NZ Marketing

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

Many hands

NZ Marketing

What did they say?

Rocky Horror exec spills the tea on midnight screenings • He didn’t even like it, but ad manager Tim Deegan wasn’t going to let a detail like that stand in his way.

Social marketing works better when Māori lead it • Research by Dr Tim Antric and Te Awanui Reeder, from Hemisphere and Big River Creative, explain why campaigns that ‘look Māori’ – but operate on the standard behaviour change models – aren’t effective.

The future of search: Why GEO matters • Search isn’t dead. It’s alive and more complex than ever. The question for marketers is this: will AI cite your brand in its answer?

Prepare to manage your brand reputation • If you don’t have a plan before an issue occurs, you’re already several steps behind, says Louisa Kraitzick of Pead and Houston Issues Management.

hot dates

The ROI²TM effect • Creativity and commercial return should be inseparable, say top New Zealand independent creative agency Federation. CCO Brad Collett and managing director Olly Walker-Boden on why the brands that win in 2026 will use ROI² as their multiplier.

Rule change is a boost for indies • The Government’s new procurement rules are a breakthrough for Aotearoa’s independent advertising agencies, say Together’s Annabelle Wilkinson and Georgia McNaught.

Are’s standout year • Lifestyle publisher records 7% growth.

briefs

Digital is in Lumo’s DNA • AI tools and automation are set to change the face of out of home advertising in New Zealand, and Lumo Digital Outdoor is well prepared for the revolution.

marketing

Connect more • As modern tech delivers polished efficiency, the glorious, messy chaos of genuine human input has never been more crucial to producing good work. Keeping it real is what we do best, says Arie Hoeflak.

You don’t win hearts by posting more • AI can help brands churn out more content, faster. But quantity isn’t connection, says Think Folk’s Courtney Henderson. Brand love comes from stories with meaning, context and human spark – which only people can bring.

Chase the dream client • Making powerful work isn’t about household brands and hot categories, says Likeminds’ Noel Blackwell. It’s about genuine human connections.

Fame brings the receipts • As AI rewrites the rules of search, consistent brand meaning and credible proof points make earned media a genuine performance channel for marketers, says Thinkerbell’s Jessica Allison.

Feel the fear and damn well do it anyway • If keeping up with AI feels impossible, here’s how to start.

LinkedIn & lunchboxes • People with kids start the second shift when they get home. They constantly run drives your two full-time campaigns (and the little clients literally can’t tie their own shoelaces). Coping takes a village, a bit of AI and the parent tribe, says Rawinia Dolan.

Fraser keeps it fizzy • DB’s Fraser Shrimpton is on a mission: to make beer ads exciting again.

Introducing…Emerging Marketer Accelerator • A new programme to fast-track the next wave of marketing talent in Aotearoa.

NZ Marketing Association gets behind students

Special strategies • Strategist Nina Richardson loves that there are lots of different right answers… all grounded in truth.

Goals, goddesses and Godzilla • The opening sequence for the Women’s Rugby World Cup needed something more powerful than girly graphics, so Ignite called on artists from all 16 competing nations.

trends 2026

Staff announcements • Audiences crave authenticity. And who better to champion your brand than the people who rep...