2018 Iron Imager Crowned!
• Benztown announced that Sam Wickens, Audio Production Assistant for Capital FM in London, captured the prestigious title of “World’s Best Imager” last Friday, May 4 as the winner of the 7th Annual Iron Imager competition at the Worldwide Radio Summit at the W Hollywood Hotel. Wickens, 26, took on reigning 2017 Iron Imager Champ Brad Leask, 24, Network Imaging Producer, NOVA Entertainment, Sydney, Australia, in the head-to-head live audio imaging competition — the first and only competition of its kind — presented annually by Benztown.
On Thursday, Wickens and Leask demonstrated their world-class imaging skills by producing a promo for a format unannounced until the day of the live competition. This year’s format was CHR. Wickens and Leask used handpicked elements from several of Benztown’s 23 production libraries and an original script created by the Benztown team to create their promo in just 60 minutes. Judges for 2018 Iron Imager competition were John Candelaria, PD of WMGC (105.1 The Bounce)/Detroit, Dom Nero, Creative/Imaging Director of WQHT (Hot 97)/New York and the readers of the Benztown Imaging Blog.
Dave “Chachi” Denes, President of Benztown, said, “Prince Harry came to the USA and won Meghan Markle‘s heart… and Sam came to the USA and won the love and admiration of the Imaging Community the world over. Harry and Sam are both royalty in my book!” Andreas Sannemann, CEO of Benztown commented, “What an epic battle! Two amazing talents and two fantastic pieces of Imaging created in a high-pressure environment — that is Iron Imager to its core. As an Imaging Director myself, I’m so proud of Brad and Sam. Congrats to both… and Sam, buyAshley Bard a beer for the hardcore training!”
Wickens remarked, “To be the winner of such an incredible competition is an unbelievable feeling and one that will take some time to sink in. Thank you so much Benztown for this opportunity! The team at Capital is just as much a part of this win as I am. They made me into the producer I am and taught me everything I know about Imaging. Hopefully I’ll be able to defend my title next year or lose it to one of my peers at Capital.” To hear Wickens’ winning promo, visit benztown.com/ironimager.
