Griffin’s Choco-ade crusade wins 2013 Supreme Marketing Award at TVNZ NZ Marketing Awards

Ten of the most recognised brands in New Zealand were contenders for the Supreme Award in this year’s prestigious TVNZ NZ Marketing Awards that celebrate ‘Everything Marketing’. Unlike previous years where there were some clear front-runners, the judges had an extremely difficult task coming to a decision on the ultimate winner.

The re-launch of Griffin’s Choco-ade biscuits took out the Supreme Award as well as winning the FMCG category award. The “crusade” to bring back this 1980’s favourite was started by someone with a nostalgic pang for the orange-filled, chocolate-topped biscuits. Griffin’s responded by putting it to the vote online. So overwhelming was the response that they recommenced production more than 20 years after Choco-ade last appeared on store shelves.

The judges commented on the smart opportunity-spotting by Griffin’s that, whilst it may have had high risk, nevertheless led to high rewards. In their opinion, the re-launch was smartly executed and fully integrated across the business.

Awards hosts Vincent Heeringa, NZ Marketing magazine, and Sue McCarty, Marketing Association, were joined by MC Te Radar, who orchestrated a night of celebrating the coming together of brands, ideas, skills and people.

Also enjoying their deserved wins were AA Smartfuel, Heart Foundation, Les Mills International, MediaWorks, New Zealand Lotteries, NZ Tax Refunds, Pfizer New Zealand, The Warehouse Group and Z Energy.

A recognised leader in talent creation that fosters excellence, Mark Callaghan, CEO of Frucor Beverages was honoured with the 2013 Marketing Excellence Award.  His noted attributes were the constant embracing of transformation, as well as balancing innovation and risk with a great marketing discipline and systems.

Marketer of the Year is Mike Cunnington, now deputy commissioner, information, intelligence and communications at IRD, who was acknowledged for his outstanding management of the merger of the National Bank and ANZ brands during his tenure as head of marketing at ANZ.

Said the judges in reaching their decision: “Mike is a Marketing thought-leader and commercial executive who has taken marketing throughout ANZ, positioning it as the leading function to deliver transformational plans with outstanding results.”

The Rookie Marketer of the Year is Jess Hall, direct marketing assistant at Farmers, who exhibited a breadth of understanding of the challenges her business faces and how marketing in all its guises can be applied to benefit the business.

For the first time ever, two Marketing Hall of Fame inductees came from the same organisation. They are Mike O’Sullivan and William (Bill) Peake of BrandWorld, about whom Marketing Hall of Famer Richard Brookes, associate professor of marketing at the University of Auckland, said “Unconventional thinkers and doers, both of them. We need more like them!”

A full list of winners and their stories can be found below, or at www.everythingmarketing.co.nz.

Winners:

Fairfax Media, Supreme Winner

Griffin’s Foods Limited, Griffin’s Choco-ade Biscuits

TVNZ, Marketing Hall of Fame

Mike O’Sullivan, BrandWorld

TVNZ, Marketing Hall of Fame

William Peake, BrandWorld

Marketing Excellence

Mark Callaghan, Frucor Beverages

News Works NZ, Rookie Marketer of the Year

Jess Hall, Farmers Trading Company

Colmar Brunton, Marketer of the Year

Mike Cunnington          

Consumer Products and Services

AA Smartfuel, AA Smartfuel Acquisition Strategy – F13

New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, Export

Les Mills International, Les Mills SMARTBAR™

BrandWorld, Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Griffin’s Foods Limited, Griffin’s Choco-ade Biscuits

Mailshop, Financial and Banking

NZ Tax Refunds, WooHoo – Differentiating a Brand by Owning a Feeling

Lifestyle/Travel/Leisure

Pfizer New Zealand, Champix – Helping Smokers Quit a Dying Habit

Not-for-Profit

Heart Foundation, Heart Week 2013

Public Sector

New Zealand Lotteries, Making Big Wednesday a Success

Morton Estate, Retail

The Warehouse Group, What Kiwis Want

Sponsorship

Z Energy, Good in the Hood

Utilities/Communications

MediaWorks, The Block NZ launch – How TV3 Turned New Zealanders Into Block-a-Holics

&Some, Emerging Business/New Brand

Inverno Trading Ltd, trading as SwitchKites, Creation of Global Kitesurfing Brand

TVNZ, Innovation

Bank of New Zealand, BNZ YouMoney Launch Campaign

Insight

ANZ Bank New Zealand, ANZ Brand Transformation Programme

Fairfax Media, Marketing Leadership

Unitec Institute of Technology, We Make the People Who Make It

Boston Digital, Transformational

STIHL New Zealand, STIHL Brand Campaign