Air Z Fashion Week Wins Top Sponsorship Award

News Release
SPONSORSHIP AWARDS 2007

Air New Zealand Fashion Week Wins Top Sponsorship Award

This year’s top Sponsorship Award has gone to Air New Zealand for its partnership with Air New Zealand Fashion Week.

Fashion week is an annual event which has been sponsored by Air New Zealand for the past four years. The award recognised the quality of the partnership over the past 12 months.

The 2007 TVNZ & New Zealand Herald Sponsorship Awards were presented at a formal dinner in Auckland on Thursday 6 December.

Judging panel Chair Sir Ron Scott said that the panel found it difficult to choose the top placing from an initial field of over 50 entries.

“All the entries were extremely professional marketing and communication projects, but Air New Zealand won out because in the past year they have taken the concept of sponsorship to a new level of sophistication.”

Sir Ron said that the company had worked closely and creatively with the Air New Zealand Fashion Week team to develop an innovative campaign directly targeted at their desired audience.

Of special note was the “30,000 ft Catwalk” event, a mid-flight fashion preview which generated a great deal of public interest and media attention.

Air New Zealand also won the Harvey Cameron Best Long Term Sponsorship Award for its sponsorship of the New Zealand Rugby Union.

For the Supreme Award, the winning sponsor was chosen from a shortlist of eleven category winners. Sir Ron said that the top category winners were separated by only a few points on the marking scale.

“This year’s award entries have taken sponsorship to another level. The category winners were all clever campaigns which were able to establish a very substantial return on investment.”

In addition to the awards presented to businesses, one individual was recognised at the awards; Christchurch-based Christopher Doig was presented with the Massey University Service to Sponsorship Award.

Mr Doig achieved prominence in the 1970s-80s as an opera singer, then became Chief Executive of New Zealand Cricket. He now holds a number of Directorships and runs his own consultancy, which is heavily focused on sponsorship projects.

The TVNZ & New Zealand Herald Sponsorship Awards are designed to showcase and celebrate professionalism and best practice in the industry. Established in 1999, the awards honour and reward outstanding partnerships in the sport, art and cause-related sponsorship arenas.

Sir Ron said that the overall standard of sponsorship management has increased markedly. “Sponsorship is becoming increasingly innovative and sophisticated, as its value as a communications and marketing tool is recognised.

“Now we have major corporate organisations acknowledging the role of sponsorship, and staff getting in behind and supporting the project.”

The judges assessed each entry on the integration/leverage of sponsorships used; the partnership with the organisation; innovation and creativity, and most importantly the results achieved against the business objectives.

The full judging panel included: Sir Ron Scott as Chair; Paul Dryden, Executive Director of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ); Nick Hill, CEO of Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC); Warwick Oakden, National Sales and Marketing Manager for The Radio Network; Anna Kominik, Director of Ideas Shop and Consultant to Creative NZ; Jeremy O’Brien, GM Programme Partnerships at TVNZ; Graham Medcalf, Editor at NZ Marketing Magazine; Stephanie Muntendam, Business Marketing Manager for APN News and Media, and Jan Charbonneau, from the Department of Marketing at Massey University.

On the same day as the Award Dinner, a one-day Sponsorship Conference was held in Auckland, featuring an outstanding line-up of speakers from New Zealand and overseas.

-ENDS-

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