It’s the humans across marketing teams and behind every campaign, idea and strategy the industry creates that remain critical to delivering marketing impact, AMI’s newly crowned Certified Practising Marketer of the Year, Content Rebel CEO, Sarah Spence, says.

But Spence also admits if marketers are to truly excel, more needs to be done to elevate the stature of the marketing profession through trusted accreditation, practical experience and industry innovation.  

Spence, along with Great Southern Bank’s chief customer officer, Megan Keleher, and AFLW and Port Adelaide Football Club marketing team leader, Jessica Green, were recognised for their marketing leadership at this year’s AMI Excellence Awards. The 42^nd awards event was held at Fishburners in Sydney on Thursday 12 October and attracted 276 submissions across 28 categories, up 30 per cent year-on-year. This ýear’s awards were judged by 137 AMI Certified Practising Marketers (CPM).

Chief Marketing Officer of the Year went to Keleher, who was behind the transformation of Credit Union Australia to Great Southern Bank which kicked off in 2021. In her thank you speech, she emphasised marketing as a team sport and one that can truly drive change and growth.

“We had a dream to rebrand a 75-year-old credit union and make it a credible and authentic competitor to the big four banks. And we’ve proven marketing can drive strategy, growth and purpose in organisations,” Keleher said. “Go the marketing profession.”

Great Southern Bank also scored a Sponsorship Effectiveness gong for ‘Sponsorship of the Carlton Football Club – Build for the brand, designed for the fans’ alongside EGO Pharmaceuticals for its ‘Aquim Hand Sanitiser and the AFL: Addressing Clutter, Promoting Safety and Establishing Market Leadership’.

Green, meanwhile, was recognised individually as Emerging Marketer of the Year award for her work at Port Adelaide Football Club and for AFLW. The organisations were also awarded Product or Service to Launch or Relaunch for the campaign, ‘Herstory in the making – Port Adelaide AFLW’.

CPM marketer of the year: We need to step up marketing’s cred

Spence, who has held her CPM accreditation for seven years, told Mi-3 she was looking to the AMI to be the guiding light for marketing innovation and excellence and to elevate CPM a mark of trust for the profession.

As reported in Mi-3 last week, the AMI is looking to triple the number of professionals who hold CPM status as it rolls out a new competency framework in November. Aimed at building best-in-class, full-funnel marketers, the competency framework covers five key areas and 25 competencies in order to bring more rigour to marketing skills capabilities and development. The ultimate ambition is to raise marketing to the same professional status as engineering or accounting.

 “There are so many people spruiking themselves as thought leaders in this space. It will be really great if AMI takes an even stronger stance as being the thought leader for marketing, best practice and innovation in Australia. Then hopefully we’d get to the point where if you’re a CPM holder, clients could trust in that person to know what they are talking about,” Spence commented. “Knowing you’re on the fast track to success with an organisation at the forefront of our industry is what is important. It’s how we make a real impact.”

But it’s not just upskilling. Spence saw more needing to be done at a university level to ensure marketers coming through the ranks have both the theory and hands-on experience needed to truly connect with customers.

“If you want to really create generational change, then you have to get into the universities and as part of the programs at university. There need to be more programs at that level,” Spence said. “For people in the profession now, it’s about getting the thought leaders in who are currently at the coalface of marketing.”  

In her speech on the night, Spence reiterated the importance of humans to making marketing magic.

“This year our industry has been on a rollercoaster… but I’m so confident about the future,” she said. “I’m proud to be part of our industry that has the power to open minds and really shape the future. We all need to be pushing boundaries, crafting and amplifying creative ideas that positively impact our society. We have seen so many of those campaigns tonight.

“These days, marketing isn’t just about selling stuff – although sometimes it is – it’s about creating connections, building cultures and community. In everything I do, I try to remember this: That at the core of every strategy, every campaign, every single bit of marketing collateral, there is a human heart we’re seeking to engage – a heart that desires to be seen, heard and understood. If we remember that, then I think we’re going to be ok.”

Contributing to the marketing profession

The AMI board chose to bestow this year’s Sir Charles McGrath Award for significant contribution to the field of marketing to Sam Mostyn, an Australian businesswoman, climate change and gender equity advocate and president at Chief Executive Women. Mostyn sits on several boards including the Climate Council, the GO Foundation, Mirvac, Transurban, Virgin Australia and The Sydney Swans and was the first woman AFL commissioner. The Mostyn medal, for ‘best and fairest’ women in AFL, is named after her.

The AMI established the award in 1976 in recognition of Sir Charles McGrath’s industrial development record in Australia and his services to marketing and the Australian business community. Criteria used to select each year’s recipient include leadership in the marketing industry, personal development of their company, achievement of increased efficiency or productivity in the field of marketing or marketing practice, and Australian industry development.

Mostyn, who was absent from the night’s proceedings, reportedly told the AMI board she was delighted by the honour “but not a marketer”.

“She may not be a marketer, but she’s certainly influenced the marketing of many organisations she has been involved with,” Thornton commented.

Other luminaries previously recognised with the Sir Charles McGrath honour include former oOh!media chief Brendon Cook; TV anchor and businessman, David Koch; British-Australian business executive and current chief of Team Global Express, Christine Holgate; fitness apparel entrepreneur, Lorna Jane Clarkson; Mini-MBA Marketing founder, Mark Ritson; and former agency leader and founder of the 24 Hour Business Plan, Andrew Baxter.

This year’s Future Leader trophy went to Wink client success director, Shaja Foster-Jo, who told Mi-3 today’s marketing leaders need a healthy balance of soft skills, a learning attitude and humour if they’re to keep up with change in the industry.

“While there may not be a one-size-fits-all formula, I firmly believe that a winning combination of compassion, empathy, adaptability, an unwavering commitment to learning, and the willingness to empower others to excel, alongside a good sense of humour, is key,” she said. “In the dynamic world of marketing, where technologies, channels, products and customers constantly evolve, these qualities are indispensable. They provide a stable foundation for navigating change, fostering innovation, and consistently achieving success, even amidst the ever-shifting landscape of marketing.”

Other organisations honoured across multiple categories included NSW Environment Protection Authority, NSW Government and OMD Australia for the ‘Don’t be a tosser’ campaign, which won the Data and Insight-Driven Marketing award as well as Above $1 Million Campaign of the Year. Norco Co-Operative Limited and Red Havas Brisbane secured two awards for their ‘Putting the spotlight on farmers’ mental health’ campaign – Purpose-Led Marketing for the plus PR Campaign of the Year.

The winner of the inaugural Sustainability Awards was Compass Studio for its LINE Hydrogen launch and campaign funding. The category arguably most contested of the night was the Brand Revitalisation category, which secured 28 entries and was won by Guts Creative for ‘A place to belong’.

“Not only do these awards recognise excellence in marketing, they also inspire excellence in the market profession,” AMI chair, Andrew Thornton, told attendees. “They show the depth of industry capability and act as a powerful narrative for the quality of marketing in Australia.”

In all, 17 campaign categories and 11 special categories awards were handed out. The full list of winners is below.

Campaign Categories

Acquisition Marketing

Heritage Bank & Reprise | Heritage Bank Digital Acquisition Refresh

Brand Revitalisation      

Guts Creative | A place to belong

Content Marketing        

The University of Adelaide | TikTok Content Creator Program

Creativity in Brand, Product or Service Marketing           

Tourism NT | ‘Summer Campaign’

Excellence in Customer Experience        

Wink & Childcare Saver | ‘Childcare Saver’

Data and Insight-Driven Marketing        

Litter Prevention Unit at NSW Environment Protection Authority & NSW Government & OMD Australia | ‘Don’t be a tosser’

Experiential Marketing

Mastercard & Octagon | ‘The Mastercard Sonic Trophy’

PR Campaign of the Year            

Norco Co-Operative Ltd & Red Havas Brisbane | ‘Sparking a national conversation on Farmer Mental Health’

Loyalty and Retention  

Synchro Marketing | Mobil Rewards

Not For Profit Marketing            

Autism Spectrum Australia | World Autism Understanding Day

Product or Service to Launch or Relaunch           

Port Adelaide Football Club | ‘Herstory in the Making’ – Port Adelaide AFLW

Public Sector Marketing             

NSW Government Brand and Communications Team, Department of Customer Service | ‘COVID-19 Winter Campaign – Little Things, Big Difference’

Purpose-Led Marketing

Norco Co-Operative Ltd & Red Havas | ‘Putting the spotlight on farmers’ mental health’

Small Budget Marketing             

Surge Marketing | ‘Early Bird Campaign’

Social Media Marketing

South Australian Tourism Commission & Lily Hoffmann & Grace Flynn | 2022-2023 Video First Content Strategy

Sponsorship Effectiveness          

Great Southern Bank | Great Southern Bank’s Sponsorship of Carlton Football Club – ‘Build for the brand, designed for the fans’

Ego Pharmaceuticals | Aquim Hand Sanitiser and the AFL: Addressing Clutter, Promoting Safety and Establishing Market Leadership

Sustainability Marketing

Compass Studio | LINE Hydrogen launch and campaign funding

Special Categories

Certified Practising Marketer of the Year

Sarah Spence, founder and CEO, Content Rebels

Chief Marketing Officer of the Year        

Megan Keleher, chief customer officer, Great Southern Bank

Emerging Marketer of the Year 

Jessica Green, marketing team leader, AFLW and Port Adelaide Football Club

Future Leader of the Year

Shaja Foster-Ho, client success director, Loyalty of Wink

Independent Agency of the Year            

The Claire Bennet Agency

Large Agency of the Year            

Thinkerbell

Marketing Team of the Year      

South Australian Tourism Commission

Life Members   

Narendra Prasad

Allan Godfrey

Sir Charles McGrath Awards      

Sam Mostyn

Up to $1 Million Campaign of the Year  

Autism Spectrum Australia | ‘World Autism Understanding Day’

Above $1 Million Campaign of the Year

Litter Prevention Unit at NSW Environment Protection Authority & NSW Government & OMD Australia | ‘Don’t be a tosser’