Marketing leadership award for UC alumna

Vanessa Lam

26 November 2014: University of Canberra alumna Sarah Mathews has won the Mark Crowe Future Leader Award for her work at Barnardos Australia.

The award is sponsored by the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) and was presented at its 2014 Awards for Marketing Excellence in Sydney on 23 October.

Sarah Mathews with the Mark Crowe Future Leader Award at the AMI 2014 Awards for Marketing Excellence. Photo: Supplied

Ms Mathews said she was completely surprised and overwhelmed when she won the award.

"What is great is that it shows the broader marketing sector what can be achieved in the not-for-profit space. We work in a very small team with limited resources and a small budget so to be acknowledged is a real honour," she said.

Ms Mathews has been working at Barnardos Australia for almost two years, initially as the brand and reputation coordinator, where she helped rebrand the organisation, including launching a partnership with Beyoncé's #BeyGOOD movement during the singer's 2013 world tour. 

For this she recreated Beyoncé's 'Love on Top' video with children and young people from Barnados. The video was sent to Beyoncé, whose team then produced a five-minute documentary on Barnardos' services.

She is now marketing and communications officer for Barnados' practice development centre which promotes best-practice standards to the welfare sector.

"This year I have been focusing on MyStory - a new technology product that both supports case workers for children in out-of-home care, and promotes Barnardos as a leader in the welfare sector," Ms Mathews said.

The award is presented to a marketer who has demonstrated significant thought leadership in addressing a marketing topic. Chief executive officer of AMI, Lee Tonitto said it was Sarah's leadership potential that helped her win.

"The judging panel was impressed with Sarah's work at Barnardos Australia.  More importantly, Sarah came across as someone with a clear sense of purpose, well-developed left and right brain thinking and an inclusive working style, all of which are critical for a Future Leader in a changing business and marketing landscape," Ms Tonitto said.