The Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) has announced the winners of its 2025 AiMCO Awards, following its inaugural AiMCO Summit in Sydney.
More than 800 creators, brands, agencies and industry leaders attended the AiMCO Summit and the 2025 AiMCO Awards gala at NIDA in Sydney on Thursday. Hosted by Australian content creators Daniel ‘Olan’ Olaniran (@olantekkers) and Ibrahim ‘Ibby’ Akbar (@ibby_a), the awards celebrated the campaigns, marketing teams, brands, agencies, tech companies and creators delivering measurable impact, cultural relevance and innovation across Australia’s influencer marketing landscape.
Preceding the awards, the inaugural AiMCO Summit brought together leading brands, agencies, platforms and creators for a full day of keynotes, panels and workshops under the theme The Creator Era – Exploring Creators, Culture and Commerce.
Attendees heard insights from renowned brands including MECCA and Tourism Australia, alongside representatives from Influence @ WPP Media, Are Media, HELLO, Fabulate, Original Audio, Spawnpoint Media and Sticki. Creator speakers also took to the stage, including Anthony Rabdello-Jahn of Donut Daddy, Alright Hey, Taz and Alessia, Ryan Jon and Toni Lodge of the Toni and Ryan Podcast, Sam Fricker and Steph De Sousa. The Summit set the tone for the evening’s awards, highlighting how creators are driving cultural impact and commercial outcomes at scale.
Fan favourite Adelle Petropoulos (@adellepetropoulos) was named the inaugural People’s Choice winner at the evening’s awards night. The award was designed to allow fans, collaborators and supporters the opportunity to recognise and celebrate their favourite creators. On the night, HELLO and Paramount Pictures were also awarded Most Influential Campaign for “Mission: Impossible Night Run”, and Uber Australia won Marketing Team of the Year.
Petropoulos, a Melbourne-based content creator, has amassed more than 70,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube in recent years for her beauty, lifestyle and cooking content. Drawing on her professional experience in make-up artistry, Petropoulos is renowned among her audience for practical tutorials, lifestyle tips and approachable cooking videos.
Paramount Pictures’ ‘Mission: Impossible Night Run’ from HELLO, awarded Most Influential Campaign, was recognised for re-energising an established franchise through a culturally sharp understanding of Gen Z behaviour. By placing influencers at the centre of a run-club-led live experience, the campaign shifted from traditional promotion to active participation, generating strong cultural momentum and clear commercial impact.
Meanwhile, Uber Australia was named Marketing Team of the Year following a run of consistently strong, creatively led work that has delivered measurable brand uplift. The brand’s sustained investment in creators and influencers, combined with a progressive and collaborative agency partnership model, reflects a contemporary approach to building brand and driving results.
Danielle Kinda, from Wavemaker and Influence @ WPP Media, was named AiMCO Trailblazer of the Year on the night, while Esme Louise James (@esme.louisee) was recognised as the winner of the Influence for Good award and Rhylee Passfield (@rhyleep95) honoured with the Rising Star award.
The full list of winners is:
Overall
AiMCO People’s Choice Creator: Adelle Petropoulos, One Day Dream
AiMCO’s Most Influential Campaign: Paramount Pictures: Mission: Impossible Night Run, HELLO for Paramount Pictures
Brand
Best Food and Beverage Campaign: Wingstop, Australia’s biggest new brand launch of 2025, HELLO for Wingstop
Best Beauty, Fashion and Style Campaign (sponsored by Wavemaker): Rimmel reimagines its Australian music strategy for COTY
Best Home, Lifestyle and Travel Campaign: Take a Bref, Wavemaker for Bref
Best Family, Parenting and Pets Campaign: Huggies SkinProtect Launch and Bum Masks, HELLO for Huggies
Best Health, Fitness, Sport and Wellness Campaign: Zyrtec Story Time, Publicis Collective for Zyrtec
Best Entertainment, Gaming and Comedy Campaign: Paramount Pictures: Mission: Impossible Night Run, HELLO for Paramount Pictures
Best Tech, Business, Finance and Insurance Campaign: Fujifilm Australia: The Moment Club, We Are Different for Fujifilm Australia
Best Integrated Campaign (winner): Wingstop, Australia’s biggest new brand launch of 2025, HELLO for Wingstop
Best Integrated Campaign (highly commended): Kleenex, The Life Changing Loo Roll, We Are Different for Kleenex
Best Gifting or Seeding Campaign: Huggies, SkinProtect Launch and Bum Masks, HELLO for Huggies
Influence for Good Campaign: Australia is for Everyone, Tourism Australia
Industry
AiMCO Trailblazer of the Year: Danielle Kinda, Wavemaker and Influence @ WPP Media
Marketing Team of the Year (sponsored by Fabulate): Uber Australia
Unsung Hero Award (winner): Tegan Boorman, Social Law Co
Unsung Hero Award (highly commended): Jess Hope, Create Racket
Best Large Agency or Business (sponsored by YouTube): OMG Content | Creo
Best Boutique Agency or Business: Ernest Agency
Best Standalone Influencer Campaign (under $50,000): Coachella, WPP Beauty Tech Labs for L’Oreal
Best Use of Data (sponsored by Are Media): Neutrogena Hydro Nation, Publicis Collective for Neutrogena
Most Effective Campaign for ROI: U by Kotex, Ultrathins Conversation Cards, HELLO with We Are Different for U by Kotex
Most Effective Collaboration/Partnership (sponsored by Are Media): U by Kotex, Ultrathins Conversation Cards, HELLO with We Are Different for U by Kotex
Best Influencer Marketing Technology or Service (sponsored by YouTube): OMG Content | Creo
Best Talent Management Agency (winner) (sponsored by HELLO): Click Media
Best Talent Management Agency (highly commended) (sponsored by HELLO): Day Management
Creator
Best Food and Beverage Creator (winner): Steph de Sousa
Best Food and Beverage Creator (highly commended): Chloe Wheatland, Made by Muse Agency
Best Beauty, Fashion and Style Creator (sponsored by Wavemaker): Rachel De Oliveira, Day Management
Best Comedy and Entertainment Creator: Clayton’s World, JRM Group
Best Gaming Creator (winner): Eystreem, Spawnpoint Media
Best Gaming Creator (highly commended): Aussie Antics, Click Media
Best Home, Lifestyle and Travel Creator: Haz and Loz, Made by Muse Agency
Best Family, Parenting and Pets Creator: Ben McIntosh, Day Management
Best Health, Fitness and Sport Creator: Elloise Fit, Huume Management
Best Business and Finance Creator: Tash Invests, Huume Management
Best Creator-led Podcast (sponsored by Commercial Radio and Audio): Toni and Ryan
Rising Star (sponsored by EssenceMediacom): Rhylee Passfield, JRM Group
Influence for Good (sponsored by Mindshare): Esme Louise James
Best Long-Term Ambassador/Partnership (2+ years): Steph de Sousa and Aldi Australia
Best Creator-Led Business (sponsored by Changer): Spawnpoint Media
The AiMCO Awards and Summit celebrate the nation’s top brands, creators, agencies and businesses driving innovation and creativity across the Australian influencer marketing industry. More than 100 creators, brands and agency talent were announced on the shortlist for the AiMCO Awards this year, which attracted a record number of entries.
AiMCO Managing Director, Patrick Whitnall, said: “Australia’s influencer marketing industry is brimming with talent, and it’s a privilege to recognise the outstanding creators, brands and agencies honoured at this year’s AiMCO Awards.
“Influencer marketing has become central to marketing strategy, with brands increasing investment as they see its ability to build relevance, trust and deliver measurable results. The campaigns and creators celebrated tonight are leading the way in innovation, creativity and audience engagement. It’s a great opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the exceptional work shaping the industry.”
This year’s premier event partners are Are Media and Influence at WPP Media. The major event sponsors are Fabulate, HELLO and YouTube, with contributing event partners Amazon, Changer, Commercial Radio and Audio (CRA), RISER/Theory Crew, Vamp and TikTok, and audio partner Original Audio. The event is proudly supported by El Jannah and JCDecaux.
Visit https://aimco.org.au
