Special Group at the AdNews Agency of the Year awards.
Special Group has been named, at a long lunch event in Sydney, the overall AdNews Agency of the Year.
The independent also won Creative Agency of the Year, Ad Campaign of the Year, the Brand Partnership Award, Social Responsibility/Pro Bono Award, Diversity Award, Game Changer Award and, for Uber, Marketing Team of the Year.
“As the overall winner, this advertising agency has redefined the boundaries of creativity, innovation and impact,” the judges said.
“The power of their ideas challenges the status quo, sparks inspiration and drives the collective action necessary to create meaningful change.”
The agency won a string of awards for its work on the Shift 20 Initiative for the Dylan Alcott Foundation, a charitable organisation with the core purpose of helping young Australians with disabilities.
Despite almost 20% of Australians living with disability, only 1% are represented by brands in advertising, leaving a large portion of the population feeling unseen.
“This is a huge honour in any year, but this is our 10th year,” said CEO Lindsey Evans, accepting the award.
“And I think everything we heard today is just involved with what's possible for creativity and how important now more than ever in the world of AI, creativity and humanity are in the roles that they need to play in our industry.
“And I long believe that all we have to differentiate ourselves is talent and the culture in which we make allow that talent to thrive and, if we get that right, everything else will follow."
She told the story of pitching to Uber when the agency was just two years old.
“We were a complete wild card in the room,” she said.
“In fact, we didn't have any doors or toilets, or we had one toilet, but it wasn't fit for a child."
And now Special works with Uber in ten markets across the world.
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