The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) celebrated the people powering out of home advertising at the 2026 OMA Industry Awards, held at W Sydney on Thursday, 7 May.
Teams and leaders from across the industry gathered to acknowledge the work driving growth through smarter measurement and stronger partnerships. The awards attracted a record 119 nominations, underscoring the momentum across the OMA’s membership.
OMA and MOVE Chief Executive Elizabeth McIntyre praised the nominees, noting the awards recognise the people behind the progress of the industry.
The major winners
QMS Chief Marketing Officer Tennille Burt took home the coveted OMA Industry Award. The judges recognised Burt for going above and beyond to support key industry initiatives, particularly the rollout of MOVE as the currency of out of home.
The evening also honoured two long-standing contributors. The OMA inducted Colin Hindmarsh and Chris Tyquin into the Hall of Fame.
Hindmarsh helped transform bus advertising into a respected media channel, while Tyquin spent more than four decades strengthening measurement and championing industry collaboration.
The OMA inducted Chris Tyquin and Colin Hindmarsh into the Hall of Fame. Image: supplied
Conference insights and MOVE momentum
Earlier in the day, the OMA hosted OUTperform, the 2026 OMA Industry Conference.
Out of home leaders explored the defining themes of resilience, retail out of home, and the reframing of artificial intelligence.
Central to the day was an update on the industry’s audience measurement platform, MOVE. The platform went live in March and already operates at scale.
In its first eight weeks, MOVE achieved 100% onboarding across 40 media owners, with 125 active media agencies and SSPs using the platform.
Olympic gold medallist Steven Bradbury opened the conference with a keynote on resilience.
Delegates also heard a global perspective on regulation from World Out of Home Organisation Board Member Professor Dr Kai-Marcus Thasler, and a creative discussion led by AWARD Chair and Saatchi & Saatchi Chief Creative Officer Mandie van der Merwe.
Jessie Hughes from Leonardo.ai lead a session on reframing AI. Image: supplied
A snapshot of the 2026 winners
Beyond the major prizes, the OMA recognised rising talent and operational excellence across the country.
Adele Rose from JCDecaux secured the Emerging Leader Award, while oOh!media’s Nick Neville claimed the Excellence in Innovation Award. Vicinity Centres and QMS shared the Excellence in Design & Construction prize for The Emporium Melbourne, and VMO’s Raphael Owen won for Excellence in Field Work & Work Health and Safety.
The Outstanding Service Awards recognised Ben Allman (BroadSign) in New South Wales, Tim Murphy (QMS) in Victoria, Geoff Noonan (QMS) in Queensland, Paul Ellery (Big Screen Video) in South Australia, and Michael Overington (oOh!media) in Western Australia.
Congratulations to all of the OMA award winners for 2026. Image: supplied
Full list of awards winners
Emerging Leader Award
WINNER: Adele Rose – JCDecaux
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Cassandra Nott-Want – oOh!media, Nick Crowe – QMS
Excellence in Innovation Award
WINNER: Nick Neville – oOh!media
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Krystal Dukas – Big Screen Video
Outstanding Service Awards
NSW: WINNER Ben Allman – BroadSign
VIC: WINNER Tim Murphy – QMS
QLD: WINNER Geoff Noonan – QMS
SA: WINNER Paul Ellery – Big Screen Video
WA: WINNER Michael Overington – oOh!media
Rising Star Award NSW
WINNER: Guss Houston – JCDecaux
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Chand Weng – JCDecaux
Rising Star Award VIC
WINNER: Whitney Portwine – QMS
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ruby Meers – oOh!media, Ben Lloyd – Hanlon Industries
Rising Star Award QLD
WINNER: Brooke Hindmarsh – GoTransit
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Jorjha Unwin Vickery – oOh!media, Nellie Thomas – Bishopp
Rising Star Award WA
WINNER: Izi Bird – QMS
Rising Star Award SA
WINNER: Tiana Passelli – oOh!media
Excellence in Design & Construction
WINNER: The Emporium Melbourne – Vicinity Centres & QMS
Excellence in Field Work & Work Health and Safety
WINNER: Raphael Owen – VMO
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Neini Tuipulotu – QMS, Sujith Reddy – Hanlon Industries
OMA Industry Award
WINNER: Tennille Burt – QMS
Hall of Fame
Colin Hindmarsh
Chris Tyquin
Feature image- OMA and MOVE Chief Executive, Elizabeth McIntyre: supplied.