Finalists for the 2024 Outstanding Radio Creative Awards (ORCA) and Student ORCAs have been announced!

At a sunny Grand ORCA lunch on Tuesday, TRB hosted a range of creative agency, radio network, students and client teams to celebrate Outstanding Radio Creative across the Grand ORCA and Student ORCA categories.

This year saw two winners with serious messages, but very different creative approaches.

Standard Campaign
Ministry of Social Development & Clemenger UnLtd – Own The Feels
Alex Metson, Mike Gwyther, Julia Ferrier and Brigid Alkema
$5,000 cash prize and a $5,000 radio advertising schedule.

Non-Standard Campaign
2degrees & TBWA\NZ – Good Ting
Ashley Wilding and Simon Watts
$5,000 cash prize and a $5,000 radio advertising schedule.

Clemenger UnLtd’s ‘Own The Feels’ (part of the MSOD’s ‘Love Better’ primary prevention programme) took an honest deep dive into the raw emotions young people experience after a break up,“No sugar-coating. No holds barred. Validating these feelings in an honest way, connects them to Love Better and points them in the direction of how to help stop that hurt becoming harmful.” Brigid Alkema, Clemenger UnLtd

While TBWA\NZ needed to reach kids with a phone safety message ‘in disguise’. So for the audio component of their ‘Good Tings’ campaign (the worlds’ first, first-phone safety programme) they got UK Grime Legend, ‘Scrufizzer’ to create an original phone safety anthem. An anthem so good, it was played live by BBC 1 Xtra and widely shared by prominent DJs based on music merit alone.

The Student ORCA:
AUT & Bellyful – Help Them Feel Human Again
Keeley Bates and Madeleine Robertson
$700 cash prize.

AUT’s Keeley Bates and Madeleine Robertson took the Student ORCA this year, with their ‘Help them Feel Human Again’ campaign for charity client, Bellyful. A unanimous vote by the judges, but Media Design School’s Emily Boswell, Romy Lane and Mikayla Riddell were a close second, with their ‘Too Much On Your Plate’ campaign, also for Bellyful.

“Such a privilege to be part of! What incredibly talented students, their ad is just phenomenal. So clever and so perfectly nails Bellyful. We are very excited. Congratulations Keeley and Madeleine, and all the finalists, for your awesome mahi.”
Jacqui Stanford, Strategy, Development & Communications Lead, Bellyful.

The 2024 Grand ORCA Judges were Simon Vicars (Colenso BBDO), Hadleigh Sinclair (Colenso BBDO), Matt Watts (Chemistry) and Matt Williams (DDB). Simon, Hadleigh and Matt Williams also did double duty as 2024 Student Judges and were joined by Emily Beautrais (Clemenger UnLtd).

The Radio Bureau’s CEO, Alistair Jamison says, “At TRB we believe that audio presents an amazing opportunity for outstanding creativity. In a world of short form video, 6 words max on a poster and doom scrolling on social, we think audio is where storytelling and creativity can thrive and hence our ongoing support of the ORCA programme. Once again thanks to all the creative agencies that entered, the clients that support great work and the judges who make this award programme possible."

Hear the winning campaigns here!