Anna Lawrence is a Marketer of the Year finalist in the YouTube NZ Marketing Awards 2026.
The winner will be announced on September 2.
Name: Anna Lawrence
Job title: GM marketing & media partnerships, Auckland Transport
In a couple of sentences, sum up your career so far.
I’ve spent over two decades building and transforming brands. From FMCG with Lion, Pernod Ricard, DB, Asahi, to retail with The Warehouse, and now public sector with Auckland Transport.
Every chapter has taught me the same lesson: when you give people a brand worth feeling something about, the commercial results follow.
Without a doubt, AT has been the most challenging chapter, but the aim is the same as it has always been, take on a brand that needs to be significantly better, build the right strategy, make it relevant in people’s lives and deliver transformational results.
For AT, that means helping the people of a car-loving city fall in love with public transport.
It’s a massive goal, but I believe deeply in Auckland’s potential, and it is incredibly rewarding to see the difference we are already making.
How have you used out of home in recent campaigns?
OOH is AT’s primary media channel, and AT is New Zealand’s single largest out of home media owner, so it’s not just a media choice, it’s part of how the city experiences us.
Because our media sits within the network people are already moving through, often literally on the buses, trains and ferries they are using, it lets us meet Aucklanders in the right moment, not just in the right place. That makes the channel work harder. The message feels contextual, useful and part of the journey itself, which is why OOH is so powerful for AT. And that was the thinking behind ‘Joy rides’ last Christmas.
After a tough year for Aucklanders, we wanted to use our network to create a moment of joy, while keeping public transport front of mind for shopping, outings and summer social plans. We partnered with six brands and wrapped nine buses as giant gifts, sending them across Auckland for five weeks as moving pieces of festive media. Seeing one of our double deckers become a highlight of the Santa Parade, and hearing people say a bus had genuinely made them smile, was a lovely reminder of what can happen when the medium is part of the magic.
We’ve taken the same approach across our other work too, using the scale and visibility of the network to make campaigns feel part of Auckland life.
For Diwali, we worked with Auckland’s Indian community to turn a double decker into a travelling canvas of colour, culture and storytelling. It connected with people here, then travelled far beyond Auckland streets, with heart-felt engagement reaching us all the way from India.
For our ‘Public transport benefits’ campaign, we pushed the format again with Phantom, creating a K’Road billboard with automatic doors that opened as people walked past. It made the benefit of public transport feel instant and tangible, turning one of Auckland’s most-watched sites into something people could experience, not just see.
For City Rail Link, we made the future network map the hero, placing it across the city and on double decker bus wraps so Aucklanders could start to picture how connected their city was about to become. More recently, our CRL opening creative took over the afternoon rush hour, celebrating the date that Aucklanders had been waiting for.
When you own the network people move through every day, it becomes part of the storytelling.
How do you incorporate sustainability into your marketing initiatives?
Sustainability is not a campaign we run alongside the brand, it is both the product truth and the marketing truth, and it is baked into our strategy.
Mission Electric is our promise to fully electrify the network, and we are already well on our way. Our trains are 100% electric, we now have 427 electric buses and counting, the most in Australasia, and our first electric ferry, Waitematā 1, is on the water.
We talk about sustainability because it is not just a message, it is something Aucklanders can see, ride on and experience for themselves.
That proof is starting to shift perception. Aucklanders who have seen our advertising rate AT nine to 12 points higher across every reputation measure, including how sustainability-focused they think we are.
We also hold our partners to the same standard. QMS, our out of home partner, is moving its network onto renewable energy and measuring its footprint. And when we filmed our WX1 video, the whole crew travelled around Auckland on an electric bus, a small but important example of practising what we promote.
Sustainability credentials and targets are part of how we define good marketing partnerships, not a nice-to-have.
A highlight from the past year?
There have been so many highlights this year, but City Rail Link is a standout.
The CRL ‘Map moment’ has been incredibly satisfying to watch, because there is something powerful about seeing people study a map and suddenly realise all the places they’ll be able to get to. The open days have added to that sense of pride, with thousands of Aucklanders experiencing the stunning new stations for themselves.
Auckland deserves public transport infrastructure that is not only functional, but beautiful and worth feeling proud of. Our partnership with NZ Fashion Week, including the video shot in the new Te Waihorotiu station, was one of my favourite smaller initiatives because it helped show the stations as part of Auckland’s culture, not just its transport network.
WX1 was another highlight because it showed what happens when you build local relevance into the idea from the start. Rather than simply launching a new electric bus route, we wanted West Aucklanders to feel a sense of ownership over it. Local rappers Church & AP wrote a track with lyrics that referenced every stop along the WX1 route, and we launched the song and music video as the campaign. The response was strong, and it made the route feel like it belonged to the west.
It’s also rewarding that our marketing strategy and initiatives are now being recognised as a benchmark for public transport marketing in Australasia. Being able to share what we’re learning with others, and help lift the whole industry, is something I am proud of.
A big highlight is that the work is moving the dial. AT has delivered the largest reputation improvement of any public sector brand in New Zealand in a decade, with emotional connection a key driver, proof that our customer-centric marketing strategy is changing how Aucklanders feel about AT and public transport.
With campaign scores beating both AT and global benchmarks, alongside patronage growth, we are shifting behaviour in one of the world’s most car-dependent cities.
Another huge highlight is the team. I feel incredibly lucky to work with people who are not only talented, but resilient, committed to making the work better. And they are just good people. They have delivered exceptional results while navigating ongoing organisational transformation since October 2025. Through it all, we have stayed aligned around our vision, challenged each other to keep improving, supported one another and protected a culture that I am genuinely proud of.
Having more finalists in the NZ Marketing Awards than any other brand this year, with 11 campaign and two strategy placings, plus Team of the Year, means a huge amount.
It is not down to one campaign or one person. It’s the result of four years of consistent strategy and a team that has shown up again and again with courage, curiosity and craft. Being nominated by Federation and selected as a finalist for NZ Marketer of the Year is also a very special personal career highlight.
What are you looking forward to?
I’m genuinely looking forward to the next era of AT.
By October 2026, we will have a single-minded focus on public transport, and the timing couldn’t be better. With City Rail Link opening in September, Auckland will finally have the missing connection that brings its bus, train and ferry network together. It will not only change how the network works, but it will also change the customer experience and give people new reasons to choose public transport.
We have spent three years priming Aucklanders, building trust, emotional connection and momentum. Now CRL gives us the platform to turn that momentum into lasting habits. It is a genuine once-in-a-generation opportunity to help Auckland become a true multi-modal city.
I’m excited to be part of building that future for both AT and Auckland.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 88, Sept-Nov 2026. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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