TBWA & Eleven PR NZ takes out Grand Prix for Agency of Excellence at 24th PR Awards APAC; One Plus One named Boutique Agency of the Year

TBWA\New Zealand and Eleven PR have claimed top honours at the PR Awards Asia-Pacific 2025 in Hong Kong, winning the coveted Grand Prix alongside three Gold, three Silver and one bronze awards across four standout campaigns and six categories.

The winning work represents a new benchmark in creativity that lives in the real world – where earned ideas feed into culture and deliver brand and business success. From telco to banking to sport sponsorship, each campaign demonstrated the power of disruptive creativity, deep collaboration, and culturally connected storytelling to drive earned impact, public engagement and commercial impact.

The awarded campaigns included:

• • Day One for ANZ x Auckland FC – awarded in Experiential and Best Sponsorship/Partnership.
• • Scammers Bloom for ANZ – recognised in Financial Communications.
• • Reshaping Rugby: The World’s First TikTok Final for 2degrees – awarded in Sports and Best Sponsorship/Partnership.
• • Answer the Call for 2degrees – recognised in Environmental and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Says Catherine Harris, CEO of TBWA\Group New Zealand: “These wins reflect the power of disruptive creative ideas to deliver earned impact and the shared ambition of our incredible Client partners. When you bring creativity, earned media, and cultural insights together, you unlock work that doesn’t just get noticed – it gets results.

“We’re incredibly proud of the teams behind these campaigns – our joint TBWA\ and Eleven teams, our clients, and our collaborators. That this work has been recognised across so many categories – and with the Grand Prix – is a testament to their talent and hard work.”

The win caps off a period of strong creative momentum and new business wins for TBWA\New Zealand and Eleven PR, as the agencies continue to deliver culturally disruptive campaigns for some of New Zealand’s most ambitious brands.

Independent Kiwi PR agency One Plus One Communications took out the Best Boutique Agency in Asia-Pacific title. The accolade comes just weeks after One Plus One was named large New Zealand agency of the year for the second year running at the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand’s (PRINZ) annual awards night. In a global industry dominated by large international network consultancies, the boutique agency category recognises smaller agencies punching above their weight with world class offerings.

Says One Plus One General Manager, Max Burt, who was in attendance at the ceremony in Hong Kong: “For both myself and our founder, Kelly Bennett, this is a real career highlight. We’ve always had a lot of ambition for One Plus One and over the last few years we’ve had the privilege of feeling it all come together. The depth of our team, calibre of our clients, and quality of our work is something we’re really proud of – and we don’t take it for granted.”

The award was given to One Plus One on the balance of its strong commercial performance through a protracted recession, the breadth of outstanding client work, and clear commitment to workplace culture and team development.

Says One Plus One Managing Director, Kelly Bennett, who was awaiting the result from London: “It’s incredibly special to be recognised as a market-leading PR agency both in New Zealand, and now the Asia-Pacific region. I’m deeply aware that ultimately we’re a people based business; we’re only ever as good as our people, our relationships and our clients. I feel that now more than ever, and couldn’t be more proud.”

Other winners from New Zealand included Special PR, which scored a Gold for Tourism New Zealand ‘Pou-o-Kai’ and a Silver for DB Export Ultra ‘Cold Call Back Service.

Bastion Shine picked up a Silver for Spark New Zealand ‘Spark Game Arena Live: Putting Gamers First’.

Middlemore Foundation also secured a Bronze for its ‘Jammies in June’ work.

VIEW THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS HERE

Image 1: Haymarket’s managing director Atifa Silk, with TBWA and Eleven PR NZ team.
Image 2: Max Burt picking up One Plus One’s award in Hong Kong
Image 3: One Plus One team