A Sydney thunderstorm and a clash with the surprise election victory of Donald Trump couldn’t stop some of Australia’s finest media sales people partying hard at the 2016 Media i Awards. So intent were the teams, some of which had flown in from all parts of Australia, on having a good time and catching up with friends and colleagues that the din from the audience nearly drowned out the announcement of the winners.
Although outdoor companies were again well represented, traditional media who have to pedal harder these days, made a comeback while newer players like Mamamia were amongst the winners.
News Corp Australia won the big award with MFA chief executive Sophie Madden and Omnicom Media Group ANZ CEO and MFA chairman Peter Horgan handed the winners their Media i trophy.
This year’s awards were hotly contested with News Corporation Australia and Nine the most-awarded media companies on the night each receiving five awards followed by Bauer with four awards and ARN, Fairfax & oOh! Media with three apiece.
Voted by peers, the Media i Awards acknowledge the role media sales representatives play in the pursuit of media advertising excellence.
Introduced in 2011, they are the only awards dedicated to recognising the contribution of media owners. This year more than 2,000 media agency professionals voted.
Charles Parry-Okeden, CEO Media i, spoke of the importance of collaboration between media agencies and media partners.
“These awards not only recognise the professionalism and excellence of sales individuals and teams, but the success they achieved for clients in collaboration with media agencies.
“We are extremely proud of tonight’s event. The response from our finalists has been overwhelming, reinforcing the significance of this initiative to sales teams and individuals across the country. We would like to congratulate all of tonight’s winners on their fantastic achievement,” said Chris Winterburn, managing director Media i.
Run by Media i, the awards are proudly sponsored by the Media Federation of Australia (MFA), and supported by category sponsors Carat, Initiative, IPG Mediabrands, Match, Posterscope, PHD, Starcom, The Media Store, UM, Vizeum and social media sponsor OMD.
Sales Representative of the Year Magazines:
WA, Chris Eyres, Bauer
SA, Brad Barber, Fairfax Media
QLD, Sarah Crosdale, Bauer
VIC, Ebba McLean, Bauer
NSW, Matthew Knopp, Bauer
Sales Representative of the Year Newspapers:
WA, Liz Molyneux, Fairfax Media
SA, Deb Milne, News Corp Australia
QLD, Tenielle Jordan, News Corp Australia
VIC, Alexandra Gregory, News Corp Australia
NSW, Jesaantha Govender, Fairfax Media
Sales Representative of the Year Outdoor/Cinema:
WA, James Van Grootel, oOh! Media
SA, Maddy Lewis, oOh! Media
QLD, Veronica Tsiros, APN Outdoor
VIC, Jess Marquis, QMS
NSW, Gemma Watkins, JCDecaux
Sales Representative of the Year Radio:
WA, Clare Porter, SCA
SA, Sophie Scrivens, ARN
QLD, Carla Mathisen, SCA
VIC, John Hewit, ARN
NSW, Ben Nolan, Nova
Sales Representative of the Year Television:
WA, Laura Balsarini, Nine
SA, Alexa Borak, Nine
QLD, James Rose, Seven
VIC, Sarah Lewis, SBS
NSW, Brodie Ollington, MCN
Sales Representative of the Year Digital:
WA, Gemma White, Nine Digital
SA, Imran Khalil, Nine Digital
QLD, Lucinda James, Yahoo!7
VIC, Lauren Congiu, Mamamia
NSW, Alicia Doessel, Nine Digital
2016 Teams Winners List
WA, MCN
SA, oOh! Media
QLD, JCDecaux
VIC, News Corporation Australia
NSW, ARN
2016 National Sales Team of the Year
National, News Corporation Australia
Photo: Horgan (far left), Madden (far right) with the winning News Corp national sales team.