MFA
The Media Federation of Australia (MFA) is an alliance of Australian media agencies and exists to champion a dynamic and valued media industry. We dedicate ourselves to making the media agency industry better at what we do for clients, showcasing the impact of our work and the value we create. We work hard to attract, keep and inspire the best talent pool of people working in our industry.
- Website www.mediafederation.org.au
- Company Size 11-50
- Primary Location Sydney
- Categories Industry Body
Overview
The MFA, established in 1997, is the peak body representing media communication agencies to government, industry, media owners, and the general public. The MFA membership is drawn from local agency offices of Global networks, and Australian independent agencies and together they represent over 90% of all agency-placed media billings in Australia.
Media is anything and everything that touches, moves, influences, informs, and inspires consumers. And every single one of us working in a media agency influences change, for our clients, for society, for the economy, for our agencies and for our careers. It is exemplified in our industry purpose of ‘We Are The Changers’.
A career in a media agency means you can make an impact, make a difference, have a clear growth trajectory, and belong to an inclusive, fun community. Media agencies help clients grow their businesses, providing leadership and innovation to navigate a rapidly changing world. Working in media, we are all empowered to effect these changes, both big and small.
And the MFA exists to champion a dynamic and valued media industry. We do this through advancing our industry with thought-leadership, tackling issues, and anticipating change; through educating our industry with world-class skills and knowledge delivered through our e-learning and our NGEN program and beyond; through inspiring our industry with events and our industry purpose; and finally, through celebrating our people, our work, our careers and our industry in the trade press, through our own channels, with the MFA Awards, and through networking opportunities and events.
We Are The Changers.
The MFA Guide
The MFA Guide is an essential learning resource for anyone wanting to understand the fundamentals of the media agency industry, whether you’re already in the industry or keen to learn how everything fits together. Topics include:
- Overview of the Media Communication Agency Industry
- Understanding the media communication process from brief to post campaign evaluation
- Understanding the media channel landscape including the roles of channels and how they work
- The role of: Screens (TV & Video), Out-of-Home, Cinema and Display (online)
- The role of: Radio, Print, Social Media, Content/Sponsorships and Ambient
- Research in the Media Communication Agency industry – industry currencies, syndicated research and who does what
- Roles in the Media Communication Agency industry – what people do
- Case studies of winning campaigns from the MFA Awards
To access the guide, click here.
Internship & Graduate Hub
Future media professionals – are you ready to take the first step towards an exciting career in media? We know how tough it can be to navigate the job market. That’s why we’ve reached out to some of Australia’s top media agencies and created this centralised resource for you – the MFA Internship and Graduate Hub. Here, you’ll find programs with some of the best agencies in the business, giving you hands-on experience and invaluable networking opportunities to kickstart your career. Click here for more.
NGEN
NGEN is a unique community that empowers and inspires the next generation of media leaders – helping you to help yourself and take charge of where you want to go in your media career! An MFA initiative NGEN is open to media agencies and media owners employees with less than five years of experience in the industry.
Our training and development workshops are delivered face to face or online and range from how to be better organised, to becoming a confident presenter, from learning how to create a media strategy. NGEN also offers unsurpassed media industry networking opportunities where we help you create your voice in the media industry.
Memberships are secured on a company basis, ensuring NGENers get access to essential skills and opportunities critical to building a successful career in our fast-paced industry.
MFA Awards
The MFA Awards are the pre-eminent Awards program in the advertising media communications industry in Australia. The purpose of the MFA Awards is to highlight the value that the media agency industry contributes to clients businesses. The Awards have been celebrating the most effective and inspiring media thinking for 25 years.
Categories cover Outcomes – proving the real and measurable impact best practice media can have on commercials and culture; Execution – demonstrating best practice integrated media planning; individual Channel Excellence; and People and Culture – celebrating the positive impact agencies are having on the industry and broader culture.
Previous Grand Prix winners include:
- Initiative for LEGO City goes Nitro (2023)
- OMD & Leo Burnett for Suncorp’s One House (2022)
- Wavemaker for NSW Government Discrete Life (2021)
See all the 2023 winners here.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The media agency industry is diverse with more than 47% of our colleagues identifying with a cultural or ethnic group, and almost 30% speaking a language other than English at home. Over the past 12 months the number of people indicating they live with a disability or special need has increased by 2.68%. While 92% of our industry feels that they are included and belong.*
The MFA is committed to building a diverse, equitable an inclusive industry. Our goal by tracking these numbers is to measure our industry health and to move the industry towards reflecting the broader Australian population. Through our MFA Media For All strategy, we aim to create a media agency industry where everyone can thrive, feel heard, supported, and safe to do their best work.
*Media i Nov Survey 2023
MFA e-Learning
MFA e-learning certifications are world-leading. Developed by the industry for the industry. Participants receive professional certification as evidence of their knowledge upon successful completion of exams. Currently, the MFA offers e-learning across three core areas:
MFA Digital Foundations
This program sets a benchmark for what constitutes basic digital proficiency, ensuring that all participants have a clear understanding of the digital landscape, including its terminology, the trading models, and the evaluation and measurement methods of the key channels.
This program includes the following:
- Certificate I covering the subjects of: Display, Video, Social and Search Engine Marketing.
- Certificate II covering the subjects of: Search Engine Optimisation, Content Marketing, Programmatic and Measurement that Matters.
MFA Television Foundations
Provides foundation knowledge across television planning, buying and evaluation.
The television industry is evolving at a fast pace into a world where TV is consumed on multiple devices, traded in many different ways, and measured using varied data sets. TV Foundations prepares participants for this evolution.
MFA How to Buy TV Program
Through this course, participants will gain an understanding of pre-buy preparation, best practice buying, optimisation, briefing partners, ongoing management & optimisation, and how BVOD is traded.
Participants will receive professional certification as evidence of their knowledge upon successful completion of one exam and a Live TV buy assessment.
Open to MFA Members only.