B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards, presented by Vevo, recognise the next generation of talent across Australia’s media, marketing and advertising industries. As preparations for the 2027 awards get underway, we’ve decided to revisit the 2026 cohort and the individuals making their mark across the industry.
Last week, we spoke with Special Group’s Wendy Hoang, winner of the Agency Account Management category. This week, B&T caught up with Spark Foundry’s Louisa Andrews, winner of the Media Planner/Buyer category to discuss career ambitions and the importance of building stronger pathways into the industry.
Four promotions in, Louisa Andrews has well and truly made her mark at Spark Foundry. Now the agency’s youngest associate investment director, Andrews leads investment for major client Westpac and has overseen its principal partnership with Cricket Australia.
Her contribution hasn’t gone unnoticed, earning her Spark’s MVP title in B&T‘s 2025 agency scorecards. Away from client work, she also helps shape agency culture through Spark Society.
After reaching finalist status in 2025, Andrews went one better this year, taking home the 30 Under 30 Media Planner/Buyer category.
There’s plenty more talent to meet. Discover the full 2026 30 Under 30 winners list here.
B&T: After winning a 30 Under 30 Award, where do you see yourself in 3, 13 and 30 years’ time?
Louisa Andrews: 3 years: Hopefully taking on bigger leadership responsibilities and more complex business challenges. Looking back at my career so far, the opportunities that have accelerated my growth have often been the ones outside my core role. Whether that’s being a part of the teams that helped launch Publicis Groupe operational initiatives and product within Spark Foundry locally, or stepping into new client challenges. I’d like to continue pushing myself in that way while helping develop the next generation of talent coming through the industry.
13 years: I’d love to be in a senior leadership position helping shape both the commercial direction and culture of a business. The best leaders I’ve worked with balance strong commercial outcomes with empowering people around them, and that’s something I’d aspire to.
30 years: Retired hopefully! I’d hope to look back on a career where I’ve delivered meaningful impact for clients, contributed to the growth of the industry, and helped develop talented people along the way.
B&T: Why did you choose to enter the Awards?
LA: I entered because I wanted to challenge myself and reflect on how far I’d come in my career. Day-to-day, it’s easy to move straight from one project to the next without stopping to recognise the impact you’ve had. The 30 Under 30 Awards gave me an opportunity to step back, celebrate the achievements of myself, my team and my clients, and share the initiatives I’ve been fortunate enough to contribute to, both inside and outside my role over the past six years. More than anything, I saw it as a chance to benchmark myself against some of the incredible emerging talent in our industry.
B&T: What would you do differently if you were to enter the Awards again?
LA: I’d spend less time trying to make the submission sound impressive and more time focusing on the story behind it. Awards can naturally focus on achievements and outcomes, but what I’ve realised is that the most meaningful parts of my career have been the challenges, the learnings and the people involved along the way. I’d also start documenting accomplishments throughout the year because pulling together six years’ worth of examples is harder than it sounds!
B&T: What’s one issue the industry should be spending more time on and why?
LA: Building stronger pathways into the industry. Media is an incredibly rewarding career, but it’s not always an obvious one. Through recruitment, career fairs and mentoring, I’ve seen first hand how many talented people aren’t aware of the opportunities available in our industry. We spend a lot of time talking about diversity and representation, but attracting a broader range of people into media is where that starts. Creating stronger connections with schools, universities and early-career talent will help ensure we’re building a workforce that better reflects the audiences we’re trying to reach and setting the industry up for long-term success.
