From drag queen bingo to educational sessions and participating in Sydney's Worldpride march, the media industry showcased its support to the LGBTQI+ community this Pride month.
Initiative
For World Pride, media agency Initiative laced up their knee-high boots and glued down their wigs to pull off a Drag Queen makeover with their national managing director, Sam Geer (now known as GLAM GEER)!
As an incentive for the makeover, Sam challenged Initiative to raise $1,000 for Minus18, a charity that focuses on LGBTQIA+ youth. The agency exceeded target.
Southern Cross Austereo
Entertainment company SCA in Sydney gathered over 100 staff together on the Rooftop for Drag Trivia hosted by Drag Queen extraordinaire Dominque Topp to celebrate Sydney WorldPride 2023. Laughs, conversations and drinks were flowing with the team from LiSTNR Original Podcasts taking out top position.
SCA Melbourne also celebrated at its Melbourne office with Drag Bingo. And had the fabulous Justin Hill who is part of the Hit Network digital content team speak to staff about what World Pride means to him and how to get involved and support the community.
Snack Drawer
Internet-first creative agency Snack Drawer was on the ground at Sydney World Pride with its original creator channel Rainbow History Class hosting a three-night live residency at the Darlinghurst Theatre as part of the official SWP programme, bringing lessons on the LGBTIQA+ history you didn’t get in school.
Snack Drawer creator Rudy Jean Rigg is an ambassador for Sydney World Pride, and Hannah McElhinney took part in the Parade on the TikTok Float. Pride is super busy for our whole team, with a number of them flying up from Melbourne for the period to work on the ground in Sydney, for campaigns with a number of clients.
Snack Drawer will also be celebrating Pride back in Melbourne HQ with the whole team at its Rainbow History Class book launch, written by Snack Drawer’s co-founder and chief creative officer, Hannah McElhinney.
Seven West Media
To celebrate Sydney WorldPride, our South Eveleigh office enjoyed a special performance by Bettie Blackheart that brought our people together. We also had a special lunch and learn event with a panel of LGBTQUIA+ Representatives, discussing the importance of being able to be your whole-self at work and promoting acceptance, understanding, and appreciation for broader inclusivity. Our representatives shared personal insights and stories.
Kaimera and ARN
The Sydney indies sales team from ARN joined independent media agency Kaimera for a Pride Trivia event this week - a test of everyone’s knowledge about WorldPride and everything it stands for. KIIS 106.5’s “Intern Pete” hosted with his usual flair…. and the results are in. Acceptance, diversity and inclusion are very much part of the lifeblood of all Kaimerians.
WiredCo.
Independent media agency WiredCo. celebrated World Pride Month, not by throwing a party, but by spending time reflecting on the history of the Pride Movement. Managing Partner David Kennedy ran a ‘Wired For Pride’ session where we took our team of Wiredos on a retrospective journey, acknowledging the challenging past. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Pride event without rainbow cupcakes, and dressing in colourful attire, so we did that too.
Apparent
Independent agency Apparent encouraged understanding, empathy and allyship through a program of Pride events, speakers and content for learning. Apparent’s all-staff celebration called “Express Yourself” included a panel discussion with Kween Kong, Carla from Bankstown and James Devlin about self-expression, being courageous and unleashing your creative side. Carla from Bankstown said of the experience: “It was nice to do an event that had so much special meaning behind it - I appreciated being there.”
Mediabrands
Mediabrands Pride hosted the "I’ve Always Wanted to Ask" panel moderated by Anathea Ruys (UM, CEO). Our LGBTQ+ panellists leaned all the way in tackling bold questions from staff across the country, to promote awareness of the many biases that LGBTQ+ people navigate in daily life. Staff left the event feeling empowered, accountable, and committed to ensuring meaningful change.
Omnicom Media Group
Award winning trans awareness educator Katherine Wolfgramme spoke to all OMG agencies as part of pride, in its shared office space. Wolfgramme said: "I love my work, I enjoy engagement through educating and creating greater understanding towards my community - It was a great pleasure to speak at Omnicom Media Group, ANZ in celebration of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and Sydney WorldPride, thank you OMG Open Pride by TikTok for inviting me to speak at this event. It was a pleasure to engage with such a great audience."
Audience Precision
Independent media consultant Audience Precision recognises that pride is not only a celebration but a protest too. While enjoying rainbow treats, we learnt about the history of Mardi Gras with its roots in the Stonewall riots and BIPOC activism. We also learnt about the progress yet to be made, particularly for trans people.
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