The New Zealand Automobile Association and AA Insurance last night took out the Supreme Award at the annual TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards.
The event, which celebrates the best thinking in the marketing industry, was held at Auckland's Cordis Hotel with Te Radar again serving as the MC.
A total of 12 of New Zealand's biggest brands were in contention for the Supreme Award this year after winning their respective categories.
The winners across the sectors were Fly Buys (business-to-business), AA and AA Insurance (consumer products), FMG (financial and banking), Health Promotion Agency (healthcare/beauty), NZME (media/publishing), Movember Foundation (not-for-profit organisation), Auckland Council (public sector), The Warehouse (retail), Samsung Electronics (technology), Air New Zealand (travel/leisure) and Genesis (utilities/communications).
"This year the judges had an extremely difficult task coming to a decision on the ultimate winner," said convenor of judges Michael Friedberg.
The judges, however, determined that the AA "Home Response" campaign was the smartest piece of marketing thinking of the year.
This continues a strong showing for the AA at this event, with the company's chief marketing officer Dougal Swift last year being announced the Marketer of the Year.
That coveted individual accolade this year went to Simon Jarvis, the head of strategic marketing at the New Zealand Racing Board.
There was also a new addition to the Marketing Hall of Fame, with My Food Bag chief executive Kevin Bowler being inducted into the prestigious club, which also counts My Food Bag co-founder Theresa Gattung as a member.
While the Hall of Fame Award looks back at achievements over a career, there was also a nod to the future, with Loyalty NZ's Rebecca Barnett winning the Rookie Marketer of the Year Award.
In addition, to these awards, the event also acknowledged a number of standout performers through the Excellence Awards.
These have evolved over the years in recognition of big changes occurring in the marketing industry.
Among the more recent additions are a pair of awards for longer-term thinking in the marketing industry, one for marketing done in-house at businesses and another for internal marketing campaigns.
In an industry often driven by a shorter-term campaign mentality, the awards for longer-term thinking have quickly become highly coveted among the entrants.
This year, the award for Long-Term Agency Partnership was given to Subaru for its 22-year relationship with Barnes, Catmur & Friends Dentsu, while the Long-Term Excellence Award was handed to utilities company Trustpower.
Winners:
Supreme Award sponsored by TVNZ
New Zealand Automobile Association and AA Insurance, AA Home Response
Individual Awards
Marketing Hall of Fame sponsored by TVNZ
Kevin Bowler
Marketer of the Year sponsored by Energi
Simon Jarvis, New Zealand Racing Board (TAB)
Rookie Marketer of the Year
Rebecca Barnett, Loyalty NZ
Sector Awards
B2B
Fly Buys, Fly Buys Crew Education and Advocacy
Consumer Products & Services sponsored by Skykiwi
New Zealand Automobile Association and AA Insurance, AA Home Response
Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sponsored by BrandWorld
New Zealand King Salmon, Regal Manuka Smoked Salmon
Financial & Banking
FMG, FMG Advice Worth Listening To
Healthcare/Beauty sponsored by Bauer Media
Health Promotion Agency, Oral Health Campaign - Baby Teeth Matter
Media/Publishing sponsored by Nielsen
NZME, Discover More – The Relaunch of nzherald.co.nz Consumer Campaign
Not-for-Profit sponsored by Mailshop
Movember Foundation, Movember
Public Sector
Auckland Council, Safeswim
Retail sponsored by The Radio Bureau
The Warehouse, The Warehouse - Delivering Better Value Everyday
Technology sponsored by Adshel
Samsung Electronics NZ, Samsung Data Drive
Travel/Leisure sponsored by GrownUps
Air New Zealand, Project Blackout / Air New Zealand
Utilities/Communications
Genesis, Genesis: The Start of Something New
Excellence Awards
Best Brand Extension/Innovation
New Zealand Automobile Association and AA Insurance, AA Home Response
Best Brand Transformation
TSB Bank, TSB Brand Relaunch
Best Collaboration
New Zealand Automobile Association and AA Insurance, AA Home Response
Best Emerging Business/New Brand
Earthwise Group, Glow Lab Natural Skincare
Best In-House Marketing sponsored by ICG
NZSki, Early Bird Campaign
Best Internal Marketing Strategy sponsored by ICG
Harrison Grierson, Harrison Grierson HG+ME
Best Marketing Communications Strategy
J H Whittaker & Sons, Nigella! I Was Just Passing….
Best Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
T&G Global, T&G Global Hot Potato
Best Purpose-driven Strategy
BP Oil New Zealand, BP and Surf Life Saving NZ: In it for Life. Together.
Best Use of Customer Insight/Data sponsored by TRA
New Zealand Racing Board (TAB), TAB Training
Best Use of Sponsorship
Health Promotion Agency, Smokefreerockquest 2017
Long-Term Agency Partnership
Subaru and Barnes, Catmur & Friends Dentsu
Long-Term Marketing Excellence
Trustpower, Trustpower Multi-Product Bundling