maddy Merzvinskis, Re Design — Australia
Digital – Sponsored by Reddit
- Annabelle Harrington, AFFINITY & Sophie Millar, The Insight Centre— Australia
- Amy Peden, +61 and TBWA & Stephen Hanna, Playside Studios — Australia
- Hilary O’Sullivan & Hughie Flannery, Thinkerbell — Australia
Marketing – Sponsored by Boomtown
- Jarrod Schwager, Mad Mex & Campbell Johnson, Amazon Prime Video — Australia
- Keira Spencer & Laura Currie, Google — Australia
- Olivia Ford & Laura Jeffries, Google — Australia
Media – Sponsored by Yahoo!
- Ben Breden & Leah Franco, Initiative — Australia
- Olivia Casamento & Ashley Hill, Match & Wood — Australia
- Louise Laumberg & Rachel Monteiro — Slingshot
PR
- Claudia Warren & Francesca Hampton, Havas Red — Australia
- William Cullen & Airlie Walters, Thinkerbell — Australia
- Rauf Shaik & Komal Nathani, VML — India
Video – Sponsored by Publica
- Thomas Carr & Louis Tanner, oOh!media — Australia
- Ryan Williams & Emmerson Maclean, Out Of The Square Media — Australia
This year’s Hatchlings have already shown incredible potential, and we can’t wait to see what they’ll create during the live challenges in Cairns.
With finalists hailing from three countries and representing a powerful mix of agencies, brands, and studios, the first-ever Cairns Hatchlings is already shaping up to be something special.
Finalists will head to Cairns this May for the next phase of the competition, culminating in a live pitch session, masterclasses, and the highly anticipated awards night on May 15.
Congratulations to all our Hatchlings—your creative journey is just getting started!
Buy Your Cairns Crocodiles Tickets To See Who Wins!
KEY DATES
Cairns Crocodiles Festival: Tuesday 13-15 May 2025
Round 2 – Live briefing: Tuesday 13 May 2025, Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns, Australia
Round 2 – Live pitching: Wednesday 14 May 2025, Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns, Australia
Round 2 – Live pitching: (Video Category Only) Thursday 15 May 2025 , Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns, Australia
Awards Ceremony: Thursday 15 May 2025, Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns, Australia
