Independent media agency Enigma has emerged as the overall winner of the Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA)'s inaugural Pitch-Chella program. The Enigma team, comprising Noah Smith, Tracy-Lea Meyer, Tom McLoughlin, and Poppy Rhodes, claimed victokennardry with their 'Blak Tank Australia' pitch, a concept for a TV series spotlighting Indigenous-owned businesses.

A combined team from indie agencies Assembled Media and Hatched secured the silver award for their 'Deadly Leaders in Business' campaign, which also celebrated Indigenous entrepreneurs. The Media Store’s team received the bronze award for their TikTok challenge pitch, designed to boost participation in Ducktober, a fundraising event.

A special award for Best Media Mix was presented to Enigma’s Sarah O’Toole, Grace Haddow, Joshua Richardson, and Amelia Sultana for their pitch aimed at bringing Ducktober to regional and rural Australia. The awards were presented at the program’s closing party at Sydney’s Beresford Hotel.

The Pitch-Chella program was created by a steering committee of indie agency leaders to support and nurture emerging independent media agency talent. The inaugural event was sponsored by Audience360 and supported by Meta. Participants were tasked with preparing written pitches for campaigns for two national charities: the Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network (NTIBN) Buy Blak campaign or the Waves of Wellness Foundation (WOW)’s annual Ducktober fundraising event.

The Pitch-Chella judging panel included gold sponsor Audience360’s Managing Director, Jenny Parkes, Sparrow’s Nest Consulting’s Greg Graham, TrinityP3 Global Media Consultant, Stephen Wright, Kennards Hire General Manager Marketing and Customer Experience, Manelle Merhi , Tumbleturn Marketing Advisory Partner, Daniel Johns, and Orand Founder and Senior Media Consultant, Adam Hickey.

IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, expressed his delight at the response to the pilot program. He said, "All 76 participants threw themselves head-first into Pitch-Chella, embracing the event’s spirit of collaboration, innovation and creativity. The judging panel was incredibly impressed with the calibre of entries and talent showcased by everyone involved in the program. Our teams thoroughly explored every element of the briefs provided and developed pitches that were well-rounded, competitive and well-executed. On behalf of the IMAA, I’d like to congratulate all our participants and thank our judging panel for lending their time and expertise."

Buchanan further highlighted the IMAA’s commitment to professional development and upskilling. He added, "Pitch-Chella is another example of the IMAA’s commitment to professional development and upskilling. We have a wealth of emerging talent across our indie sector and it’s wonderful to see these next-generation marketing professionals coming together to enhance their skills. Additionally, Pitch-Chella is a good example of industry mentoring at its finest, with our senior, highly experienced industry experts sharing their expertise and learnings with our up-and-comers."