Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA) launched its major education initiative for 2023 – the IMAA Academy - at Operation Kick Off, its first major event for the year.
IMAA Academy, officially launching on 1 March, was created to help address the talent shortage and to provide comprehensive training to media agency staff and others looking to enter the industry.
IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, said: “Our industry spends $7 billion on recruitment but only $4 billion on training – we’re an industry that learns on the job but we need to attract talent into our industry. The IMAA Academy is our answer to that – a unique e-learning course designed to educate talent on the foundations of media for junior and senior people – created by the industry, for the industry,”
Attended by more than 200 people at Hoyts Cinema in the Entertainment Quarter at Sydney’s Moore Park, Operation Kick Off’s guest speakers spanned the TV, radio, out-of-home, news media, regional media, cinema, and digital sectors.
Industry body speakers included IAB CEO Gai Le Roy, CRA CEO Ford Ennals, Think TV CEO Kim Portrate, Boomtown chairman and SCA chief sales officer Brian Gallagher, Val Morgan MD Guy Burbidge, ThinkNewsBrands GM Vanessa Lyons, and Outdoor Media Association GM Kylie Green.
Other speakers on the day were Nine director of content partnerships, total publishing, Lisa Day; News Corp Australia executive general manager NewsAmp, Renee Sycamore; News Corp Australia executive general manager regional publishing, Belinda MacPherson; and GWI sales director Dom Birch.
“The IMAA has had the pleasure of singlehandedly changing the media landscape and giving a voice to Australian businesses and events like these are a great way for our members and the media industry to come together to learn and collaborate,” Buchanan said.
“The IMAA will have another year of launching great initiatives, including an Indie Summit and the IMAA Awards, so stay tuned."
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