Excellence in AI Innovation in Marketing

This award recognises organisations that are using artificial intelligence in a strategic, responsible, and innovative way to strengthen marketing capability, performance and outcomes.

It celebrates the thoughtful application of AI across areas such as customer insight, personalisation, creative development, media optimisation, automation and marketing operations. Judges will be looking for more than the use of new tools or isolated experiments. Strong entries will show how AI has been intentionally applied to improve marketing effectiveness, decision-making, capability, learning, or competitive advantage.

Entries should demonstrate clear strategic intent, thoughtful implementation, and meaningful outcomes. These outcomes may include measurable business impact, improved marketing effectiveness, increased capability, operational gains, or stronger customer and brand outcomes. Entries should also show the role of human judgement in guiding the use of AI, and address the responsible use of AI, including ethics, privacy, transparency, and brand integrity.

This category is intended to recognise meaningful progress in the practice of marketing, whether led by a large organisation or a smaller, more nimble team.

Excellence in B2B Marketing Strategy

Open to businesses whose products and services are directed toward other businesses – for example delivery companies, business software, business course providers and more.

Excellence in Brand Transformation Strategy

This award recognises marketing that fundamentally repositioned or reinvented a brand, product or service, delivering measurable commercial impact. A transformation must demonstrate fundamental, strategic change – not just commercial change. This includes master brand, product or service strategy.

Note: The launch must be within the last 12 months – March 2025 onwards.

Excellence in Consumer Products & Services Strategy

Open to companies whose main focus is to market and sell products and/or services for personal consumption by directly engaging and effectively influencing the consumers’ path to purchase. This can include companies specialising in non-FMCG consumer durables, appliances, consumer services and packaged products.

Note: You may not enter this if entered into the Excellence in Fast Moving Consumer Goods Strategy category.

Excellence in Customer & Data-Led Growth

Here judges look for the most outstanding example of a situation where customer/market data was used to provide insights to optimise marketing strategy and performance, design a product or service in fulfilment of a customer need, and/or address retention or acquisition strategy that leads to increase revenue and/or customer satisfaction.

Excellence in Fast Moving Consumer Goods Strategy

Open to companies of all sizes that market products which are purchased on a regular basis, usually inexpensive, and the result of a low-involvement decision-making process.

Note: You may not enter this if entered into the Excellence in Consumer Products & Services Strategy category.

Excellence in Financial & Banking Marketing Strategy

Open to any organisation which provides the market with banking, securities, investments, loans, real estate, credit cards, insurance or other financial products or services.

Excellence in Healthcare/Beauty Marketing Strategy

This category is open to entries from all healthcare, wellness, beauty and pharmaceutical providers, suppliers and resellers (e.g. gyms, haircare services and providers, pharmacy and natural health products, personal services, retirement homes etc.)

Excellence in Long-Term Marketing Strategy

This award recognises marketing excellence over a sustained period of no less than three years. The award will go to the company or brand that best demonstrates how a superior marketing strategy, consistently applied, has driven business improvement over time.

Note: You are not eligible to enter the Excellence in Long-Term Marketing Strategy category if you have won this category in the past three years.

Excellence in Marketing Communication Strategy

This award recognises exceptional marketing communications strategy that has delivered brand and/or revenue outcomes. Judges will consider the communications strategy clearly linked to the target audience, channel planning and strategic messaging, with a clear articulation of return on marketing expenditure.

Excellence in MarTech Strategy

This award recognises the successful adoption and use of marketing tools/technology that support the marketing team in meeting strategic objectives, and has clearly documented overall business benefits.

Excellence in New Brand Development

The judges are looking for the best example of commercial success from the creation of a new business, product or service or an entire brand to meet a market need/opportunity.

Note: The brand/business, product, or service must be less than three years old in order to be eligible.

Excellence in Not-for-Profit Marketing Strategy

Open to not-for-profit organisations/charities only, whose activities involve fundraising, community services or any other activities.

Excellence in Sponsorship Strategy

This category honours and rewards outstanding partnerships of any kind (sports, arts, causes, individuals etc.) and is open to both the recipients of sponsorships and the sponsors themselves. Companies need to demonstrate synergy of the sponsorship with brand values/strategy and business outcomes.

Excellence in Travel/Leisure & Entertainment Marketing Strategy

Open to providers of travel and transportation services (eg airlines, hotels, car rental firms, mass transit systems), tourism providers, cultural attractions, sports, entertainment, venues and vacation properties. Retail and online travel agencies are also included in this category.

Excellence in Utilities/Communications Marketing Strategy

Open to communications and utility companies such as telecommunications carriers, electric/gas power companies, and Internet and broadband service providers.

Best B2B Marketing Campaign

Open to businesses whose products and services are directed toward other businesses – for example, delivery companies, business software, business course providers and more.

Best B2C Marketing Campaign

Open to businesses whose products and services are sold directly to consumers – for example, retail outlets, FMCG or consumer electronics.

Best Data Driven Marketing Campaign

The judges will reward entries that demonstrate where customer/market data has been used to formulate a marketing campaign that resulted in outstanding business results.

Best In-House Marketing Campaign

The judges look for the best example of marketing campaigns that were planned and executed entirely by an in-house marketing or creative team. To qualify, the work must be led and delivered by internal staff – no external agencies, consultants, or marketing partners may be involved, except for printers or media buying services. This could include real-time/social media marketing, branded content campaigns, or innovative digital products/brands such as websites, chatbots, or CX/customer service solutions.

Best Marketing on a Shoestring Budget Campaign

The judges will be looking for the proven effect of a marketing campaign on the success of a business with a total budget of less than $30,000.

Note: Any contra deals need to be included in the budget.

Best Not-for-Profit Marketing Campaign

Open to not-for-profit organisations/charities. This award is for the best fundraising or community service outcome – for example, planting trees, raising money, saving lives, building homes, funding research.

Note: You may not enter this if you entered into the Best Public Sector/Government Marketing Campaign category.

Best Public Sector/Government Marketing Campaign

Open exclusively to government departments and state-owned enterprises.

Note: You may not enter this if you entered the Best Not-for-Profit Marketing Campaign category.

Best Retail & e-Commerce Marketing Campaign

Open to retail and business operations (digital or bricks and mortar) where most of the revenue comes from direct purchase – for example, supermarkets, online retailers, online insurance providers, fast food restaurants and any other type of retail.

Best Social Purpose Driven Marketing Campaign

This award recognises the marketing campaign that best demonstrates how a company’s corporate social responsibility programme has been brought to life. The judges will be looking for campaigns helped deliver a positive impact on the purpose being supported. This may include campaigns focused on sustainable growth, a social or environmental issue, or other purpose-driven activities designed to improve society as a whole. Entries should demonstrate how the campaign was developed and executed, and the role marketing played in bringing the purpose to life and delivering meaningful outcomes.

Best Use of Content Marketing Campaign

This award celebrates how exceptional content supports marketing objectives by blending compelling storytelling with strategic execution to achieve significant business outcomes. Open to all industries and content types, from written articles and videos to podcasts and social media posts, this category is about crafting messages that resonate with audiences and deliver measurable returns on investment (ROI). Submissions should demonstrate a clear strategy, content excellence and quantifiable results.

Best Use of Video Marketing Campaign

This award highlights video marketing excellence, where strategy meets storytelling to produce demonstrable marketing outcomes. Open to entries from all industries, this category celebrates videos shared across various channels showcasing an unparalleled ability to engage audiences, compel action, and deliver a measurable return on investment.

Brand of the Year

This award recognises the brand that has made the most significant impact in its market over the past year, building on its previous achievements. The successful brand will exhibit a deep strategic approach, far surpassing mere tactical efforts. It must showcase outstanding share of voice, financial performance, innovation, creativity and consistency. Judges will assess the brand’s innovation in its holistic approach, scrutinising how it integrates aspects such as product innovation, pricing strategies, distribution channels, strategic partnerships and inventive promotions. This prestigious award is a testament to the creme de la creme of brand excellence in New Zealand.

Marketer of the Future

An award open to those at the very beginning of their marketing careers. This will be awarded to the marketer, who with no more than two years’ marketing experience, and three years’ business experience, has been able to make a significant contribution to a marketing project or initiative within their company over the last 12 months.

Note: Applicants must be NZ residents at time of application.

Marketer of the Year

An award to recognise an exceptional marketing professional. The judges are looking for a marketing leader who has demonstrated success in a diverse range of marketing skills and competencies and has achieved outstanding results throughout their marketing career, with an emphasis on measurable achievements in the past 12 months.

Note: Applicants must be based in New Zealand, and their work must demonstrate impact in New Zealand, even if its reach is global.

Marketing Team of the Year

This award recognises the marketing team that has been instrumental to the success of their organisation. Reinforced by measurable results, demonstrate how your team’s collaborative and strategic approach to marketing has helped transform the performance of your business, within the past 12 months.

Marketing Hall of Fame

An award for individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to the New Zealand marketing industry, who have distinguished themselves in marketing and/or related fields as well as contributed to the betterment of marketing and its reputation. They will have individually motivated others to excel by mentoring, inspiring, training or volunteering and completed their primary careers.

Best Overall Marketing Campaign Award

Overall winner from the Marketing Campaign Awards.

Supreme Marketing Excellence Award

Overall winner from the Marketing Excellence Awards.