Company: Megaphone
Company Description: Megaphone is a full-service digital marketing agency with a proudly unique culture that has continually striven toward two goals: one, be the world’s best marketing agency, and two, be the world's best place to work. Rapidly-growing Megaphone has 120+ staff across Australia, the USA, and the UK; services 350+ diverse businesses, and holds the title of Australia's #1 Social Media Agency (2021).
Nomination Category: Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Executive of the Year - Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations
 Nomination Title: Lauren Oakes – Megaphone CEO
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length or a written essay of up to 650 words? Choose one:
Essay of up to 650 words
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video:
- If you are providing a written essay for this nomination, submit in this space an essay of up to 650 words describing the nominee's accomplishments since 1 January 2020:
Total 650 words used.
Led by Lauren, Megaphone stands out from the myriad global marketing agencies because of its foundation built on radical personal development. After starting as an Account Manager in the bullpen, Lauren, who would step into the CEO position in 2018 after trailblazing up the ladder with innovation and ambition, wanted to create two things: one, the best place to work in Australia, and two, an environment where people could develop into the best versions of themselves. She has always operated under the belief that only by constantly improving our team on an individual basis can we improve the company and, therefore, improve clients' results. So, with the aim of creating a place where the brightest minds could thrive, Lauren lay the foundations for what would become an industry benchmark and Australia’s #1 Social Media Agency (2021). Since 2020, with significant focus on hiring and nurturing the best people, Lauren has grown Megaphone exponentially. She’s grown the team from ~40 to 120, opened new offices, tripled the client base, and increased revenue significantly [REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] — 369% growth. Said growth is off the back of Lauren’s selfless contributions to helping staff develop both professional and personal skills (through one-on-one mentorship, book clubs, and leadership workshops, for example). This rare ability to bring out the best in everyone around her is a significant reason why Megaphone has seen over 60 promotions in the last 6 months (over 50% of the Australian team!). The agency naturally rewards those who innovate and continuously learn, and, through her involvement in hiring and nurturing, Lauren has facilitated an energy - an inherent pursuit - of self-development that springboarded Megpahone’s remarkable post-2020 growth. To create this widespread inner drive to learn and grow, Lauren ensures that the team always has the tools on hand to take that next career step (through extensive training, educational resources (books, courses, public speakers, etc.), and mentorship). And while her focus is selfless, Lauren has no shortage of individual accolades either. While accepted humbly, her strong leadership has deservedly received several awards – not to mention recognition among the business community; particularly for her work as a role model and mentor for fellow businesswomen. Honouring her efforts, since the beginning of 2020, Lauren has been awarded the Silver Award for Women-Run Workplace of the Year (2020 Global Stevie Awards), Bronze in Chief Happiness Officer of the Year (2020), and was shortlisted in the B&T Women Leading Tech awards in the Executive Leader category. And, as an advocate of diversity and inclusion, Lauren is proud that Megaphone has 73% female representation in leadership roles.
Never forgetting community, she has also coordinated partnerships with not-for-profit organizations including Make-A-Wish and OzHarvest. Moreover, Lauren is a strong influence among businesswomen, offering 1-on-1 mentoring since 2019. Under Lauren’s inspirational guidance, Megaphone has continued on its path to reaching its potential. The following company awards are a testament to Lauren’s ongoing dedication to its two goals: one, become Australia’s best agency (achieved in 2021, since updated to world’s best agency), and two, become Australia’s best place to work.
- Digital Agency of the Year; Social Media Agency of the Year; Best Agency Culture; Marketing Agency of the Year – Global Agency Awards 2022*
- Best Social Media Agency of the Year – Social Media Awards 2021
- SmartCompany Smart50 - 2021
- Australian Achiever Awards - Excellence in Customer Service - 2021
- Global Search Awards Finalist - 2021
- Australia's Top B2B Firms (#1) - Clutch 2021
- National Winner - Australian Achiever Awards - Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations Services - 2020
- Top Digital Marketing Company in Australia - The Manifest 2020
- Bronze Stevie Awards for Great Employers – 2020
(*finalist, winner TBD June 2022)
Always setting an example for the team, Lauren comes to work every morning with a burning desire to innovate, inspire, and grow not only the company, but those around her.
- In bullet-list form (up to 150 words), provide a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the nominee's chief achievements since 1 January 2020:
Total 147 words used.
- Spearheaded Megaphone’s rise to Australia’s #1 Social Media Agency.
- Created a diverse workplace; highlighted by 73% female leadership and the inclusive ‘Megaphone Committee’.
- Silver Award for Women-Run Workplace of the Year (2020 Global Stevie Awards).
- Bronze Award in Chief Happiness Officer of the Year (2020).
- Shortlisted in the B&T Women Leading Tech Awards (Executive Leader category).
- Lauren has grown the team from under 40 to over 120 people in two years.
- Thanks to a strong drive toward innovation, Lauren tripled Megaphone’s client base since 2020, and increased revenue significantly (~369% growth) simultaneously.
- Lauren is a mentor to fellow businesswomen, offering one-on-one coaching since 2019 to help others reach their potential.
- Continuing 2021’s stellar momentum, Lauren led Megaphone to 2022 finalist status (winners TBD) for Digital Agency of the Year, Social Media Agency of the Year, Best Agency Culture, and Marketing Agency of the Year (Global Agency Awards).
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