Thinking about entering the YouTube NZ Marketing Awards? We’e gathered some top advice on how to enter.
The Awards are an opportunity to showcase how strategies and creativity have delivered real results to businesses and brands across the nation and beyond.
If you are looking for some advice on what to put in your entry this year, we have you covered with a host of resources from judges and previous winners.
In 2024, NZ Marketing Association CEO John Miles gatecrashed a meeting at awards sponsor TRA’s office in order to catch up with previous winner Sarah Sandoval and TRA managing partner Karin Glucina.
Sandoval is NZ Post’s GM consumer, retail & marketing and was named Marketer of the Year in 2022. The following year, NZ Post won Excellence in Brand Transformation Strategy.
She shares with Miles some tips as to what makes a good entry for both categories in the video below. Check it out!
Marketing mindset
Convenor of judges Michael Friedberg also has some advice to give on what makes a winning entry. He sums it up in two words: marketing mindset.
“Organisations with a marketing mindset are more likely to have winning entries and deliver business outcomes or move the dial and deliver big results,” he says.
Friedberg describes marketing mindset as a cultural and behavioural shift to integrate marketing principles and customer centricity throughout the entire business.
Read on here to discover the three key aspects he says always stand out in Marketing Awards entries.
Profitable growth
In 2025, international marketing expert Thomas Barta was a YouTube NZ Marketing Awards judge – an act he describes as being both eye-opening and a privilege.
He judged the Brand of the Year category and says it was tough due to the calibre of all entries. But Vogel’s caught his eye for the way it demonstrated profitable growth, moving both customer hearts and wallets.
Barta shares his view on what it takes to be Brand of the Year – like Friedberg, he has three key criteria. Find out what they are here.
Key dates for 2026
- Call for entries: Thursday, March 12
- Entries close: Friday, April 24, 5pm
- Extension deadline: Monday, May 4, 5pm (at an additional $150+GST)
- Judging rounds 1&2: May to July
- Finalists announced: Tuesday, June 23
- Awards night: Wednesday, September 2 at Spark Arena
