Credit: IMAA
Alpha Digital has won Gold in the Independent Media Agencies of Australia’s (IMAA) 2025 Pitch-Chella competition.
The team of Lucy Nioa, Lauren Hunter, Giorgia Griffith and Jess O’Connor took out first place with their campaign pitch for Mission Australia, followed by Assembled Media’s Chelsea Schultz, Samantha Keah and Sophie Morris with Silver, and Bang Digital’s Sam Daisley, Ari Silberstein, Heidi Leung and Maddison Farmer with Bronze.
Pitch-Chella, in its second year, gives early-career professionals from independent media agencies a platform to develop and present campaign responses to a live brief.
This year, 21 teams from 18 IMAA member agencies pitched campaign ideas for Mission Australia, with eight teams selected as finalists.
Alpha Digital’s winning concept, titled “House of Cards,” focused on homelessness as a fragile societal issue.
Centred on the idea that media holds the “trump card” in shifting perceptions, the campaign featured public activations, OOH, social and digital to evoke empathy and reposition homelessness as a shared vulnerability.
Assembled Media’s “Unhidden Mission” took a disruptive media approach, aiming to surface hidden homelessness in unexpected environments such as mainstream TV, podcasts and influencer content.
Creative included influencer partnerships, notably with The Inspired Unemployed, and content showing individuals in daily routines, later revealing one is homeless.
The campaign was supported by long-form storytelling content.
Bang Digital’s “The One Event Project 2026” highlighted the fine line between stability and crisis.
Using the hashtags #oneevent and #oneact, the campaign showcased stories of support and vulnerability across Meta, Google, TikTok and organic social. It included AR filters, Uber ads, and out-of-home via Optus and Allianz stadium partnerships.
Hatched chairman and IMAA leadership team member, Mike Wilson, said the standard of entries was high.
“We are excited to announce the winners of this year’s Pitch-Chella initiative,” he said.
“The judging panel had an incredibly difficult task in selecting this year’s winners, all our finalists prepared pitches that demonstrated a depth of thinking, creativity and strategy that was well beyond their years.
“I’d like to congratulate the teams from Alpha Digital, Assembled Media and Bang Digital – their pitches were detailed, innovative, and well-developed.”
National marketing manager at Mission Australia, Nicole Moore, said the organisation was pleased with the outcomes.
“We were delighted to have been the client brief for Pitch-Chella this year,” she said.
“Many finalists were surprised as they learnt about the scale of Australia’s hidden homelessness crisis and that of the 122,000 people homeless in Australia each night, only 6% are rough sleeping.
“The standard of the entries was excellent, with so many strategically thoughtful and creative ideas for how to amplify our work.
“The ideas will definitely be considered as part of our future campaign planning.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.