Healthy competition for this year’s APG Planning Idol’s brief for One Laptop per Child Australia

In line with the growing discipline of planning in Australia, this year’s APG Planning Idol has seen a significant rise in entries. The 2011 competition has attracted 52 entries, double the entries of the inaugural year in 2007, and a steady increase above the 34 entries in 2009.  

This year’s contestants were tasked to create a breakthrough strategy for One Laptop per Child Australia, moving people, business and the government to actively support the work of OLPC in providing access to education for children in remote areas of Australia.

APG Planning Idol is held biannually and is generously supported by recruitment company Sandy Oldham consulting. The Call for Entry was launched with the help of the team from The Hallway.

Entrants came from five states, with NSW topping the list. Entries came from creatives, account managers, graduates and planners, ensuring a variety of approaches to the same brief.

Planning Idol encourages young, talented planners, or prospective planners under 30 in Australia to apply themselves to a brief to solve a pressing social issue. 

APG Chairman Sudeep Gohil said: “Planning Idol is an opportunity to use our collective wisdom to benefit a great cause. It is also a good time to get a gage on the ‘state of planning’ and this year’s increases in entries reflect the growth we’re seeing in planning as a discipline.”

“We’re encouraged to see the diversity in talent and experience of our entrants, and to see that both prospective and current planners are keen to put their skills to the test in front of the client and our judges.”

The submitted papers now go through a judging process, lead by the CEO of One Laptop Per Child Australia, Rangan Srikhanta, on Wednesday 5 October, just before the award night in Sydney on Thursday 6 October.  

The  2011 Planning Idol winner will get the chance to attend the 2012 AAAA Planning Conference in the US, where planners from top advertising and marketing firms gather to discuss the state of the industry.

Where the 2007 and 2009 winners are now:

Now in its third year, APG has crowned two Idols and bestowed highly commended honours on a further two aspiring planners.

2007 winner Mollie Hill devised a strategy for the Inspire Foundation, addressing the growing threat of ice in Australia and took out the top spot. She is now a Senior Strategy Planner at JWT Singapore, while runner up Aisea Laungaue is Head of Planning at Anomaly, New York.

2009 winner Anna Barnwell tackled the issue of homelessness in Australia for Oasis, devising a communication strategy to address youth homelessness. She is currently a Planner at BMF, while runner up Meredith Simpson has recently relocated from The Brand Agency in Perth, to George Patterson Y&R Melbourne.

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