Recognition We’re Proud Of
Independent validation of what our clients achieved
Karen Moloney and the Blue Bean Media team have been recognised locally and internationally for strategic marketing work that delivers real, measurable results - not just good-looking campaigns. Across a range of service-based businesses, the consistent thread is the same: strategy that actually moves the needle.
Below you'll find the awards we've won, the ones we've been recognised as finalists for, and a nod to Karen's earlier experience in corporate learning & development and e-learning - because the strategic thinking that underpins our work today didn't start with Blue Bean.
Cohesive Cross-Media Marketing Powered By The Beanstalk Visibility Framework
Asia Pacific Stevie® Awards 2026
Category: Marketing
Sub-category: Innovation in Cross-Media Marketing
The Business Challenge
Healthcare marketing typically relies on foot traffic and referrals. This award recognises a more deliberate approach - building a fully connected communication system around one evidence-based message, delivered to four distinct audience personas across every relevant channel.
Patients, parents, referral partners, and prospective clinicians all have different needs, different questions, and different places they show up.
Our Strategic Approach
The work started with deep persona development - understanding each audience's motivations, concerns, and communication preferences - then used a human+AI approach to adapt one core message into content that resonated for each group, on each platform, in the format that worked for them.
The result was a cohesive marketing ecosystem where every channel reinforced the others: LinkedIn built credibility with referrers, the email newsletter deepened trust with existing clients, educational content reached healthcare professionals, and in-person workshops and speaking engagements extended the message into the community and peer groups.
All organic. No paid activity.
The Results
8.6% LinkedIn engagement rate (industry benchmark: 2%)
Post volume 1,413% above competitors
Reactions per post double the healthcare industry benchmark
67% average email open rate (industry benchmark: 35.6%)
84.6% of website traffic from Australia, with Sydney the dominant location - confirming the message was reaching the right geographic audience.
What The Judges Said
“A human-centred approach that brings uncommon clarity to a complex healthcare category. The coherence between message, channels, and outcomes is very clear, with strong evidence of business and organizational impact.”
“Blue Bean Media's approach to establish personas (after a deep dive on the founders' vision/mission) and path unique journeys for each is also exemplary and the submission was detailed on this. The cross-channel efforts were also clearly shown from online platforms to onsite speaking engagements to hit the target audience. “
This is a very compelling and insightful entry, one of the best I have read!”
The awards ceremony will be held in Macau on 17th April 2026. Images and video will be added here post-event.
Strategic Marketing Transformation for Psychology Services Practice
2025 Stevie® Awards For Women In Business
Category: Communications & Marketing (Developed for/by Women)
Sub-category: Achievement in Healthcare - Services Marketing
The Business Challenge
A psychology practice with exceptional clinical expertise but a very basic non-mobile responsive website, no social presence, and a digital footprint that didn't reflect their standing. Competitors were visible. They weren't. And they had big plans for growth that needed marketing to match.
Our Strategic Approach
We mapped the founders' vision, mission and values, and built detailed personas for every audience the practice needed to reach - patients, parents, referral partners (GPs, psychiatrists, paediatricians, school leaders), and prospective clinicians.
That human-centred groundwork became the strategic backbone for everything that followed: rebrand (in collaboration with a brand agency), website, social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram), email newsletter, referral partner hub & outreach materials, educational webinars, and a coordinated content programme - all built around one clear, evidence-based message.
Prioritising a deep understanding of who we were talking to, and what they needed to hear, is what turned this from a marketing project into a business transformation.
The Results
+62% revenue growth
Team doubled from 7 to 15
New neuropsychological assessment and education revenue streams established
Second practice location opened
Clinician waitlist created
128% increase in website visits year-on-year
What The Judges Said
“This nomination demonstrates a textbook example of strategic marketing transformation. Blue Bean Media not only rescued a failing digital presence but repositioned a practice into a market leader, achieving impressive growth in revenue, team size, and digital engagement far above industry benchmarks. The phased approach, integration of clinical credibility with approachable branding, and alignment with long-term business goals are outstanding. “
“The initiative demonstrates thoughtful positioning and a clear focus on improving visibility for service-based experts.”
“Your strategic approach delivered truly impressive results - significant growth, a powerful rebrand, and meaningful digital expansion. Well done!”
See something here that looks like your business problem?
Collaborative Approach To Profile Building
Stevie® Awards For Women in Business 2022
Category: Communications & Marketing
Sub-category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Marketing - Business to Business
The Business Challenge
This Gold Stevie was awarded for a collaboration between Karen Moloney of Blue Bean Media and Annette Densham of Award Writing Services (then director of PR agency The Audacious Agency), for strategic work building the profile and authority of a female founder of a Sydney accounting firm.
The firm had a strong reputation but had reached a growth plateau. Their existing client base was solid, but visibility beyond their immediate network was limited. To grow, they needed profile - and a strategy to build it deliberately, rather than waiting for referrals to arrive.
Our Strategic Approach
Over 12 months, Karen and Annette combined marketing strategy and media pitching into one coordinated programme.
Rather than one generalist agency attempting everything, two specialists brought their respective expertise to a shared goal -raising the firm's profile with the right audiences, consistently, over time.
Content strategy built the firm's authority and voice; PR secured the media placements and speaking opportunities to amplify it.
By combining Karen’s marketing strategy expertise with Annette’s PR and media capability, we achieved results for our client that neither of us could have delivered alone.
The Results
20% increase to bottom-line revenue
Multiple speaking engagements secured
Email newsletter open and click-through rates above industry benchmarks
The firm became a destination employer, attracting accountants wanting to work there.
Tired of marketing that looks good but doesn't move the needle?
Finalist Recognition
We've also been nominated for awards and shortlisted as finalists across a number of other industry and business awards - for ourselves and for work we do with clients.
We might not win them all, but we're consistently in the room.
Award: Women in Finance Awards 2024
Nominee: Karen Moloney
Category: Innovator Of The Year + Thought Leader Of The Year
Project: Accounting Innovators Community: Marketing & Partnerships
Award: Ignition Top 50 Women in Accounting 2024
Nominee: Karen Moloney
Category: n/a
Project: Accounting Innovators Community Marketing & Partnerships
Award: Bx Business Excellence Awards 2021
Finalist: Karen Moloney & Blue Bean Media
Category: Marketing: Digital & Social
Project: Accounting Innovators Community Marketing & Partnerships
Award: Australian Accounting Awards 2021
Finalist: Blue Bean Media & Accounting Heart
Category: Marketing Program Of The Year
Project: Accounting Heart Marketing Ecosystem
Award: Women In Finance Awards 2021
Nominee: Karen Moloney
Category: Marketing Professional Of The Year
Project: Accounting Heart Marketing Ecosystem
You didn't start your business to spend your days scrambling for clients.
Let's design a marketing strategy that works for you.
Before Blue Bean:
Award-Winning eLearning & Training
Before Blue Bean Media, Karen ran a successful e-learning and training business, recognised with both local and international industry awards for learning design and educational innovation.
The shift from learning design to marketing strategy isn't as big a leap as it sounds. Both disciplines start in the same place: understanding the real problem before reaching for a solution.
Not every business challenge needs a training programme - just like not every visibility problem needs more social posts.
WINNER
2010: LearnX Best Instructional Designer: Karen Moloney
2011: LearnX Best Instructional Designer: Tonia Forlani
2012: LearnX Best Instructional Designer: Tonia Forlani
2012: LearnX Best Instructional Designer: Melissa Bordogna
2012: LearnX Best Learning Partnership: The eLearning eXperts, Tramada Systems & Easy Authoring
2013: LearnX Best Instructional Designer: Nicole White
2013: LearnX Best Learning Partnership: The eLearning eXperts, APCA & Mainspring
2013: LearnX Best Online Learning Program: Get Smart About Card Fraud Online
2014: The eLearning Age (UK) Best eLearning Project: Catch Me If You Can
2014: LearnX Best eLearning Compliance Program: Catch Me If You Can
2014: LearnX Best Learning Partnership: The eLearning eXperts, SNP Security & Easy Authoring
2014: LearnX Best New Technology Implementation - eLearning Widespread Adopter: The eLearning eXperts & SNP Security
The work always starts with comprehensive analysis - of the business, the audience, the goals - and the solution follows from there.
That strategic approach which is recognised in large corporates with significant budgets is the same approach Karen brings to small service businesses today - because if anything, smaller businesses need sharper strategy, not less of it.
When time, budget and resources are limited, there's no room for solutions that don't get results.
FINALIST
2011: LearnX Best Training Provider: The eLearning eXperts
2011: LearnX Best Training Team: The eLearning eXperts
2012: LearnX Best Instructional Designer: Adan Weeks
2012: LearnX Best Online Learning Program: The Tramada Learning Journey
2013: ILP Worldwide – Australian Learning Impact Award: Karen Moloney
2013: LearnX Best eLearning Design – Video: The eLearning eXPerts, APCA and Mainspring
2013: LearnX Best New Technology Implementation – eLearning Widespread Adoption: The eLearning eXperts and APCA
2013: LearnX Best eLearning Model – Online: The eLearning eXperts and APCA
2013: LearnX Best eLearning Model – Bespoke/Custom: The eLearning eXperts and APCA
2014: The eLearning Age (UK) Best eLearning Compliance Program: Catch Me If You Can
2014: LearnX Best Instructional Designer: Tonia Forlani
2014: LearnX Best eLearning Model – Bespoke/Custom: Catch Me If You Can
2014: LearnX Best New Technology Implementation - eLearning Adopter: The eLearning eXperts & SNP Security
