Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 80 2024 i NZ Marketing

Kia ora team, and welcome to issue 80 of NZ Marketing, where we’re celebrating every winner at the YouTube NZ Marketing Awards 2024. Hearty congratulations to everyone who came away from Awards night with a trophy – it’s been inspiring to delve into your work and present it within these pages. Times are tight and many organisations face shrinking budgets or reduced income, making the level of creativity and ingenuity shown by brands and their marketing partners even more impressive. We have case studies of each category winner – look for the red-edged pages in the middle of the magazine, starting on page 38. Not everyone can win, of course – though being a Marketing Awards finalist is an impressive feat, especially this year when we had a record number…

Global retail guru Steve Dennis hit the nail on the head when he said: physical retail isn’t dead, boring retail is. If we know this, why is so much of it still boring? It isn’t because retailers are lazy, or because they don’t care. It’s a structural problem. Physical retail used to be the preserve of Ops and Property teams, with a simple KPI: boost sales and lower operating costs. Over the last decade or two, it’s become more than a transactional platform. Physical retail is a media touchpoint, a brand experience, an acquisition tool, a retention play and obviously still a sales and distribution mechanic. This means many more internal retailer teams are involved. Want to change the instore experience? Here are the stakeholders: HR for team management, Ops…

The $5000 campaign budget was miniscule, but online investment platform Sharesies not only smashed its targets, it ended up with spare change – spending just $3,558 to launch its savings account. With cooling markets and rising inflation, Sharesies had to accelerate product expansion plans and radically rethink its business and marketing strategies. “Negative economic impacts were being reflected not only in our bottom line but also in the behaviour of investors on our platform,” Sharesies says. “People were reducing how often and how much they were investing. Further research revealed that for many, investing is seen as discretionary spend. Something that they factored in after saving.” Enter ‘Sharesies Save’: a high-interest savings account with a mandate to launch in mid-2023. “From the outset, our objective was clear. While rapidly diversifying…

in association with Fee Cortis Head of Marketing, Blunt How have you incorporated sustainability and eco-friendly practices into your marketing initiatives? At Blunt, sustainability is in everything we do. This year, we’re proud to have achieved B Corp certification – the only umbrella brand in the world to do so. This certification underscores our commitment to continual improvement across all areas. We’ve revamped our packaging, eliminating all plastic and switching to FSC-certified card stock. For trade marketing, we’ve adopted recyclable POS substrates to ensure our in-store activations are more sustainable and circular. Collaborating with local artists, we create beautiful canopy designs, and proceeds from every sale support Forest & Bird. We also promote our ethos of “buy once, buy right, and repair-before-replace” through social media, encouraging consumers to make thoughtful,…

Before it launched ‘That’s Shopping Different’, FreshChoice says it “simply existed” as an option. “People felt slightly positive about us. If it was school, we didn’t bully you, but we also didn’t play with you. We lacked real connection with New Zealanders, and we weren’t meeting our business objectives,” say the marketing team. The supermarket franchise has 51 stores nationwide with 51 different owners, but it admits there’d been a “severe lack of marketing support” for owners in the brand’s 29-year history. “We had zero brand foundation, purpose, or values. Behind the logo we barely had a brand at all,” FreshChoice says. With franchise owner WDL (a division of Woolworths NZ) consolidating the SuperValue and FreshChoice brands into one, FreshChoice finally had a decent marketing budget to work with. It…

Sponsored by Last year, Prolife Foods worked with its brand Mother Earth to bring new product Nutty Sensations to market. These were small packs of flavoured snack nuts, the likes of Smokey Spanish Cashews or Maple and Coconut Almonds. And while this might seem to be a simple product extension story, Prolife describes it as being quite the opposite. The aim was to create a taste experience destination, but snack nuts is a mature and fiercely competitive category in FMCG – put simply, nuts have been around a very long time. To create growth in a significant and meaningful way, the solution had to be innovative, the marketing sound and most importantly, had to limit any cannibalisation of existing Mother Earth products – known and trusted for its snack nuts…

Sponsored by In 2023, many Kiwis were faced with soaring bills that left them anxious about how they would be able to afford their mortgage repayments. This caused a dramatic increase in switching and threatened ANZ’s position as Aotearoa’s market leader in home loans. In an industry worth $348 billion, a share loss of one basis point is worth $34.8 million in lending value. ANZ was now faced with a decreasing pool of customers and an increasingly competitive market. The solution ANZ came up with was two pronged: not just a good rate, but also offering good service – giving Kiwis a reason to talk to them first. ‘Home Loan Check In’ was a campaign that balanced the service void plaguing the market, but also acknowledged the price sensitivity Kiwis…

Winter is a period of significant illness – most of which can be prevented, according to Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora, the national health body tasked with managing the annual surge of sickness. “People spend more time together inside, sharing viruses and germs more readily, leading to an increase in respiratory and other illnesses. People often turn up to emergency departments or acute care for treatment, further spreading viruses and impacting a health system already under pressure,” says the service. Health NZ had the challenge of talking to a post-Covid population – an audience who were fed up with being told what to do, but still needed persuasion and information on what to do when sick. “We knew there was still a guilt associated with a cough or…

Every year, more than 1.1 million New Zealand adults go hiking or tramping, with thousands getting injured, hundreds requiring search and rescue, and a handful never making it home. The NZ Mountain Safety Council’s mission is ‘enabling people to enjoy their outdoor recreation safely’, and its prevention work has successfully reduced the rate of serious injuries, search and rescues, as well as fatalities in New Zealand’s outdoors. Central to its success is Plan My Walk, an evolving app and website that saw remarkable growth during its latest 2023/24 campaign. “Our strategy was to provide local inspiration for summer adventures. We showed outdoor enthusiasts how their region could be ‘even better’ with Plan My Walk, helping them enjoy ‘even better adventures’,” the MSC says. “We combined stunning imagery of walking tracks…

Sponsored by In late 2023, Woolworths announced it was bringing its Australian loyalty programme, Everyday Rewards, to New Zealand in 2024. A massive shake-up in the loyalty landscape was coming. New World needed to promote the benefits of its Clubcard, but customers were over the “maths and mechanics” of programmes – (“spend x get y, double points for this, save on that …”), and there wasn’t time to make changes. So New World delved into Clubcard data, leaning in early to its new brand positioning, “Find your wonderful”, due to launch a few weeks later. “Our Clubcard data held a wealth of true stories ready to be uncovered,” New World says. “Finding these stories and telling them in a warm and humorous manner would give Clubcard emotional scale along with…

Sponsored by Kids are digital savvy – sometimes too savvy. When parents put their devices in walled gardens, Kiwi youngsters can get around them. Education efforts on internet safety fail to resonate – because, frankly, they’re dull. And even Netsafe says hard and fast rules around phone use just don’t work. 2degrees wanted to help children getting their first phone. The company knew a campaign for tamariki needed to feel like part of everyday culture, while containing information about safety and positive phone behaviour. “We know that tweens and teens can sniff out a commercial message a mile away, so we needed to package up content into something they’d wanted to listen to, something they felt like they’d discovered on their own,” says the 2degrees marketing team. 2degrees identified grime,…

Changing behaviour around food is tough, especially when it comes to waste. Life is busy, and it’s all too easy to forget what’s lurking in the back of the fridge, and then throw it away. Out of sight, out of mind. When TBWA\ NZ got the brief that Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW) wanted to stop people wasting food, Creative Lead Frank Garguilo says it was a “big ask”. “Like, how do you make a dent in food waste? How do you stop people wasting food?” he says. “From the beginning, we knew the food waste issue was a big deal. So we just set out to make a really big deal out of it.” Kiwis waste more than 157,000 tonnes of food every year – that’s $3.2 billion worth.…

When I started Ethique in my university student kitchen back in 2012, our brand was about more than just selling products. It was about our mission to ‘rid the world of plastic bottles’. Often, a goal like that can come across as disingenuous so the only reason people believed in it, and therefore our brand, was by communicating authentically. By sharing my journey, values, and passion for sustainability – and infusing that into the brand – I created a narrative that resonated with consumers. Founder-led marketing can have massive benefits for brands. If done well, it uses the founder’s vision, passion and authenticity to build a strong brand identity and connect with consumers on a deeper level. Of course, to work, it has to be genuine. It also comes with…

Murray, at a recent Research Association New Zealand conference, you spoke literally of a sense of resonanace – a music if you like – that lets you know you’re onto something big. Tell us a bit about that. Because as researchers, we operate in the realms of other peoples’ worlds, we are attempting to discover what makes those people feel what they feel. Music is a metaphor that enables me to make sense of all the stories and data we hear. So I know I am starting to make sense of it all when I feel the underlying rhythm, tempo and key of the presentation. Sometimes this process just naturally flows from the outset. Other times it can take days of rewrites and Post-it notes on the wall to reveal…

Sponsored by In the cut-throat world of banking, customers are quick to shop around and brand metrics can rise and fall almost as quickly as interest rates. To stand out from the pack, in 2021 ANZ launched a new brand platform – ‘We Do How’ – to go further than the broad philosophies offered by other banks, empowering Kiwis with the practical tools and knowhow to improve their financial situation. “To put this promise in the context of everyday Kiwi life, and bring consistency to ANZ’s output, we created the Sharma family,” ANZ’s marketing team says. “Through the Sharmas we could tell product stories – such as Good Energy, offering home loans for green upgrades – with emotion that has helped ANZ continue to lead the market.” After 18 months…

Sponsored by Marketing Co-ordinator Lia Carruthers is a “crucial member of our marketing team and one of the top performers in the company”. So says Mike Murray, General Manager of Farrah’s, a business that specialises in wraps and tortillas. She’s barely completed her studies – having received her marketing degree less than two years ago from Victoria University of Wellington – and already Carruthers has reinvigorated Farrah’s digital presence. This is her first job, but the world of marketing is not new to her. “My mum’s passion for marketing and communications meant I was lucky to have some insight into the industry growing up,” she says. “The unique skillset needed to be a successful marketer – creativity, strategic and critical thinking, research, data analysis, communication and interpersonal skills – intrigued…

NZ Post faced a challenge. How do you get customers to send their parcels by NZ Post courier instead of economy mail? As courier services see huge growth, NZ Post was looking to keep its market share but also improve margins. Research uncovered two key insights: many customers didn’t realise NZ Post’s economy parcels went through the postal network, and a main motivation to send by courier was emotional – people wanted reassurance their item would be taken care of. There were a couple of hurdles to overcome. Firstly, upgrading to courier service cost $2 more. Secondly, courier bags were often stored behind the counter, so customers had to queue to buy the bag, then again to drop it off. And there were different bags for international and domestic services.…

Real Kiwi pets got in on the act for AA Insurance’s brand platform ‘You don’t know what they’re up to – so let them play a little freer’. Dog and cat mischief was used to empower and reassure owners not to worry because they are insured with AA Pet Insurance. It’s estimated that 64% of households in Aotearoa have pets, the second highest in the world per capita, compared to the US at 67% – but only 25% of owners have pet insurance. It presents a big opportunity, but newcomer AA Insurance, which only established a pet offering in 2019, was finding it hard to gain a foothold. A lack of awareness and modest budgets found the insurance company with 9% market share, behind the big dogs – Southern Cross…

Sponsored by ASB Bank’s latest sponsorship campaign is unusual for a financial institution: it’s a song, backed by neuroscientists – and EEG imaging technology proves it reduces anxiety. Bagels by Benee is a chill 60bpm. It’s a non-looping melody in the cheerful key of C-major. There are no sharp drums and the animated music video features smooth colour transitions and hypnotic swaying organic forms. It was conceived after ASB Bank realised its Youthline sponsorship risked becoming a victim of its own success. When the bank amplified its partnership with Youthline, the helpline received more callers, but there weren’t enough trained counsellors for young people to talk to. “To help struggling rangatahi, we wanted them to call Youthline. But if too many of them did, people would be left on hold.…

In 2024, while Xero helped businesses tackle end of financial year challenges, the cloud-based accounting software business set itself a new challenge: signing up sole traders while building a TikTok presence from scratch. It teamed up with Special PR, encouraging sole traders to think how great it would be to have an extra day to get their finances in shape. Using Leap Year Day and its closeness to the EOFY as inspiration, Xero dubbed Thursday February 29 Sole Trader Thursday. There are about 425,000 sole traders in Aotearoa, but they say they have low levels of financial knowledge and confidence, especially when it comes to tax matters. But every new (tax) year is a chance to do better, so Xero embarked on a bespoke EOFY sub-campaign to reconnect with sole…

They say you can never go back. McDonald’s disagrees. Summer is an important season at Macca’s and often calls for limited-time offers. But all-new menu items are resource-intensive to develop and add complexity to restaurant operations. Amid the staffing and inflation pressures of 2023, McDonald’s went back to the drawing board. “We decided to prioritise simplicity and service levels by reintroducing the iconic Kiwiburger,” says McDonald’s NZ marketing team. There was just one drawback: the Kiwiburger lacked novelty factor. It wasn’t an entirely new item and it had been brought back relatively recently – in 2020. There were also two distinct audiences to engage: those who remembered “the good old days”, when Kiwiburger was a menu staple, and Gen Z – who weren’t even born at the height of its…

It’s a big day for Jason Paris when we talk: his daughter’s 11th birthday. He’s excited about the milestone, but it’s not unusual for him to talk about his family. His homelife has been a priority throughout his impressive career – starting in banking and sales, then a senior marketing job at McDonald’s followed by senior exec roles in tech, media and telecoms. He oversaw the largest ever capital return to shareholders in the country’s history, but he’s also about giving back to the community. He was on the Make-A-Wish Foundation board for many years, is a current board member of Ngai Tahu Holdings and is passionate about helping disadvantaged young New Zealanders reach their potential. Looking at your career so far, what are you most proud of? Trying to…

TRA is now in its fourth year of tracking New Zealand’s favourite ads. During this time, we’ve collected more than 12,000 responses to the open-ended question: “What’s your favourite ad on TV at the moment?” Now, with so much data at our fingertips, we’re taking a moment to uncover patterns – with a little help from our friend AI. The insights from our AI analysis provide valuable lessons for marketers aiming to balance the dual objectives of long-term brand building and shortterm sales activation. The most interesting pattern AI identified? What drives sales activation. Long-term brand building Our analysis found that creating positive associations with your brand will build future demand over time – making people feel ‘Good’, ‘Happy’ and ‘Positive’ were among the top emotions linked to favourite ads.…

Marketing budgets are shrinking. In this economic climate, every dollar needs to work, and work hard. Beyond this, viewers aren’t watching linear TV like they used to. Look at some of the seismic shifts in the local media market and TVNZ’s recent announcement that it’s planning for content to be delivered exclusively via its streaming platform. But, if you’re prepared to reconsider the idea of a TV spot as the main marker of famous work, then there’s a more effective – and yes, cheaper – way to get results. Fame isn’t a dirty word Generally speaking, Kiwis aren’t hugely uncomfortable with the idea of fame. But if you’re a brand, it pays off in spades by creating talkability, meaningful engagement and high brand recall. We know that fame-driving work outperforms…

What’s the story behind your book title Keep Shooting Until You See The F…ers Smoke and what inspired you to write it? If you want to know why the book has a weird title, you can blame my grandfather. But you will have to read the book to find out why. However, the idea for this book was born when I was promoted to Executive Creative Director at the tender age of 30. The promotion was a couple of years too early. I didn’t really know what I was doing. It was a very famous agency with an incredible creative pedigree, and it was a very large agency that was going through a very tough time. Clients were not happy, and staff were leaving in droves. I was suddenly given the Sheriff’s…

The new era of Michael Hill honours heritage, looks to future Chadstone, a Melbourne shopping mall described as The Fashion Capital, seems like the logical place to launch the rebranded Michael Hill, marking a new era for the jewellers. Scan the QR code to read the full story on nzmarketingmag.co.nz: Win Damon Stapleton’s new book Highly praised and award-winning creative Damon Stapleton of The Monkeys has launched a new book inspired by his brain dump blog, damonsbrain.com. Titled, Keep Shooting Until You See the F…ers Smoke, the book is described as for creatives. Inspired by his illustrious career, Stapleton has written down the ‘bullets’ that helped his creative process. To find out more, read our Creative Closer profile on Stapleton on page 112. NZ Marketing is giving away two copies…

When you first considered marketing as a career, were you excited about the unique blend of glamour, creativity and influence it offered? Did you think it was perfect for someone like you with a passion for storytelling and a knack for creativity? Did you dream of shaping brands, developing compelling copy and ‘knock ’em dead’ promotional ideas? Yes, of course you did, and quite right! You might not have realised there’s another side to being a marketing professional. It’s not nearly as glamorous and much more demanding of the left side of your brain. There are rules, industry standards and laws to obey. These are set by bureaucrats, lawyers and politicians who seem to be intent on making life difficult for would-be entrepreneurs like you. Don’t they realise you have…

It’s a tumultuous time for the New Zealand retail sector. As big-name international brands including Costco and Ikea make their way here, and cut-price shopping apps like Temu muscle in, consumers have more choice. Meanwhile, figures from NZ Post show Q2 retail spending in 2024 was $13.4 billion, down 3% from Q2 last year. The decline was entirely in in-store spend. Online shopping edged up 1% to $1.39 billion, but still only accounted for 10.4% of overall retail spending. Shopping is now a combination of physical and digital (hence the term “phygital” retail”), and retail marketing experts say it is vital not to neglect the in-store part of the customer journey. Focus on the physical Bruce Gourley, Head of Strategy at retail marketing and media agency Hyper, says the retail…

Sponsored by Facing tough competition in the crucial US market, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare set out to create a tech solution that would make life easier for healthcare providers and patients. F&P was at risk of being locked out of the US obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) market, which is dominated by two large players with a 75% share. These competitors offer a ‘bundled’ ecosystem of masks, software and CPAP devices, which generate air pressure that helps patients breathe. However, F&P has made a strategic decision to move away from bundles, instead focusing on the element that it says matters most: snug-fitting masks that are comfortable and easy to use. This created a challenge: how could the company get masks to US patients without offering the rest of the bundle? F&P…

Sponsored by Goodman Fielder’s Head of Marketing & Category has been lauded for transforming the company’s approach to marketing, unshackling his team and allowing a more creative approach that led to significant sales boosts for key brands. The Marketing Awards entry nominating Coulter highlights the impact he has had on Goodman Fielder’s marketing team and the wider business. “Much like Frankie himself, this submission won’t include any buzzwords, growth hacking, snackable content or gamification. Just good, old-fashioned, tested, proven marketing and people leadership that has turned Goodman Fielder Marketing into the thought leaders and driving force within NZ’s biggest FMCG company. “In the process, he turned doubters into believers, from operations to the CEO, breathing new life into some of our most iconic household brands: Vogel’s, Meadow Fresh, Kaló, Freya’s,…

Sponsored by The famously cost-focused brand has certainly been living up to its motto “Everything we do, we do to save you money” – its marketing budget has been the same for seven years. But that’s not the only challenge for Pak’nSave’s marketing team of seven (eight if you count Stickman himself), led by Head of Marketing Jamie Hodgetts. Pak’nSave is a co-operative, part of Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island, which are both independently run. The 58 stores are owner-operated, and owners are shareholders, spending their own money on marketing. This means marketing decisions aren’t easy, particularly within a model based entirely on (highly scrutinised) cost efficiency. The Pak’nSave marketing team’s Awards entry highlights the complexities involved: “There is a lengthy and hierarchical process to make any shifts…

Sponsored by Colorsteel specialises in residential steel roofing and last year it tasked media agency Together with increasing the volume and efficiency of its digital lead generation in Auckland. This partnership resulted in Roof ID, a machine learning model that uses satellite images to identify roofs in need of replacement and then targets media to those homes. Most re-roofing happens when people are renovating, but Colorsteel found this market had stalled as a result of rising interest rates and the tough economic climate post-Covid. But Auckland’s wild weather in early 2023 revealed an opportunity: homeowners who weren’t renovating but needed a new roof anyway as a result of degradation. Colorsteel knew this group of people typically don’t enter the market until they experience a leak, but proactively identifying this audience…

Sponsored by The irrepressible Tina from Turners character has transformed the brand she represents, changing the perception that buying a used car is a hassle and selling one is even worse. Turners Group had been around for 54 years when it decided it was time for a change. The business wanted to reinvent itself – and increase profit margin – by shifting its wholesale auction model to a retail dealership style. To do that, Turners needed more vehicles to sell, and with Covid and Clean Car regulations affecting supply lines, what better source than the public? Despite having 20 branches across the country – and the brand awareness – Turners wasn’t top of mind for car owners looking to sell. Plus, Kiwis like to do it themselves on forums such…

After 33 years of sponsoring and being synonymous with The Cancer Society’s Daffodil Day, ANZ recognised things had gone “stale”. Its recent QR-code led comms was lacking connection with both customers and non-customers, which also meant a decline in donations. New Zealand’s current cost of living crisis is causing pain not just for businesses, but also for charities where demand is reaching an all-time high, resulting in more and more asking for a slice of Kiwis’ generosity. With people reluctant to open their wallets and facing the additional problem of having to stand out from the crowd, ANZ decided to cut through the clutter with a fresh approach. Instead of going down the typical ‘sadvertising’ route common to charity sector campaigns, ANZ took another road: New Zealand’s sense of humour.…

Named after the shape founder J Heaton Barker drew around the date on his calendar – July 4, 1924 – it has now been 100 years since Four Square started. In that time, the little shop has grown to become one of the most loved brands among Kiwis. Over its century in business, Four Square has become ingrained in Kiwiana culture, with brand mascot Charlie taking his place among New Zealand’s most recognisable icons. But with such a rich heritage, Four Square was faced with a conundrum: how to celebrate 100 years in a way that acknowledged the past but also looked toward the future. “For us, turning 100 was a big deal,” says Diane Clark, Head of Marketing and CX for Four Square. “The biggest opportunity was we’re turning…

On day two of starting Together, Rufus Chuter and Kris Hadley found themselves sitting in a big empty office in the Auckland suburb of Ellerslie. The two colleagues, friends and now co-founders, took one look at each other and thought: “Well, crikey, we’re doing this thing.” That “thing” was starting their own media agency. Six years later, they’re now based in central Auckland. The office is a hive of activity, full of people, desks, computers and plants. “It’s been a really steady but relatively fast growth trajectory from there. We’ve been very lucky that we’ve managed to build a pretty diverse client base relatively quickly,” says Chuter. “That was particularly important because we hit Covid pretty quickly – within 18 months of launching the business. But we were fortunate we…