Kmart, IKEA, Salomon and Live Nation lead inaugural Hashtag Australia jury

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has unveiled the inaugural jury for the Hashtag Australia Awards, bringing together senior brand marketers, creative leaders and social media specialists to judge the country’s best work across social, creators and influencer marketing.

The judging panel includes Jacinta Whitehead, head of brand strategy, PR and social at Kmart Group; Emma Losco, PR leader at IKEA Australia and New Zealand; Briony Kent, head of marketing at Salomon ANZ; Hollie Lowe, head of digital and CX at Red Rooster; Erica Valenti, integrated marketing director at Live Nation Australia and New Zealand; Yasha Chandra, digital marketing manager, auto at Honda Australia; Jayesh Kesry, senior global creative content manager at Contiki; and Nariné Salmasi, general manager of marketing at Omoda Jaecoo Australia.

They will be joined by Cat Wilkinson, general manager at Influential Australia; Tommy Cehak, executive creative director at Leo Australia; Denny Handlin, executive creative director at VaynerMedia Australia and New Zealand; Sharyn Smith, founder and CEO of Social Soup; Maddie Marovino, national head of social at Special Group; Skye Lambley, CEO, Influence Practice at Publicis Groupe; and Ben Hickey, head of consumer health at Ogilvy Health Australia.

The 2026 Hashtag Australia Awards marks the first local edition of MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s Hashtag Awards platform, which has been running across Southeast Asia for the past five years.

The Australian launch comes as social and influencer marketing move further into the mainstream of the marketing mix, with creators, platform-native content, social commerce and community-led campaigns playing a bigger role in how brands build relevance and drive commercial outcomes.

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Kmart's Jacinta Whitehead said social and influencer marketing had moved from an experimental channel to a strategic and accountable discipline.

“What was once seen as experimental is now a strategic and accountable discipline. The expectation has shifted from driving engagement alone to delivering meaningful, measurable outcomes for the business,” she said.

“At Kmart, we see creators as an extension of our brand — from organic UGC through to influencer partnerships, alongside the content we create in-house. When those elements come together, they help us show up in a way that feels authentic, consistent and relevant to our customers, and bring our offer to life at both speed and scale.”

Whitehead said she will be looking for authenticity across brand, creator and platform.

“Great social work feels native. It reflects a genuine fit between the brand and the content, and respects how people naturally engage on each platform,” she said.

“When that alignment is right, the work doesn’t feel like marketing — it simply feels like an entertaining conversation you choose to engage with.”

Briony Kent said the category now sits in a productive tension: accepted by brands, but still evolving in how it proves value.

“I don’t know a single brand where influencer and social marketing isn’t embedded in their growth strategy. It’s not a question of if anymore, it’s how,” she said.

“What’s shifting is where it sits within the funnel. It’s moving beyond awareness into something far more nuanced.”

For Kent, social’s value increasingly sits in its ability to connect brands with communities beyond their direct ecosystem and give marketers a more immediate read on how the brand is landing in market.

“At its best, it connects you with communities that exist well outside your direct brand ecosystem, and gives you something harder to manufacture: genuine cultural relevance and an unfiltered read on how your brand is actually landing in market,” she said.

When judging, Kent said she will be looking beyond engagement numbers to the intent and emotional residue of the work.

“What were you trying to do: entertain, educate, inspire? And did you do it?” she said.

“The work I respond to most earns its place in culture rather than gaming the algorithm. The best social work doesn’t just reflect a brand, it reflects the moment.”

For Handlin, social has moved beyond the point of asking for permission.

“The big table didn't invite social and influencer marketing, social and influencer marketing built its own table,” he said.

“Here’s the reality: the consumer has already decided. The seat at the table isn't granted by a bunch of execs sitting in a boardroom holding onto their old school media playbooks. It’s granted by human attention.”

For Denny Handlin, executive creative director at VaynerMediaHandlin, the best social work has simplicity, relevance and impact.

“Great work always makes me jealous. Jealous of the insight, the idea, the craft, and the cultural and commercial impact it made,” he said.

Salmasi said social and influencer marketing had earned its place, but the conversation had shifted from whether it works to how well it is integrated into broader brand and business strategy.

“The strongest brands now understand that social isn’t just a distribution channel but a place where culture is shaped, communities are built, and brand perception evolves in real time,” she said.

“What’s still maturing is how organisations measure long-term impact beyond campaign spikes, particularly around brand equity, loyalty and influence over purchase behaviour.”

Wilkinson said social is increasingly being recognised as an ecosystem in its own right, rather than a channel to execute in after the fact.

“Too often it’s still treated as a channel to execute within, rather than the starting point for how ideas move through culture,” she said.

“The reality is we should be thinking social first, then expanding out - because that’s where attention, behaviour, and cultural momentum actually begin.”

Smith said investment in social and influencer marketing continues to rise, but measurement and consistency remain critical.

“It certainly has a seat at the table now, as many of the biggest companies in the world now see social and influencer marketing as core to their business strategy,” she said.

“The issue in the past has been scaling this to deliver consistent performance and measurement that allows brands to understand how it is delivering on the bottom line.”

She said great social work should be judged by whether people talk about it, share it and pass it on, not simply whether paid media delivered reach.

“These days, anyone can pay to get reach, so we need to know that the campaigns are delivering relevance,” she said.

The inaugural Hashtag Australia Awards will launch with 32 categories covering platform-native ideas, creator collaborations, social commerce, community building, AI experimentation and campaigns built for measurable business impact.

Entries are open to brands, agencies, publishers, platforms, creators and marketing teams that have delivered standout work across Australia’s social and digital ecosystem. Submissions will be judged on the quality of the work rather than the size of the brand, budget or following.

Finalists will be announced in October, with Gold, Silver and Bronze winners revealed at an awards reception in Sydney in November.

Entries close on 23 July 2026.