Get the latest direct to your inbox twice a week. Sign up today. 
Who took home the gongs at the 2025 IAB Awards?
Journalist and presenter Tāmati Ripene-Sproat was the MC for the evening
It was a balmy Thursday evening in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland as digital advertisers descended on Auckland’s Shed 10 for the annual IAB New Zealand Digital Advertising Awards.
IAB New Zealand CEO Angelina Farry welcomed the crowd with the news that it was the biggest awards night in the organisation’s history – the sold-out show boasted 470 guests.
Is the scale-up a sign of the times? Award entries were up 20% year-on-year and the winners were decided by a judging panel made up of 130 industry experts.
The digital advertising industry in Aotearoa itself also delivered more than $2.4 billion in revenue last year, adds Farry – a stat that was met with cheers from the crowd.
Starting with sales
After Farry’s short but sweet welcome, MC Tāmati Ripene-Sproat led the charge, announcing the winners of the Sales and Ad-Operations category as guests tucked into their starters.
Josh Turney (formerly of oOh!media, now of Vistar Media) won gold in the Digital Sales Excellence (Individual) award category, whereas Sky took out gold in the Digital Sales Excellence (Team).
The golds for Digital Ad Operations Excellence Individual and Team went to Stuff Group’s Hayden Tan and Trade Me Advertising’s operations team, respectively.
Dentsu best in show – again
By the time the desserts were served just before 9pm, dentsu Media Aotearoa had already rocked up an impressive award count of six golds and six silvers. But there was more yet to come as their work on Export Ultra’s “Cold Call Back Service” earned them the Best in Show award.
Dentsu’s managing director – media Richard Hale says the team is proud and humbled by the results.
“Receiving such emphatic recognition from the wider industry is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone involved, including all the partners we work with. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make this accomplishement a reality.”
“Cold Call Back Service” won gold in Best Use of Digital Audio, Best Use of Social, Best Brand Campaign, Best Retail/eCommerce Campaign and a silver in Best Multi-Channel Integration Campaign.
It was the second year in a row that dentsu was both the most awarded agency of the night and won Best in Show – last year they were recognised for their campaign with Movember, Ancient Influencers.
Thankful for trust
Independent media agency Together was named Media Agency of the Year and racked up a total of three golds and two silver awards for its work with Wendy’s and BestStart.
“Media Agency of the Year recognition is something we don’t take for granted,” says managing partner Kris Hadley.
“It speaks to our team’s passion for applying data and technology to deliver market-leading solutions, and to the trust our clients and media partners place in us. We’re so thankful for their support and excited to keep building on that momentum.”
Grand gongs
There was much excitement at our table when Tina Trenkner-Meade, sat next to me, was announced as the winner of IAB’s Council Member of the Year award. Trenkner-Meade is a member of the IAB New Zealand Retail & eCommerce Working Group and founder of AI commerce consultancy Signal & Light.
Her heartfelt speech reflected on her career and acknowledged her husband and daughters who have supported her throughout, including as she founded Signal & Light.
The Emerging Talent award went to NZME’s Ester Monti and Calibre + Candor took out Digital Product or Service of the Year. Then the audience jumped to their feet as Publicis Media’s Kate Grigg was announced as the recipient for Service to the Industry.
Creative Agency of the Year went to TVNZ Blacksand while NZME was named as Media Publisher of the Year for the second year in a row.
NZME CEO Michael Boggs says: “Winning Media Publisher of the Year for the second consecutive year is testament to our unwavering commitment to digital innovation and excellence, and we’re so proud of Ester for her Emerging Talent win. Ester ensures our cross-channel digital advertising surpasses client objectives, driving optimisation into paid media campaigns and it’s fantastic to see her recognised for
her excellent work and the important role she plays in our digital innovation activity.”
Bringing home the gold
Motion Sickness continued its winning streak for “Make New Zealand the best place in the world to have herpes,” receiving gold for Best Charity Campaign and Best Multi-Channel Integration Campaign and silver for Best Use of Video.
PHD Media Aotearoa also racked up a grand total of four golds and two silvers while Hearts & Science won three golds and two silvers.
Best Use of SEO was the category that got away, sporting no winners this year. But new category, Best Use of Generative AI, had three recepients, including golds for PHD and its work for Skinny and for Hearts & Science and Insiders on their work for Animates: The Pawprint Petition. The silver went to FugazAI.
The 2025 IAB New Zealand Advertising Awards were sponsored by Blis, Hype & Dexter, Lumo, Market Media, Meta, NZME, Perion, rova, Sky, Stuff Group, The Trade Desk, Trade Me, TVNZ and Vistar Media.
