Enigma has been named overall winner of IMAA’s inaugural Pitch-Chella contest.
The Enigma team, made up of Noah Smith, Tracy-Lea Meyer, Tom McLoughlin and Poppy Rhodes, took out the competition, impressing the judges with their Blak Tank Australia pitch.
Inspired by global hit TV show Shark Tank, the concept envisioned a TV series that would highlight Indigenous-owned businesses, showcasing their investment potential to a broad market.
Their idea impressed the judges for its potential to spotlight the unique value of Indigenous enterprises, while also inspiring a national audience.
A combined team from indie agencies Assembled Media and Hatched, featuring Chelsea Schultz, Sophie Morris, Lauren Campagna and Bella Masters, took out the silver award for their ‘Deadly Leaders in Business’ campaign, which celebrated Indigenous entrepreneurs.
Their campaign aimed to highlight the exceptional quality and profitability of Indigenous businesses, and the long-term value delivered from supporting them.
The Media Store’s Daniel Paoli, Adriana Catanese and Emma Davis received the bronze award for their TikTok challenge pitch, which encouraged TikTok users to get involved in Ducktober.
Using a clever ‘I Give a Duck’ filter to prompt engaging conversations, the team also proposed leveraging TikTok’s donation function to allow viewers to contribute directly.
A special award for Best Media Mix was given to Enigma’s Sarah O’Toole, Grace Haddow, Joshua Richardson and Amelia Sultana for their pitch which championed inclusivity and aimed to shine a spotlight on the often-overlooked mental health needs of people in regional areas.
The Pitch-Chella awards were presented at the program’s closing party at Sydney’s Beresford Hotel overnight, with celebrations held for the winners and the 76 participants, representing 21 indie agencies, who competed in the inaugural program.
Pitch-Chella, sponsored by Audience360 and supported by Meta, was designed to support emerging talent, encourage collaboration, and develop pitching skills.
The participants had to prepare 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 selected finalists then had to present a virtual pitch to a panel of marketing experts, ensuring their pitches were executed with clear attention to objectives, strategy and effectiveness, while also showcasing their use of TV, digital, out-of-home, publishing and news, cinema and audio channels to tell their campaign stories.
IMAA CEO Sam Buchanan said the response to the pilot program had been overwhelmingly positive.
“All 76 participants threw themselves head-first into Pitch-Chella, embracing the event’s spirit of collaboration, innovation and creativity,” Buchanan said.
“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.”
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