Peter Horgan inducted into MFA Hall of Fame as Lifeblood takes Grand Prix

Peter Horgan, the former Omnicom media leader known throughout the industry as Horgs, has been inducted into the MFA Hall of Fame, recognising a career spanning some of Australia's most influential media agencies and a decade as chair of the Media Federation of Australia.

The honour was announced at the 27th MFA Awards in Sydney on Thursday night, where Clemenger BBDO's Lifeblood Blood Supply campaign for Australian Red Cross Lifeblood claimed the Grand Prix.

Horgan's induction recognises his contribution to the development of Australia's media agency industry, from his leadership at OMD and Omnicom to his work strengthening relationships between agencies, advertisers and media owners.

He joined the MFA board in 2004 and became chair in 2014, serving for 10 years. During that period, he helped steer the organisation through industry reputation challenges, supported leadership development and worked to strengthen its relationship with the advertiser community.

MFA CEO Sophie Madden said Horgan had transformed the chair's position and helped bring an often-fragmented industry together.

“Under his leadership, the MFA tackled industry reputation wobbles, rebuilt combative relationships with client bodies, championed initiatives to develop our future leaders and helped unite an industry that wasn't always great at moving in the same direction,” Madden said.

“Ultimately, he helped strengthen the industry we're all proud to be part of.”

Horgan's agency career included Media Decisions, Optimedia and Carat before joining OMD as Clemenger and DDB combined their media operations. He went on to build a longstanding leadership partnership with Mark Coad and Leigh Terry, mentoring many of the executives now leading Australia's media businesses.

WPP Media Australia and New Zealand CEO and current MFA chair Aimee Buchanan said his influence extended well beyond the agencies he had led.

“Horgs has dedicated his career to making our industry better. He has spent decades opening doors for people, developing talent, advocating for the value of media, promoting the importance of transparency and always bringing the industry together,” Buchanan said.

“Myself and many other industry leaders have benefited from his mentorship, generosity and willingness to champion others.”

Horgan, who is now building Joy Agency, said one of his proudest achievements was the trust and reputation developed during his time at Omnicom.

But he suggested his career was far from over.

“I'm way too young to be a Hall of Famer and there's plenty of life left in the old dog,” he said.

Lifeblood takes the Grand Prix

The night's top campaign honour went to Clemenger BBDO for Lifeblood Blood Supply, which also won Best Integrated Campaign and Best Use of Outdoor.

EssenceMediacom was another prominent winner, taking Brand Impact for Google's AI Finds its Voice, Business Impact for Lion's Tooheys Muster, Behaviour Change for Containers for Change's Bincoin and Best Use of Creators/Influencers for Queensland Police Service's recruitment campaign Badge vs Buttons.

Dentsu collected both the ESG Campaign and Partnership awards for Medibank's Family Roast, while Hearts United won Data-Led Activation and Best Use of Small Budget for Diageo's Data That Decides.

Wavemaker claimed Best Use of Audio for Allianz's Seat Belters: Remixing Road Safety and Best Use of Events or Experiential for Audible's The Audible Express.

Other winners included oOh!media, Special Group and Initiative for Cricket Australia's First Ball, Mindshare for IKEA's Surviving Bad Sleep and OMD for the NSW Government's road safety campaign Reaction Time.

The awards also recognised Lauren Thornborough and Louise Wilson with the Industry Contribution Award for co-founding The Village, an association supporting parents and parents-to-be in the media industry.

Avenue C won Agency Talent & Culture for agencies with fewer than 100 employees, while Sparro x BrainLabs took the award for larger agencies. Pamela Anthony and Sarah Barlow from UM received the NGEN Award.

Madden said the winning work reflected the industry's ability to bring together strategy, creativity, technology and partnerships to address business challenges.

“What stands out is the ambition behind the work – teams challenging conventions, finding new ways to connect with audiences and using media to create impact,” she said.