The Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA), the national industry body representing independent media agencies, celebrates its fifth anniversary.
Launching just ahead of the COVID lockdowns with 20 founding members in 2020, the IMAA has more than 175 member agencies along with 45 media partners and support from several industry associations.
IMAA launched its Female Leaders of Tomorrow Programme, now in its second intake, designed to address the equity gap for women in senior media roles with key industry leaders as mentors, and Pitch Chella, launched last year, to nurture the next generation of industry talent.
Over the past 12 months, the IMAA has worked to challenge Federal and State government legislation around government master media account tenders, calling for a bigger seat at the table and a fair go for Australian-owned indie agencies.
In 2021, the IMAA signed a trade credit insurance group deal, which has saved members up to 78 per cent on their trade insurance policies. It has inked more than 60 additional group deals for members, spanning HR, data, research, out-of-home verification, coaching and more.
“Having had the chance to reflect on the past five years of the IMAA, it’s truly incredible just how much we have achieved as an organisation. From the outset, our mission was simple – to advocate for independent media agencies nationwide. Over time, that vision to raise the collective voice of the sector has diversified into many different initiatives and streams, which have all come together to transform the indie media agency landscape,” IMAA CEO Sam Buchanan said.
“On a personal level, I’m extremely proud of our ongoing commitment to learning and development. Education has always been the top priority for our members, and we’ve responded with groundbreaking initiatives like our highly successful Academy and Female Leaders of Tomorrow Programme. To see these projects become an integral part of professional development for the media sector nationally is a testament to the quality of their delivery and results. I’m looking forward to the next five years and beyond of the IMAA and the independent media agency sector – it’s going to be transformative,” Buchanan added.
“Today is an important day for the IMAA, as we celebrate five years in operation. Our focus has always been on collaboration, providing an environment for indie agencies to come together to tackle the unique challenges they’d often faced alone. Over the years, we’ve seen our efforts expand to advocacy work, while also laying the governance foundation of sustainability, DE&I and reconciliation for our members,” IMAA chair Jacquie Alley said.
“Most importantly, we’ve achieved our goal of fundamentally changing the media landscape – we’ve given a voice to the independent media sector nationally, which has been felt on a global scale and replicated, with the establishment of the IMANZ in New Zealand. As we celebrate this milestone, we look to the future – we’re now focused on taking the IMAA to new heights, with a renewed mission to influence change and growth across the entire industry. I’m incredibly proud of what the IMAA has become,” Alley added.
The milestone coincides with the organisation’s Indie-Pendence Day conference, which is held on Wednesday 19 February in Sydney.
