Pernod Ricard brand leader, Maddie Jahnke has been honoured with the inaugural Lisa Ronson Next Generation Marketing Leader Award, Flintfox International’s Cath Brands with Chief Marketing Officer of the Year, and Professor Byron Sharp’s efforts to bring evidence-based marketing to life was put up in lights at this year’s Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) Excellence Awards. 

About 350 representatives from across Australia’s marketing industry descended on the Ivy Balloom in Sydney on 15 August to take part in the newly style lunch format awards event and cheer on finalists and winners across 23 categories this year. The event opened with a fully AI-generated video produced by Brand IQ, featuring an original soundtrack and the AMI’s signature diamond logo.

South Australian marketing professionals and brands were in great form this year, scoring four awards led by Professor Sharp. He was recognised with the Sir Charles McGrath Award for his and the wider Ehrenberg Bass Institute team’s work to support the art of marketing with science and evidence-based principles.

The award recognises an individual who has made a significant contribution to business in Australia, the field of marketing through sound business practice, developing the marketing profession. Previous recipients selected by the AMI board have included former Qantas CEO, James Strong, former Woolworths CEO, Roger Corbett, former ABC Chairman, Justin Milne and former Network Seven CEO, Maureen Plavsic.

In accepting the award, Sharp joked about being a scientist among business luminaries receiving the award. He shared how he’d “co-opted ‘evidence-based marketing’” as a term from the medical community, who had introduced the phrase professionally in 1992. Like marketers, there had been concerns about too much science would undermine the art of clinical practice. “But no one talks against evidence-based medicine today and I don’t think in 10 years’ time anyone will talk against evidence-based marketing,” Sharp told attendees.

“But it doesn’t just mean you have some evidence. Doctors were utterly useless for 2000 years … but they had some evidence. But what they didn’t have was scientific understanding of how the body worked, or germs. Evidence-based marketing doesn’t just mean you have evidence, it means you’re following our best understanding of how the world works at the moment. That comes from science. And science tells us you can’t work it out by having a think about it. The real world is really weird.”

There were three other award wins for the Festival State: RSPCA SA and agency partner, Them Advertising, for their ‘Perfectly Adoptable’ campaign (Campaign of the Year up to $1m and Purpose-led Marketing awards), plus StudyAdelaide with Outta Spatial (Excellence in CX & Loyalty).

It was also notable both Campaign of the Year awards this year went to not-for-profits: As well as RSPCA SA, the Campaign of the Year Over $1m went to The Salvation Army with agency partner, ntegrity. The latter also received the award for best Data & Insight-Driven Marketing campaign.

Another multiple award category winner this year was kiwifruit brand, Zespri International, which scored three gongs across two campaigns: Content Marketing, Experiential Marketing and Creativity in Brand, product of Service Marketing.

On the Special National Award winners front, this year’s new award, The Lisa Ronson Next Generation Marketing Leader Award was introduced by the late, much-respected marketing leader’s son, Ben Ronson, who noted how passionate Lisa was about the professional and people she mentored.

“It’s no secret the next generation of marketers face unprecedented times, the outlook on which changes every day,” Ben Ronson said. “All of this considered, it’s so important the criteria of this award seeks to transcend the technical ability of the marketer to instead focus on something more important. Mum drilled into me the most important quality of any professional is that of their character – their loyalty to peers and team, their courage to inspire change and to be kind above all this. Mum knew these traits would form the next generation of marketing leaders and I know she was so inspired by people she mentored in the AMI’s Emerging Marketers mentor program.

“So to those nominated today and everyone who entered: Please continue to leave a legacy which is led by being a good person, championing bold, creative ideas, and putting the customer above all else.”

In accepting the award via video post, having just relocated to Mexico to lead one of Pernod’s tequila brands globally, Jahnke thanked Lisa Ronson for backing bold ideas, pushing boundaries and making space for other people in a way that shaped the marketing industry for the better. The award was accepted in-person by dentsu CEO, Kirsty Muddle, Jahnke’s first boss and “my biggest advocate”.

“This award process has only reinforced that we are who we are because of the people who support us, guide us, teach us and lead us,” Jahnke said.

Judges meanwhile, said Jahnkee’s “ability to see opportunities where others see obstacles, along with her relentless pursuit of excellence, sets her apart.

This year’s Marketing Team of the Year went to the QBE Australia Pacific marketing team, while Certified Practising Marketer of the Year was independent marketing consultant, Katie Bennett-Stenton. Agency of the Year was awarded to Bonfire, while the Life Member Award went to one-time Ford marketer, AMI board member and retired director of Advantage Point Business Advisors, Bruce McDonald.

AMI CEO, Bronwyn Heys, said the awards go well beyond recognising brilliant campaigns. “They reflect the resilience, transformation and innovation redefining what marketing means in Australia,” she said. “From AI integration to purpose-driven storytelling, our winners were setting the standard for what’s next in our industry.”

The event was supported by sponsors including Think News Brands, Macquarie University, Vetassess, Attention Experts, ANZ, Blackmores, and IVE.

The full list of 2025 Excellence Award Winners is as follows:

With additional reporting by Nadia Cameron.