| Winner | Westpac |
| Marketing initiative | Black Friday Hangovers |
| Marketing partners | Saatchi & Saatchi, Spark Foundry, Digitas |
| Finalists | ANZ Bank New Zealand, ASB Bank, Generate KiwiSaver Scheme, Kiwibank (two initiatives), SBS Bank |
| Judges’ comments | “A clearly identified issue with a strong and very relevant insight into their target market. This resulted in a step change in strategy and a brave execution designed to break through as a consequence. Clever use of marketing channels and innovative creative to appeal to the target audience. This entry achieved excellent results in their category! Well done to all involved.” |
Gen Z drinks in hangover advice
A major shopping date is the last time of year you’d expect adverts warning against overspending, but Westpac’s bold message hit the mark with young consumers.
The 18 to 29-year-old demographic is crucial for financial institutions, but Westpac found itself lagging behind the other major banks for consideration among this age group.
The bank was losing 18 to 29s twice as fast as it could gain them – not through churn, but through existing customers aging out. So it needed to try something different.
Westpac identified a big issue affecting this cohort: an overabundance of information has led to a mismatch between perceived financial confidence and demonstrated literacy.
Buy now pay later (BNPL) products are one example of this significant knowledge gap.
A survey commissioned by AUT found more than a quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds are in constant debt with a BNPL service. Over 70% have used the service before, and 20% don’t think of BNPL as debt.
Westpac picked Black Friday as the perfect entry point, with a campaign that said the opposite to what everyone else was yelling: be mindful of your spending this Black Friday.
The result? A fresh take on what the aftermath of a Black Friday sale often feels like – ‘a hangover’.
Who won, who they were up against and what the judges had to say.
We bring you all the details for every category in the YouTube NZ Marketing Awards 2025.
There were justified concerns about associating Westpac with a hangover. Aside from brand safety, questions about ‘hangover comprehension and relevancy’ were raised. This generation are the lowest drinkers of any generation before them.
So, the bank tested it. What became evident was, rather than avoid it, they should double down – even collaborating with Kiwi start-up Arepa to create a drink that helped ‘calm the mind during this pressure cooker shopping event’.
This contrarian approach brought real results. ‘Black Friday Hangovers’ led to a 217% increase in visits to Westpac’s Managing your Money pages, with a 146% increase in average time on page.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 84, Sept-Nov 2025. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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