The Media Federation of Australia (MFA) has revealed the five senior marketers named as the signature judges for the 2025 MFA Awards.
Taking to the panel are Kate Bailey, GM brand, digital and media for Coles, Joe Lunn, international head of media for Uber, Google ANZ’s chief marketing officer Suzana Ristevski, Nicole Smart, Woolworths Group GM group media and media planning, and Sarah Sorrenson, global media director (VP) of Diageo.
The judges will lead a cohort of over 100 experienced professionals from media agencies, media owners, tech companies, and a record number of marketers. The signature judges will ensure the judging process maintains a sharp focus on proven media effectiveness, reinforcing the MFA’s commitment to excellence.
The inclusion of CMO Signature Judges further strengthens the MFA Awards’ rigorous and impartial judging process, which features automatic conflict filtering, independent auditing, blind voting and proof of media contribution. This year, NotebookLM by GoogleLabs will be used for the first time to identify ineligible entries, flagging them for human review to ensure every submission complies with MFA Award rules before reaching the judges – upholding integrity and fairness.
Chris Colter, MFA Awards co-chairs, managing director of Media Strategy ANZ at Accenture, and Catherine Rushton, chief strategy officer at This Is Flow, thanked the Signature Judges for their dedication in identifying the most effective and inspiring media thinking in Australia.
“Every year we aim to recruit the most robust and respected panel of judges in the industry and we couldn’t be prouder of the calibre of outstanding marketing leaders joining the MFA Awards this year.
“Each one of our Signature Judges is a true champion of media effectiveness, with deep expertise, industry knowledge and proven delivery of world-class media activation. Their unique insights and perspectives will be immensely valuable in evaluating the most innovative and effective media thinking in the country.”
Bailey of her role as a signature judge: “I’m excited to be judging the MFA Awards as a signature judge this year. I strongly believe in the power of media to deliver real impact for brands and businesses, and I’m eager to see the exceptional strategic thinking coming out of Australian media agencies. In addition to effectiveness, I’ll be looking for deep customer insight, smart strategy, and bold execution.”
Entries to the MFA Awards are open until 2 May, with early bird submissions due by 17 April. Eligible participants – including MFA members, non-member agencies, clients and media owners – are encouraged to submit work that embodies the industry’s We Are The Changers purpose, showcasing best-practice media thinking and long-term business growth.
The winners will be announced at a black-tie gala dinner on Thursday 18 September at Sydney’s Randwick Racecourse.
The 2025 MFA Awards sponsors are:
Grand Prix: Seven
Platinum: Meta, Outdoor Media Association, SBS
Gold: OzTAM, Pinterest, YouTube
Silver: Nielsen