It’s official: ntegrity is the Most Nominated Company in the history of the Women in Media Awards

This Friday night is the Fifth Annual B&T Women in Media Awards. In what’s become an exciting annual tradition, we’re heading up to Sydney today to join in the festivities. This year, we’re nominated for three awards: Rising Star (Hannah Kallady), Strategy and Entrepreneur of the Year.

Yesterday I wondered: “Is it possible that we are the most nominated company in the history of the B&T Women in Media Awards?”

I mean, we’re way smaller than the rest of the companies on the list.
We’re not a household name (yet).
Our team is only 15 strong.

And yet—when we pulled the numbers—it’s true.

What an honor to stand amongst some of the most brilliant, inspiring, and hard-working women and companies in our industry.

When I first started ntegrity, I didn’t expect our approach to be recognised: I just knew something had to change. Too many agencies that I worked with were focused on short term campaigns, and consultants didn’t have practical digital experience. I thought there needed to be a hybrid agency—one that focused on long term strategy while delivering immediate results.

Since then, we’ve also been finalists in B&T’s Awards, winner and finalist in B&T’s 30under30 Awards, received two highly commended Mumbrella Awards, and a national and state finalist in AMI’s Marketing Awards for our work with Medela.

So why are we getting so much recognition?

We continually evolve

Being an “agile” business is a buzzword… but we live and breathe it. In the last year we’ve launched a research project on digital culture in Australia, started an Academy to help Australian Marketers skill up, and expanded our services to include Digital Transformation. As a boutique consultancy, we don’t have the same layers of management that larger companies do, which allows us to move quickly and take risks.

We put client’s goals above our own

Our clients are long term partners, not make-money-quick projects. We only work with clients we think we can be successful with and only make recommendations that we know are possible. Through becoming trusted partners, word of mouth catapults growth. When you earn a reputation for doing great work, money eventually follows.

We invest in our team

I’m forever conscious that ntegrity is only as great as our team. Some agencies see young talent as expendable, but in the battle for talent, we’re playing the long game. We promote often, share profits, encourage work life balance, and continuously develop our staff’s Personal Development Plans. Having the right people, and extremely high staff retention, means better results.

We’re not afraid to put ourselves out there

In a country plagued by Tall Poppy syndrome, where female leaders are subject to scrutiny, I’m not afraid to stand up and stand out. I encourage my team to do the same. I’m the first to annoy my staff to apply for awards they don’t feel they deserve (even when they clearly do!). I’ve heard at other companies people are not allowed to apply for awards “because it’s seen as furthering their career, not the company’s”. That’s not the case for me – my proudest moments are when my staff are publicly recognised.

Look: ntegrity might never be Australia’s biggest agency, or have the swankiest office, or earn the most money. And we’re ok with that. In fact, we’re damn proud of it. We focus on our work and our clients and it’s an amazing feeling to be recognised–time after time–for exactly that.

Congratulations to all the nominees, and all the women in our industry doing work you’re proud of. I can’t wait to celebrate with you on Friday.