University of Technology Sydney team “Momento” was announced as National Champions, with runners-up being University of Canberra team “Muse” and Edith Cowan University team “Boomerang Two”. Curtin University team “Babble Creative Agency” and UTS team “Creative Intelligence” were the other two finalist teams.

(In picture: IAA ‘Big Idea’ 2021 National Champions, UTS team “Momento”, receiving their trophy and certificates from IAA Australia Chair, Heather Leembruggen.

From left to right: Andrew McCowan (Faculty Advisor), Georgie Gray, Heather Leembrugen (IAA Australia Chair), Kate McGregor, Eliane Steger, and Dayna Kostantakis (absent: Ella Esposito Doolan, Mariah Saad, and Montana Crabb)

IAA 'Big Idea' is IAA Australia's national marketing communications challenge specially created for undergraduate teams from Australian universities and colleges with courses in advertising, marketing, media, and communications. The program gives students the opportunity to hone their communication skills and talents in a real-world, career-ready learning experience by working on a real-life client project, which is critical training in the preparation of graduates for the transition from university into professional practice. For details visit www.iaabigidea.com

The client is a real-life reputed organization that looks for innovation and ideas from the next generation. They take the entries seriously and many of them in the past have been able to access innovative marketing ideas for their future campaigns. A recent client who has provided a project for the IAA ‘Big Idea’ challenge are Adobe, Nestle, Coca-Cola, and ANZ Banking Group.

The client provides a real brief – as it would to its own agency. In response to the client brief, the teams deliver an end-to-end plan from the research stage to the creative concept, right through to the final presentation of their ‘Big Idea’.

T2 Tea, a Unilever brand, was client for IAA ‘Big Idea’ 2021. This year’s IAA ‘Big Idea’ challenge was to create an innovative, high impact campaign to help grow awareness and consideration of T2 products among Australia’s multicultural and diverse audiences with special emphasis on Chinese speaking and South Asian audiences in Australia and to promote the T2 Tea product range as the ideal gift for all occasions.

The final presentations event, normally conducted with “face to face” presentations, was this year held as a virtual event webinar, hosted by Meta, with the participating teams and the jury members linking in from five states in Australia. The 5 finalist teams pitched their campaigns in this “virtual event” to the judges following which the winning team was selected and announced as the IAA Big Idea 2021 National Champions and presented with their winners’ trophy virtually.

Kate McGregor, Creative Director of winning UTS team “Momento” said:

“The IAA Big Idea competition has given me the confidence to dream BIG with my future career in advertising. Working with a real-world client on a challenging brief gave my team and me an amazing experience to take into our future careers in the communications industry. We went in hoping to create a good campaign, not expecting much in return. Getting recognized for our work by industry professionals has given us new confidence to believe in our potential. Thanks again to the IAA, T2, Mumbrella, and other partners for this amazing opportunity.”

Amy Smith, T2 Tea Global Brand Director commented:

The jury for this year’s competition included senior professionals from key industry sectors:

Steve Coll, Head of Creative Shop ANZ, Meta (Jury Chair)
Amy Smith, Global Brand Director - T2 Tea
Sheba Nandkeolyar, CEO - MultiConnexions Group
Olivia Kruimel, Managing Editor, News & Analysis - Mumbrella
Giorgia Butler, Head of Strategy & Innovation - Nunn Media
Chantal Walker, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer - Active Super.

Jury Chair, Steve Coll, Head of Creative Shop ANZ, Meta applauded the IAA ‘Big Idea’ 2021 experience:

“In this program, the IAA has set up a wonderful opportunity. The student teams respond to a live brief from T2, and then get invaluable feedback on their answers from respected marketers. It was a challenge that brought out the very best in the students, with a high bar from all the finalists. I’d like to thank all the participants for their huge efforts, and especially congratulate Momento, the winning team from UTS.”

Summing up on the IAA 'Big Idea' challenge, IAA Australia Chair, Heather Leembruggen said:

“IAA ‘Big Idea’ 2021 finalist teams delivered some impressive presentations showcasing insightful, innovative solutions and creative campaigns. The students really thought outside the square with passion and energy to tackle this challenging brief from T2 Tea to engage a diverse audience and promote T2 products as gifts for all occasions.

This is what makes IAA ‘Big Idea’ so rewarding for the IAA as well as the student participants.  We are proud to have been able, for the past 19 years, to give hundreds of students the opportunity to sharpen their skills and use their talents in working on a hands-on project for a real-life client in a real-world situation which gives them a valuable learning experience and a taste for their future careers. Fostering professional development is a key IAA mission and IAA 'Big Idea’ truly encapsulates that.

My congratulations to all those who participated in the IAA ‘Big Idea’ 2021 challenge – they all won an amazing experience!”

IAA Australia acknowledges with appreciation the support for IAA ‘Big Idea’ 2021 from client partner T2 Tea, planning partner MultiConnexions, and media partner, Mumbrella.

IAA congratulates IAA ‘Big Idea’ 2021 National Champions, UTS “Momento” team: Kate McGregor, Georgie Gray, Dayna Kostrantakis, Montana Crabb, Ella Esposito Dolan, Eliane Steger, Mariah Saad, and Andrew McCowan (UTS Faculty Advisor)