Above: The Quantum Jump team.
New offices, award wins and a raft of distinctive creative work that shifts the dial… strategic marketing indie Quantum Jump has been busy. What does the future hold?
It’s been a huge 18 months at independent agency Quantum Jump.
Off the back of 30% growth, they opened a Sydney office in 2025, with Southern Cross Travel Insurance as a foundation client. It’s led by Rachel Wintle, who was returning from New York. Recently the NZ operation moved into new Auckland offices near Victoria Park.
Awards success has been a highlight. AA, Ingham’s and Sky TV (Neon) have all been named YouTube NZ Marketing Award finalists.
Most recently, Mitre 10 Club’s ‘Discount days’ won Best Loyalty Marketing Initiative at the APAC Loyalty Awards and was a finalist at the International Loyalty Awards. It’s also a finalist at the 2026 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards – alongside other clients ASB and Dricon.
Meanwhile, QJ won at Effies for Firth and CEO Ben Goodale was celebrated on the 2026 Campaign Asia-Pacific ‘50 Over Fifty’ list this year.
“Awards can be a cliché, but we only enter commercial effectiveness awards,” says Goodale.
“I’ve built my career on effectiveness, delivering ROI. Let’s face it, that’s what matters. CEOs and CMOs first need sales, brand NPS, engagement. Not vanity trophies.
“That said, it’s great seeing the clients, teams and work recognised for being impactful.”
Distinctive campaigns have been a feature. For example, the creation of ‘Ray’, the friendly ‘bobblehead’ roadservice officer for AA, and working with ASB’s agency village to celebrate Youth Financial Literacy with the iconic Kashin the elephant.
The creative product is central to QJ’s work. Creative partners Wayne Pick and Drew Ayers have led this area from the start.
“Creative thinking is a powerful differentiator for a brand,” says Pick. “That’s why we have a clear philosophy: we’re in the room from day one alongside planning and data. That’s the only way to make a real creative impact: being part of the journey from the start, not just polishing the end of it.
“The Italians have a lovely word for what we’re after: sprezzatura – effortless grace, the art of making something difficult or complex look completely simple and natural as if no thought went into it at all.
“A lot of craft goes into that kind of simplicity. It may look effortless. It never is,” Pick says.
Specialist strategic marketing
What does QJ focus on? “We’re a specialist strategic marketing agency,” Goodale says. “Loyalty and CRM sit alongside brand and retail creative, digital and marketing automation. Clients come to us because they need heavy-duty thinking, not just an ad campaign. The campaign’s the easy bit.”
A sweet spot is customer loyalty. In 2024, Quantum Jump launched New Zealand’s first independent annual loyalty study, sharing findings with hundreds of marketers both sides of the Tasman.
Amy Watson, head of planning, says: “With many Kiwi businesses facing increasing competition both locally and internationally, the fight for every customer is getting harder and harder. Our study proves the impact well-designed, well-managed loyalty strategies can have on customer decision-making – like 63% saying they shop more often with brands who have a loyalty programme they like. Loyalty programmes support positive NPS and amplify other investments in brand and performance marketing.”
The study, now in its third year, expands into Australia this year.
Science, data… and a little magic
“We fell into loyalty marketing long ago, thanks to Farmers and Subway. Having developed Farmers Club, Subcard, New World Clubcard, the strategy for Club+, Sky Rewards, Mitre 10 Club and more – we’ve such passion for loyalty programmes. The best programmes combine science, data and that little bit of magic… to make the quantum jump you might say,” smiles Goodale.
“We offer deep, genuine experience in those critical decisions, while servicing broader communication needs of clients like brand and digital. It’s a wonderful niche, but supercharged as part of a holistic brand offering.”
Watson adds: “A lot of the work we get most excited about is not stuff that’s particularly PR-able – data strategy, customer journey mapping, automation builds inside Salesforce, Adobe or HubSpot, AI tool integrations. Unglamorous, but so important and transformative for the businesses we work with.”
People are core. Zoë MacDonald-Mair joined on day one and is now group business director. “Growing a culture from such a small tight team to a much larger team now has been a career highlight. We’ve built a strong internal agency culture and this makes our client relationships much stronger too.”
With Sydney growing, and the new vibrant space in central Auckland, Goodale is excited about the future.
“A client recently said to me, ‘What got us here won’t get us where we’re going.’ I love that, it’s a world of constant change and we’re ready for it.”
quantumjump.co.nz
This story is 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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