NZ Marketing Issue 84 2025

As you read this, the sparkle and applause of the YouTube NZ Marketing Awards will be in the rearview mirror. But as we go to press, it’s still ahead. The NZ Marketing mag team have been immersed in the Awards for weeks now, writing up stories of the winning work behind each trophy. Our coverage begins on page 36. You’d think these tales might get repetitive (marketers think up campaign or strategy, it works, sales go up), but each winner excelled by doing it their way. Frank Sinatra would be proud. Or, as Thomas Barta – marketing leadership guru and this year’s Brand of the Year judge – puts it: they were unmistakable. Read his thoughts on page 38. It’s a theme several pieces in this issue touch on, and…

Shane Bradnick Chief creative officer, TBWA\New Zealand: “With algorithms giving you itineraries and with social media like Instagram, everyone’s posting the same picture.” Joe Harawira Co-founder and managing director, Wai Mānuka: “We need to let entrepreneurs be entrepreneurs – to try things, to make mistakes.” Jenni Ryan Chief marketing officer, AA: “It is such an honour to be working with a 120-year-old brand… This has got to be the brand in terms of its heritage.” Pen Brown Managing director, media, at Together: “There’s a gnarly road ahead, I’m sure, but that’s the silver lining for indies: we are in control of our own destiny.” Zoe Madden-Smith Voyager-winning multimedia journalist, Re: News: “Writing for an audience that’s literally you is awesome.” Melanie Spencer Co-CEO, Thompson Spencer Group: “This is where marketing’s…

Top Dogs of Marketing is where we celebrate the goodest doggos and their extremely valued contributions. Join us online on Fridays as we honour the fluffy four-legged co-workers who bring joy to the office. They might not have the paws to manipulate a spreadsheet or a keyboard, but their snuggles and tail wags contribute to productivity. We kicked off proceedings with Kindred Studio’s chief nap officer Pockets. Since then, we’ve featured the Marketing Association’s Louis, the crew at Phantom Billstickers, Reach’s head of security Bear, Otto the welcome officer at Alexanders, ‘chief stinker’ Teddy from Thinkerbell Aotearoa, Blaze the official lunch monitor at Tonic and Farrimond and – as we went to press – Tui, FCB Aotearoa’s ‘border colleague’. If you have a very good girl or boy in your…

When McDonald’s launched a limited-edition purple Grimace Shake for its mascot’s birthday, they surely didn’t predict teenagers on TikTok would turn it into a horror-movie meme. Within weeks, the #GrimaceShake trend – videos of kids dramatising grim fates after sipping the shake – had amassed over 3 billion views on TikTok. McDonald’s saw a double-digit sales lift that quarter (a 11.7% global sales increase) as executives marvelled at the viral phenomenon fans had created. The product wasn’t groundbreaking, nor (in my opinion) was it particularly good, but it demonstrated that sometimes the most powerful brand moments happen when marketers let go of the wheel and let the community drive. We’re witnessing a profound shift in how brands are built. The days of companies dictating their identity through controlled campaigns are…

AI is the most talked about disruption in marketing in decades. Depending on who you ask, it’s either a job slayer or a creative muse, a threat to originality or the dawn of a golden age. At Together, we think the reality is simpler: AI isn’t coming for your job. But it is absolutely coming for your processes. From media planning to campaign reporting, content production to audience segmentation, SEO to PR, AI is already stripping out repetition, speeding up decision-making and reducing the manual grind. It’s not here to replace humans, but it is here to liberate us from the work that slows us down. If you thrive on formatting endless decks, combing through CSV files or living in email and Slack, you might feel nervous. But if your…

‘Your brand is your company’s most critical asset. And must be treated like one – by all stakeholders including your C-suite.” This message for marketers from brand strategist Ryan France at Kantar Ignite Auckland is sage advice for navigating ongoing economic headwinds, AI disruption and consumer caution. France’s insights from 20 years of Kantar BrandZ – the world’s most extensive brand equity study – also revealed almost one-third of local brands are shifting towards performance marketing when taking a bolder approach to building brand equity is critical. He says marketers must be bolder as those perceived to be both more Different and Meaningful than competitors grow brand value by a much larger amount. “BrandZ evidence helps challenge your board to support marketing as a measurable investment and not a cost…