Sitting somewhere between student life and the start of their careers, Annabelle Harrington from AFFINITY (now a strategy coordinator at This Is Flow) and Sophie Millar from The Insight Centre (now Community and Stakeholder Engagement Officer at Ward Civil & Environmental Engineering) didn’t walk into Hatchlings with years of experience or industry polish. What they brought instead was instinct, curiosity and a willingness to see things differently, and that’s exactly what set them apart.
“We believe strategy should be grounded in empathy.”
Entries for 2026 Cairns Hatchlings, presented by Yahoo, are open now!
For their Citizens of the Reef campaign, that belief became the foundation for an idea that transformed digital environments into a statement of environmental urgency.
“For our Citizens of the Reef campaign, this value became central when Annabelle off-handedly remarked, ‘consumers don’t live on the Great Barrier Reef, so why would they care if it’s bleached? Their life is so colourful anyways. That lack of empathy for the reef’s ecosystem sparked our idea: to desaturate vivid digital environments, mirroring the reef’s fading colour and compelling consumers to confront the reality of coral bleaching”.
The pair brought that idea to life by flipping digital advertising on its head. “Sticky display ads. We knew we had to significantly disrupt the way consumers experience the online world to bring the desaturation to life. These often-overlooked, last-minute ad placements became our vehicle. By stripping the colour from the website they appeared over, the ads transformed simple brand real estate into a portal to hijack digital spaces. This delivered our message uniquely by showing rather than telling. It was all about generating a feeling to drive action.”
Even without taking home the win, their pride in what they built remains clear. “We were proudest of our case study video. The combined power of a research specialist, a strategy coordinator, and Canva somehow came together to produce a video we’ve individually watched at least 30 times since. It’s what earned us our place as finalists. Whilst we didn’t take home the final prize, we were incredibly proud to be there, knowing that people (other than our parents) love our work as much as we do.”
Of course, it wasn’t without its moments of chaos. “Our biggest challenge was loving our idea … then forgetting why. Within two hours of receiving the brief, we landed on something we were OBSESSED with. Cut to 1AM: we were questioning if it was even an idea at all, wondering whether we should just fly back to Sydney, and asking ourselves why we were in Cairns in the first place”.
“The morning of the presentation (and of course, we were up first!), we called an industry friend who gave us some fantastic advice: when you have the idea, write down 5 reasons why you like it, immediately. While our sanity was well past saving, the exercise helped ground us, reminding us why we liked our idea, and why the judges should too. Next time we’ll make sure to do it straight away!”
Their biggest takeaway? “Keep it simple, stupid”.
“When you only have 24 hours to execute your idea, there is no time or resources to blow an idea to all proportions. In both rounds, we dedicated significant time to expressing our idea in a sentence. It was a surprisingly tough exercise, but it forced us to lock in a fundamental understanding, which became the foundation for a clear and impactful campaign. We packed that trick into our suitcases back to Sydney, ready to employ it at work and uni.”
Both still studying alongside their work, the pair said their lack of experience turned into their biggest asset. “Sophie and I didn’t have a huge amount of experience. We’re both still in uni (2026 grads). At the time, our internal dialogue said, ‘don’t apply’, ‘there’s no point’, ‘we don’t have the experience, let alone anything to add’. But after a few too many f*ck its, we realised we actually had a lot to bring to the table.”
“Young creatives (and strategists, and media execs alike) offer a unique and fresh perspective. Because we haven’t learnt the ‘rules’ yet, we didn’t know the limits … and so we just did it. And I guess that ended up coming across as really creative!”
And for those wondering if they should take the leap? “Speaking directly to any young marketers reading this: just do it. Your inexperience and youth is your USP, the sky is the only limit.”
Entries for 2026 Cairns Hatchlings, presented by Yahoo, are open now!
