From library computer to thought leader – Agency Influencer 2017 announced
A Melbourne-based marketer who launched her own business from a public library in 2008 has been crowned the winner of LinkedIn’s 2017 Agency Influencer competition.
Jo Macdermott beat more than 500 rivals to win the annual thought leadership challenge, which asks executives from media, marketing and creative agencies in Australia to write about a variety of topics.
Agency Influencer 2017 winner Jo Macdermott
Meanwhile, Alex Delehunt, a people and culture manager at Publicis Media, was crowned the “emerging” winner, a separate prize designed for marketers with less than five years experience in the industry.
The competition, now in its third year, is run in collaboration with Mumbrella and the winner receives an all-expenses-paid trip to New York.
This year saw a record number of participants post a variety of blogs and insights under the hashtag #agencyinfluencer2017 from 14 June to 17 November.
Topics covered everything from industry sexism to copywriting tips and even how to tackle dress-down Fridays.
Macdermott’s rise to become one of Australia’s most influential marketers completes a remarkable story.
She launched her business, Next Marketing, from a computer terminal in North Melbourne Library in 2008.
Matt Tindale, LinkedIn’s Australia and New Zealand MD, said: “The 2017 competition has been a great celebration of diverse and original thinking from the leading voices in agency land today. In addition to the stand-out articles and ideas shared by Sydney agency voices we’ve seen a huge surge in activity from the Melbourne marketing community.
“We were also really pleased to see a huge increase in females and participants with less than five years experience in the industry this year. Well done to our two winners, and all of the 500 plus participants who took part in the competition in 2017.”
As previously revealed, the top ten in both categories are:
Overall competition (in alphabetical order)
- Tarryn Blackwood
- Phil Brown
- Roger Dunn
- Andrew Hardeman
- Alex Kirk
- Simon Lawson
- Jo Macdermott (winner)
- Angela Mellak
- Willie Pang
- Tim Whitfield
Emerging – (in alphabetical order)
- Nicky Paul Barton
- Robert Christian
- William Chung
- Alex Delehunt (winner)
- Rhys Gillmer
- Sarah Kramer
- Luke Maher
- Mike McGarry
- Suryabala Shenbagamurthy
- Samantha Tran
To view some of the best content, visit Mumbrella’s Agency Influencer 2017 hub.
