| Winner | ASB |
| Marketing initiative | Powering adviser success |
| Marketing partners | Quantum Jump |
| Finalists | 2degrees, BLIS Technologies, Goodman Fielder Foodservice NZ |
| Judges’ comments | “A strategic review lead by marketing, resulting in a classically executed pure play B2B strategy. In a competitive market, the team responsible for this B2B strategy demonstrated an excellent pivot away from being price led and focused instead on the role that customer experience, processes and communications play to drive excellent well measured results. “There was very clear line of sight from the business problem and opportunity, the strategic marketing response delivered and business outcomes. A genuine demonstration of the role, influence and cross-functional collaboration marketing can drive to deliver excellent whole-of-business outcomes.” |
Bank brokers a new partnership
With an avalanche of mortgage refinancing on the way, ASB needed to up its game with a key part of the home lending ecosystem: third-party mortgage advisers.
Home lending is core to ASB’s performance, helping more than 23,000 customers to buy, build or refinance in the FY25 half year.1
Third-party advisers play a critical role in this ecosystem, as customers increasingly rely on them to navigate multiple lenders and negotiate the best offers. In all, 60% of ASB’s home lending is broker-originated.
In 2025, ASB faced a pivotal moment. An unprecedented refinance window meant billions of third-party adviser-originated lending were up for grabs.
ASB entered this period as the No 2 bank among advisers, trailing ANZ, whose perceived speed and consistency made it the default choice for many.
Given advisers typically place most of their business with one or two lenders, even small shifts in preference had significant commercial impact.
ASB needed to fundamentally change how advisers experienced working with the bank, and marketing was the engine.
Historically, growth in the adviser channel had sat with the third-party distribution teams. However, the scale of the opportunity – and risk – required a broader, more integrated marketing response.
The strategic insight was unambiguous: ASB had been engaging advisers as an extension of its own team, rather than as the independent business owners they are.
Fix the relationship
Research identified that a majority of advisers rated their business development manager below benchmark. Processing delays were also a pain point, with a much smaler fraction primarily concerned about price.
The problem wasn’t the product. It was the relationship.
“Powering you, powering homeownership” repositioned ASB from a lender advisers used to the partner that powers their success.
This was a commitment backed up by real operational change.
Marketing drove a cross-functional programme spanning service redesign, a 30-minute refinance process, a red/amber/green application triage model, Priority Pass recognition for top performers and an event series that shifted from product briefings to genuine thought leadership.
The results – delivered against ANZ’s media outspend speak for themselves.
Adviser preference increased significantly above target. Market share saw a double-digit increase, delivering growth above target and generating several billion in lending – well over plan.
Conversion of pre-approved home loans rose, and for every $1 of marketing investment, ASB generated a very healthy return in revenue.
1 ASB annual results/investor reporting (FY24-FY25)
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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