AME's esteemed Grand Jury is known for consistently delivering creative and strategic campaigns that move the needle for brands.These globally respected executives bring innovation, strategic expertise, and a 360-degree global perspective to the judging panel. Their industry experience provides them with an understanding of the partnership between creativity and effectiveness. As award-winners, they view all entries with experience and understanding of what attributes set the bar for effective excellence.

2025 AME Grand Jury member Dr. Candice O'Sullivan is the owner, Managing Director and Head of Strategy & Planning of Wellmark, a Melbourne-based creative agency specialising in healthcare communications. Formerly a medical practitioner, Candice has spent the last 20 years developing and implementing marketing communications and brand strategy for some of Australia’s leading healthcare and pharmaceutical brands.Her focus is on the delivery of high-level strategic insights that help improve the quality and effectiveness of healthcare marketing campaigns

In the interview below Dr. Candice O'Sullivan shares her perspective on brands maintainign effectiveness across global markets, how brands effectively communicate their values, what defines effective advertising and more.

AME Awards: From your perspective as a creative strategist, what standout qualities define award-winning, effective advertising today?

Dr. Candice O'Sullivan: As a strategist but also a former doctor, I strongly believe that effective advertising begins with the right diagnosis – you can’t expect to develop an appropriate solution if you haven’t correctly defined the problem. So that’s the first essential step, albeit one that is not necessarily obvious to the audience. Once it comes to the creative work itself, I largely subscribe to Dave Trott’s key elements of good advertising: impact, communication and persuasion. Truly effective work ticks all three of these boxes.

AME Awards: Why are effectiveness competitions like the AME Awards essential for measuring impact and industry growth?

Dr. Candice O'Sullivan: I think the primary benefit of effectiveness competitions, such as the AME Awards, is credibility. We’ve all seen examples of dubious work that wins creative awards but has limited real-world impact (at best). But in our industry, creativity has a commercial purpose – we have an obligation to create effective work for our clients. So effectiveness awards help to uphold and enhance our collective reputation.

AME Awards: With a growing focus on corporate social responsibility, how are brands authentically communicating their values and impact?

Dr. Candice O'Sullivan: As someone who has worked in brand strategy for a long time, my observation is that it really depends on how these values are treated. Where I see them work best is when a company really invests in understanding what matters to them, articulates this in a meaningful way, and then takes the time to embed these beliefs and philosophies among their team. This ensures that the values are not just ‘window dressing’ – rather, they align with what the brand is saying about itself and thus genuinely resonate with its audience.

AME Awards: What challenges do brands face in maintaining effectiveness across diverse global markets, and how do you approach creating strategies that resonate across different cultures?

Dr. Candice O'Sullivan: In my experience, brands can face significant challenges in maintaining effectiveness across global markets, which include cultural differences, language barriers and regulatory disparities. Overcoming these obstacles relies on conducting robust research, tailoring messaging and imagery to the local context, and working with local experts where possible. Culture-specific strategies can be particularly challenging in my specialty (healthcare), because the regulatory environment differs substantially across global markets.