The Independent Media Agencies of Australia’s (IMAA) first major event for the year, Project Kick Off, was held last Thursday, 9 February 2023.
The event was held at Hoyts Cinema in the Entertainment Quarter at Sydney’s Moore Park with 200-plus guests in attendance and was also live-streamed by several thousand viewers.
Lisa Day, Renee Sycamore, Vanessa Lyons
Isaac Mizrachi, Penny Davy-Whyte, Belinda Macpherson and Brian Gallagher
The event provided a comprehensive view of the year ahead, as well as a first look at its major education initiative for 2023 – the IMAA Academy.
The IMAA Academy officially launches on March 1 and will help address the talent shortage as well as providing comprehensive training to media agency staff and for those looking to enter the industry.
The event’s guest speakers spanned the TV, radio, out-of-home, news media, regional media, cinema, and digital sectors. Industry body speakers included IAB CEO Gai Le Roy, CRA CEO Ford Ennals and Think TV CEO Kim Portrate.
Sam Buchanan
Kim Portrate
Gai Le Roy, Susie Michaels and Ben Mulcahy
Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham, Sharna King, Gai Le Roy and Ford Ennals
Also at the event was Boomtown Chairman and SCA chief sales officer Brian Gallagher, Val Morgan managing director Guy Burbidge, ThinkNewsBrands general manager Vanessa Lyons, and Outdoor Media Association general manager Kylie Green.
Other speakers on the day were Nine director of Content Partnerships, Total Publishing, Lisa Day; News Corp Australia executive general manager NewsAmp, Renee Sycamore; News Corp Australia executive general manager Regional Publishing, Belinda MacPherson; and GWI sales director Dom Birch.
Sam Buchanan, IMAA CEO, said: “This is the day that our industry comes together and for our media industry bodies to educate the indies on what they need to know going into 2023.
Hollie Wilson and Ben Fearnley
Ford Ennals
Sarah Waladan, Natalie Stanbury and Gai Le Roy
Susie Michaels
Mark Titley and Sam Thompson
“The IMAA has had the pleasure of singlehandedly changing the media landscape and giving a voice to Australian businesses and events like these are a great way for our members and the media industry to come together to learn and collaborate.
“The IMAA will have another year of launching great initiatives, including an Indie Summit and the IMAA Awards, so stay tuned,” Buchanan added.
See also: IMAA’s Operation Kick Off: Major event reveals year ahead for indies
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Top image: Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham, Sharna King, Jacquie Alley, Gai Le Roy, Sam Buchanan and Ford Ennals