Every year, StopPress catches up with a group of talented professionals from across the local industry to talk about the year that was. From their biggest challenges to their biggest inspiration, their favourite campaigns and favourite snacks, they give us a little insight into 2024 as well as what is to come in 2025.
Suraj Barnawal is Chief Innovation and Technology Officer at Together.
If Together was a drink, what would it be?
Together would be a craft gin – innovative, transparent, full of unique local flavour, and designed to bring people together for something truly memorable.
In 2024, Together reorganized its leadership team. Why was this, and what impact has it made for you all?
The leadership reorganization was about future-proofing our agency, aligning our leadership expertise to emerging needs like product development, data, cloud, and custom innovation. The shift has enabled us to continue accelerating our unique products and better deliver custom data and technology solutions for clients.
Together won a lot of awards this year, including being the most awarded agency at the Beacons and the Excellence in Data Insights Strategy Award at the 2024 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards. Tell us about the challenges and highlights of making award-winning work.
Winning these awards reflects our commitment to pushing creative, media, and technological boundaries to help our clients succeed. But achieving this isn’t easy, whether bringing the right technical and strategic skills together or ensuring we can execute a brave idea within existing data or technical limitations. The highlight is always seeing great people produce great work that delivers great results.
What office item/tool could you not work without?
My headphones. As a music lover, I love to customize my working flow with the right soundtrack.
What was your favourite social trend?
As a choreographer in a past life, I’m still loving Raygun’s dance trend.
What helped you stay motivated this year?
This year has been filled with uncertainty as the industry rapidly evolves, driven by changing consumer behaviours and the need to find creative solutions to complex client challenges using agentic marketing. I’ve stayed motivated through a mix of personal factors, like the purpose of delivering impactful work and growth for my family, and external factors, such as awesome team recognition, including being recognized as Media Agency of the Year and the top Programmatic Agency in Australia and New Zealand by Campaign Asia Pacific.
How did you use AI in 2024, and what difference has it made to the way you and/or your team work?
We gained an early advantage by investing in the core pillars of AI — data infrastructure, team structure, computational power, against a clear roadmap. This foundation has enabled us to integrate AI seamlessly into the business, creating a unique value point. I refer to us as creative scientists who focus on Augmented Intelligence (human-AI collaboration), ensuring that technology enhances, rather than replaces, human creativity and decision-making. In simple use cases, such as leveraging AI for predictive analytics, audience segmentation, and media forecasting, we achieve better outcomes and cost savings that improve media buying and performance measurement efficiency. These efforts have significantly impacted our approach to deepening client relationships, driving new business success, and removing mundane tasks from our team.
If you could wave a magic wand over the industry; what would be the first thing you changed and why?
I would improve data transparency and collaboration between platforms and marketers. Limited data access and restrictions from big tech companies have made it harder to provide valuable insights and build trust. By enabling better data sharing, standardising measurements, and improving integration, we could create more impactful, personalized consumer experiences and deliver more substantial client results.
Gaze into your crystal ball and tell us – what do you see in store for agency land in 2025?
Greater emphasis on consumer privacy, ethical use of data to train AI models, and increased focus on sustainability in advertising practices.
Quick Fire 10
- Most memorable local campaign?
Air New Zealand’s latest safety video, “Every Point Counts,” with Steven Adams, picks up where they left off a while ago: funny, culturally relevant, and gives a platform for Kiwi talent. - Best international campaign?
Taj Mahal Tea’s “Megh Santoor” campaign, created in partnership with Ogilvy India, is an amazing blend of technology, nature, and Indian classical music. The rain-activated billboard transformed raindrops into melodies, playing Raag Megh Malhar each time it rains. Recognized as the world’s largest environmentally interactive billboard, it won a Silver at Cannes this year. - A campaign you wish you worked on?
“The “Handshake Hunt” campaign by Mercado stood out and won the Media Grand Prix at Cannes. It transformed passive TV viewers into active participants by linking retail offers to handshakes naturally appearing in a TV station’s content. It felt like a fantastic example of how lazy statements like “TV is dead” are just wrong – we need more creativity and collaboration to realise its impact. - A news story that got too much attention in 2024?
Google Chrome’s third-party cookie deprecation. The topic received extensive coverage, but most of this ignored the fact that the industry had already started adapting to a cookie-less future. Since this change had been discussed and delayed for years, its immediate impact was less significant than the news hype suggested. - Biggest flop of 2024?
Snapchat’s 2024 Super Bowl “Less Social Media. More Snapchat.” The tagline created confusion, given that Snapchat is a social media app. This misalignment between how people see the platform and how the platform sees itself made it a major flop. Lessons for all brands there. - The best movie you saw at the cinema?
I’m really looking forward to watching Mufasa: The Lion King soon with my son; it’ll be his first trip to the cinema. - The best thing about your industry?
Its constant evolution and the opportunity to work across multiple client challenges. - How do you relax?
Listening to inspiring podcasts from people innovating or challenging established ways of doing things. My brain doesn’t know how to relax really! - Three things you’d take to a desert island?
A family photo for inspiration, vitamins for health, and a loaded Kindle for endless books to read. - Your favourite snack?
Roasted peanuts – it’s my go-to for energy.
