The 2026 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards winners nailed this year’s theme: ‘Celebrating marketing from every angle.’
Now in their 35th year, the Awards were held at Auckland’s Spark Arena on September 2. The evening brings together the industry’s best and brightest to honour outstanding work and the talented people behind it. The black tie affair is hosted by NZ Marketing magazine and the NZ Marketing Association, and once again lived up to its reputation as the premier awards programme in Aotearoa’s marketing calendar with a spectacular show.
After the formalities, celebrations continued with an after party sponsored by YouTube. Christchurch-based Shapeshifter (DJ set) had the sold-out audience dancing hard to their award-winning sound.
Work grounded in local truths
While most of the trophies were taken home by homegrown companies, international brand Samsung New Zealand were honoured with the Supreme Marketing Excellence Award. They had already won Excellence in Long-Term Marketing Strategy for developing a blueprint that spoke to Gen Z here instead of following their parent brand’s worldwide playbook. (Samsung Global has since adopted this approach.)
Meanwhile international judge Jim Lecinski, Clinical Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, chose Trade Me Property as Brand of the Year. A mixture of commercial results alongside dual appeal to Kiwi buyers and sellers as well as estate agents clinched the title.
“I am completely blown away by how they managed to fire on every single cylinder simultaneously during a brutal macroeconomic winter for the property sector.
“I love that they grounded their consumer strategy in the pure human empathy of ‘home is how we live’, bringing back the beloved Kev the Kiwi to win over Kiwi hearts,” says Lecinski.
It was a good night for Trade Me, which also scooped Excellence Awards in two categories: Customer & Data-Led Growth as well as MarTech Strategy.
Westpac’s ‘House of Credit Card Fears’ took out the Best Overall Marketing Campaign Award, as well as two other awards: Best B2C Marketing Campaign and Best Content Marketing Campaign.
Standout marketing
Wendy Rayner, managing director NZ of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners NZ, was the 2026 inductee into the Marketing Hall of Fame. The honour recognises her impressive career as a marketer at TVNZ, Lotto and her contribution to the industry.
Sean Wiggans, who needs little introduction other than he brought us Tina from Turners, was named Marketer of the Year 2026. And Emi Cross – just starting her career at Maverick Tourism Marketing – was a standout for judges, who chose her as Marketer of the Future 2026.
Team of the Year 2026 went to Animates. In the face of strong competition, they put their two and four-legged customers at the heart of all their activities, reshaping the direction of the company and driving strong business results.
And special mention to Greyhounds as Pets for ‘Greathounds’ – an urgent campaign to help rehome dogs ahead of the greyhound racing ban. ‘Greathounds’ sent dogs and designer clothes down the runway during NZ Fashion Week 2025 and picked up Not-for-profit awards in both the Marketing Campaign and Marketing Excellence sections as well as the Best Social Purpose-Driven Marketing Campaign Award.
Three other Kiwi organisations also went home with more than one trophy. AMI and 2degrees won two Excellence Awards apiece while Auckland Transport were celebrating winning two Campaign Awards.
Congratulations to all winners and finalists
“It’s 35 years since these awards were set up as a way to champion the thought process behind successful marketing. Tonight we’ve seen so many ways how strategic thinking can translate into marketing that drives commercial results – and how innovation from Aotearoa can influence global giants. Huge congratulations to all the winners,” says NZ Marketing editor Penny Murray.
“The 2026 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards once again showed that New Zealand marketers are among the best in the world. From Sean Wiggans, Animates to Trade Me Property, and across every category on the night, the winners demonstrated the depth, breadth and quality of marketing talent in this country. It was fantastic to see so many different brands, agencies and individuals recognised for the calibre of their work. Congratulations to all our finalists and winners,” says John Miles, CEO of the NZ Marketing Association.
The 2026 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards are proudly brought to you by naming sponsor YouTube, along with gold sponsors MediaWorks and oOh!media. Our silver sponsor is NZME, and category sponsors this year are Agency Directory, Dish magazine, SCG, Sky, StopPress, TRA and Vistar Media.
Producing the awards alongside NZ Marketing is long-time partner and industry body the NZ Marketing Association.
You can find the full list of winners here.
