Standing out amongst the outstanding

EMBARGOED: Not for use or publication until 10.30pm, Thursday 27 July, 2006

Standing out amongst the outstanding

A marketer who is taking on the world and a big idea that is a uniquely New Zealand solution are the two exceptional winners that stand out amongst the outstanding winners of the 2006 Marketing Magazine Marketing Awards.

FCB New Zealand Marketer of the Year is Geoff Ross, who has created the world-class 42 Below brand through a new-media strategy that provides a template for Kiwi marketers.

NZ Lotteries’ ‘Big Wednesday’ is peerless as winner of both the Colmar Brunton Consumer Services Award and the Fairfax New Zealand Supreme Award for the best marketing campaign of the year.

These two awards were amongst an array of stand-out campaigns that were afforded recognition at a glittering 2006 NZ Marketing Magazine Marketing Awards event held at the SkyCity Convention Centre on Thursday 27 July.

The choices were by no means easy for the judging panel this year. Four of the five judges had seen it all before as arbiters in previous years, but were unanimous in hailing this year’s entries as an outstanding selection. The panel completed the two-session, four-day judging process reassured by the good hands steering the Kiwi marketing ship.

With record entries in many categories, the overall standard this year was of the highest order. Category winners include:

Goodman Fielder, winning the Smartsource Marketing Fast Moving Consumer Goods Award with the launch of MacKenzie High Country Bread.

BrandWorld won the Zintel Business to Business Award for the second year in a row. This year the winning entry was for Family Health Diary.

Westside Media took away the University of Otago Emerging Business Award for its online DVD rental business Fatso.co.nz.

The Rum Company and Lion Nathan Wines & Spirits are the inaugural winners of the uSuite.com New Media Marketing Award, for the innovative use of new media to find party legends for the ailing Coruba brand.

The Child Cancer Foundation’s Lexi’s Appeal won the bizambrands Not-For-Profit Marketing Award.

Farmers’ revitalisation programme won the Morton Estate Wines Retail Award.

42 Below took away the Malcove Innovative Research Award.
Stephanie Hague, formerly with Noel Leeming Group was named M&C Saatchi Rookie Marketer of the Year.

At the same function, long serving marketer Barbara Chapman and industry stalwart David Innes were inducted into the ICONZ / Marketing Magazine New Zealand Marketing Hall of Fame. Both have made great contributions to marketing in this country.

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EMBARGOED: Not for use or publication until 10.30pm, Thursday 27 July, 2006

42 Below’s Geoff Ross named New Zealand Marketer of the Year

Geoff Ross, founder of 42 Below, has been named the country’s top marketer at the 2006 NZ Marketing Magazine Marketing Awards.

Six years ago 42 Below was a tiny boutique vodka producer in Wellington, with founder Geoff Ross making vodka with a still that he had been given by his wife.

Today, his homebrew operation has grown into a business with over $12 million in sales and 20 percent of the New Zealand market by value.

The company has gained international success and 42 Below vodka is served at an increasing number of top international venues including the Ritz Hotels in London and Paris, the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, Palazzo Versace on Australia’s Gold Coast and Icebergs in Sydney.

This success is compelling evidence of the talent, drive, strategic vision, and marketing skills of Geoff Ross and the team he has created around him.

Through his leadership the 42 Below portfolio has grown to include the other award-winning spirit, South Gin, and the company's spring water, 420.

Marketing of the portfolio remains, as it has been since 42's inception, at the cutting edge of current marketing practice. This has been acknowledged (sometimes frowned upon) widely in the media over the past year.

42's marketing success is based on the innovative use of non-classical media and promotional channels via low-cost methods.

Viral email campaigns have gained 42 Below widespread coverage in traditional media over the past three years and have been seen by millions of individuals online. This represents an enormous return in terms of brand building for very little financial outlay.

42 Below was ranked top of the Deloitte Fast 50 in 2005 – New Zealand's fastest growing company. Its high revenue growth is, according to Deloitte, "a stunning example of entrepreneurial flair and effective planning and execution".

Arguably, 42 Below is the most awarded vodka in the world. Now, the man whose passion, strategic vision and mastery of marketing practice have been critical components in the success of 42 Below since its inception – Geoff Ross, the 2006 FCB New Zealand Marketer of the Year.

The judges said, “It’s not very often you get to meet a New Zealander who builds a world brand from scratch. We’ll look back and say, ‘there was a man who understood what is required to build a global brand on a shoestring budget’.”

Other finalists for the FCB New Zealand Marketer of the Year Award were:
Jenene Crossan, founder and CEO of nzgirl
Evan Lawrey, marketing manager – Lottery Games at NZ Lotteries
Vivien Sutherland-Bridgwater, general manager of university relations at AUT University
Chris Weaver – chief executive, Auckland Racing Club

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EMBARGOED: Not for use or publication until 10.30pm, Thursday 27 July, 2006

NZ Lotteries takes Supreme Marketing Award for 2006

“You won’t see another launch like this one for a while,” is the general consensus of opinion at NZ Lotteries, winner of the Colmar Brunton Consumer Services Award and the Fairfax New Zealand Supreme Award, at the 2006 Marketing Magazine Marketing Awards.

The entry, for NZ Lotteries’ new and fantastically successful mid-week lottery game, ‘Big Wednesday’, beat out challengers in an extremely competitive field.

Launched in October 2005, the game is a totally new and different mix of cash and non-cash prizes and was created specifically for the New Zealand market through an exhaustive product development approach.

Over the years NZ Lotteries has found it increasingly difficult to drive market growth but by taking an innovative approach to a mature category, the marketing team, led by Marketing Manager, Evan Lawrey, has grown the product portfolio by more than $80 million per annum. This has been achieved with minimal cannibalisation of the existing New Zealand Lotteries products, particularly Saturday Lotto.

The prize pool for Big Wednesday was well researched and luxury items such as the Porsche and bach have given the Win the Ultimate Lifestyle concept invaluable talkability.

In the judges’ assessment, NZ Lotteries has finally realised a very big idea that has increased sales in a really tough market. With Lotto being all about Saturday night, Big Wednesday has achieved premium pricing and created major growth without cannibalising the core product.

The marketing team has been thorough in its exploration of the Kiwi psyche and has created a winner.

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EMBARGOED: Not for use or publication until 10.30pm, Thursday 27 July, 2006

Methodical and a huge capacity for work, make Stephanie Hague Rookie Marketer of the Year

According to those who watched her grow into the job at Noel Leeming, Stephanie Hague always demonstrated strong marketing disciplines and a flair for creativity. She is, in the eyes of the judges, a worthy recipient of the M&C Saatchi Rookie Marketer of the Year at the 2006 NZ Marketing Magazine Marketing awards.

In the extremely fast-paced world of retail, this young rookie consistently displayed maturity beyond her years, whilst testing boundaries to improve outcomes.

During a very short period Stephanie implemented and executed more than 50 direct marketing campaigns as well as being involved on other business-wide projects. She demonstrated leadership within the marketing communications team in her capacity as marketing assistant.

Retail campaigns are seldom innovative but Stephanie managed to achieve outstanding results.

Stephanie exemplifies the qualities of a good marketer and demonstrates thinking, initiative and creativity beyond her years. She has a good strategic brain, is a natural leader and has a huge capacity for work. She is a team player, constantly helping the team out with additional work outside her scope.

Stephanie has now moved on to take up a role at House of Travel. But in her time at Noel Leeming embodied everything a star, up and coming marketer should be.

Other finalists for the award were Westfield’s Beau Beech, Angela Butt from AUT University and Liquorland’s Suzy Hansen.

ENDS

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