NZ Marketing

NZ Marketing is the magazine for Kiwi marketing professionals, covering marketing, advertising, and ad media.

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NZ Marketing

What did they say? • Here are a few of the industry voices in this issue.

YouTube NZ Marketing Awards 2026: enter now • Check out our online archive of past winners and their work.

How to sell the value of social marketing • When it comes to determining ROI on behaviour change campaigns, pitch the finance not the philosophy, says EECA’s Russ Duncan.

Platforms will hold the power • Infrastructure is marketing’s next advantage, says Suraj Barnawal from Together.

ONE WAY can be OK • Maree Lockie wrote her doctoral thesis on parasocial relationships and how those built on authenticity reshape consumer trust. She take us through her findings.

Put the Southon your media plan • With more than 20 publications – and ODT.co.nz – Allied Media can deliver you the South Island, says national sales manager Nic Dahl.

The search bar and the shopping basket • Customers are more digitally savvy than ever as shopping apps and online experiences take a central role in retail media. But how does that translate in store? Cartology New Zealand’s Samantha Osborne has been decoding customer behaviour at Woolworths.

NBR’s copyright battle with the giants • If it’s good enough for Netflix to stop password sharing, it’s good enough for small Kiwi businesses, say National Business Review co-editors Calida Stuart-Menteath and Hamish McNicol. They tell the story of why the title decided to take on the IRD.

A year of magic • In less than 12 months, Thompson Spencer Group has moved from merger to momentum. The combined business has gone ‘boof’, says CEO Melanie Spencer.

The Pixels will be epic • The Pixel Awards, created by Lumo to celebrate creative use of digital out of home media, is growing in popularity and will be expanded this year. We spoke with Lumo’s creative lead Rex Carpenter and chief technology officer Robin Arnold about the history of the awards, and why this year’s Pixels will be the biggest yet.

Welcome to the real world • The real outcome of a live event isn’t reach, impressions or foot traffic. It’s connection: the hardest-earned and most valuable result a brand can create. Craig Muller from Uno Loco talks us through how to get it right.

Five non-negotiables your event partners should live by

From letterbox to intelligence • CEO Struan Abernethy on how Reach became a data-led, AI-ready marketing group.

How to stay ahead in 2026 • The MA has expanded its development pathways to help you upskill this year.

marketing

Sharpen your pencils • Marketing doesn’t always get the respect it deserves. It should be the engine room of any business, but are we fulfilling that promise? Get ready to consider what’s compelling and what’s colouring-in.

A wider lens • Marketing missing the mark? You might need a broader range of people in the room, says YouTube NZ Marketing Future Marketer of the Year 2025 Simran Wadhawan.

Are we teaching marketers the wrong things? • Perhaps marketing isn’t taken seriously (by some) because we’ve forgotten to teach new generations its ultimate job: driving sales. NosyHQ’s Kathryn McGarvey reports.

Marketing is a relationship machine • Tactical skills are important. But marketers who invest in building trust, access and influence with stakeholders deliver compounding value, says WPR’s James Chen.

Busy, visible …but is it working? • Constant activity has become the norm for marketers in Aotearoa, leaving little time for asking the hard questions – like, what is all this meant to achieve? Think Folk’s Courtney Henderson issues a challenge to the industry: slow down, think and stop mistaking momentum for...