The inaugural Mediaweek 100 Power Lunch was held on October 21, at the Crown Sydney’s Pearl Ballroom, where the most powerful people across the media industry and the most influential on-air talent were named.
See the full Mediaweek Power lists here:
Mediaweek 100
Agency 50
Star Power 25
The sold-out event kicked off with pre-drinks in the foyer of the Pearl Ballroom, as a who’s who of media executives and talent poured into the room from Seven, ARN, News Corp, Nine, Paramount, OMD, Nova, The Guardian, The Brag, Group M, Nova, The Daily Mail, Are Media, Havas, Mediabrands, Publicis, and more.
Over 300 people were in attendance as the proceedings started with a welcome to the country from Brendan Kerin, before he played the traditional instrument, the Yidaki.
Brendan Kerin
Following the opening video, the event’s host Angie Asimus then took the stage to welcome the crowd and introduce comedian Lloyd Langford to perform a set to get things started.
Langford’s set went over well with the crowd – especially when he asked if anyone who made Married at First Sight was in the room, with a rambunctious roar coming from the Endomonol Shine table that featured Tara McWilliams.
Lloyd Langford
During the entrees, the CEO of Think TV and Premium Content Alliance, Kim Portrate, delivered a keynote speech to the room, discussing the contribution that Australian content creators make to the economy. The keynote was accompanied by the memorable addition of a digital storyteller, Josie Ford, who provided live illustrations of Portrate’s speech on the screens behind her as she delivered her address.
Kim Portrate
The Agency 50 was then announced, with large roars coming from the large portion of the room made up of agency land. Mediaweek’s Greg “Sparrow” Graham was on the stage to present trophies to the top 10 comprised of Peter Vogel, Sam Buchanan, Anathea Ruys, Laura Nice & Sian Whitnall, Melissa Fein, Danny Bass, Pat Crowley, Mark Coad, Aimee Buchanan, and Peter Horgan, who was named #1.
Melissa Fein, Sparrow, Laura Nice, Sian Whitnall, Sam Buchanan, Peter Vogel
Peter Horgan and Sparrow
Rob Maclean, Seven’s national sports sales director, was then brought on stage to host a Q&A with two of Seven’s key commentators for its upcoming Summer of Cricket, Simon Katich and Lisa Sthalekar. The group discussed the current state of affairs in cricket and what to expect from Seven’s coverage.
Rob Maclean, Lisa Sthalekar, and Simon Katich
Next up was the announcement of the Star Power 25 list, which celebrated the most influential on-screen talent in the industry. Mediaweek’s editor and general manager, Trent Thomas, was on stage to present the top 6 with their trophies which included Osher Günsberg, Christian O’Connell, Abbie Chatfield, Ben Fordham, and Hamish & Andy. Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson were named #1 on the list. Henderson was in attendance to accept, while Kyle made a video that saw himself telling everyone that he had won the award, to only comically receive lukewarm responses.
Jackie O Henderson
Sue Carter (on behalf of Christian O’Connell), Osher Günsberg, Abbie Chatfield, Jackie O, Trent Thomas
Before the Mediaweek 100 was announced, there was one more list, the Mediaweek Icons, which celebrated some of the greatest and longest-serving names in the industry. This list included Ita Buttrose, Mikael Borglund, Janet Cameron, Bruce Gordon, David Leckie, Rupert Murdoch, Kerry Stokes, and Brian Walsh. When Brian Walsh’s name was announced there was a huge roar from the large contingent of Foxtel representatives who surrounded Walsh at his table.
It was now time for the main event with the final names on the Mediaweek 100 revealed. Mediaweek’s editor-in-chief and publisher, James Manning, was on stage to present the trophies to the top 10 most powerful people in the industry which included Melanie Silva from Google, Ciaran Davis from HT&E, Patrick Delaney from Foxtel, Grant Blackley from SCA, Beverley McGarvey from Paramount, James Warburton from Seven, Micheal Miller from News Corp, Ryan Stokes from Seven, Lachlan Murdoch from News Corp, and Mike Sneesby from Nine.
The party then moved back to the foyer for the afterparty, which featured a DJ set by Danny Clayton.
Danny Clayton
Mediaweek would once again like to thank its partners and sponsors for this event, Seven and the Premium Content Alliance, represented by ThinkNewsBrands, ThinkPremiumDigital, and ThinkTV, ARN and News Corp.