Categories

These must be NEW products, services, brands or variants

developed to exist beyond just the campaign period. To be eligible, a NEW campaign and product or service must have launched within the eligibility period of 1 June 2024 and 30 June 2026.

Results for launches are often good in the first year, so you’ll need to clearly demonstrate to the judges why the results were above and beyond what would ordinarily be expected.

Judges will be looking to reward both the communications of the New Product but also rewarding evidence of the development of the product itself being a result of client and agency collaboration.

Campaigns with a total production and media spend of $250,000 or less. It must be a stand-alone campaign as opposed to a single execution from a larger campaign.

This category is all about achieving a lot for a little. Judges are looking for strategic thinking, creative work and results that show how to convert a modest budget into a significant commercial result.

The budget limit of $250,000 must include the cost of any promotional prizes or incentives. If any media has been provided at non-commercial rates, this needs to be calculated at rate card equivalent. Entrants should indicate if any production has been provided at non-commercial rates.

In this category, innovative single marketing & business activities or entire marketing programs will be awarded. You can submit any action or business idea regarding customer experience innovation that has had an exceptionally positive impact on the market position of a business, brand, product, or service.

If communication was a significant element of marketing mix, work should be submitted in another competition category of Effie.

Examples of eligible activities in this category include: design, technology or UX innovation for the customer experience; introduction/change of a loyalty program, introduction of a new distribution channel, app development, store design, etc.

Campaigns that met the client challenge and had a demonstrable impact on business results through a compelling content-led solution. The judges are looking for content campaigns that took the big idea beyond advertising-led solutions and formats.

Examples might include editorial-style content, branded entertainment, informational content that influenced brand and business results, or social-first campaigns that leveraged the distinct capabilities of social platforms to drive results. Entries should explain what insight led to content being the best solution to the client brief.

You will need to demonstrate how the context or platform in which the content appeared enhanced the relevance and impact of the content. You will need to prove how this solution drove material and measurable results for the brand.

In this category entrants must demonstrate a high level of effectiveness and clearly articulate why the campaign deserves an award for Original Thinking.

We’re looking for the sort of work that makes you wish you’d thought of it, that encourages other brands to think differently.

Campaigns that used data, analytics, or other research to inform the strategic solution and shape its execution to market. This is more than using off-the-shelf research platforms to generate audience insights. It recognises the critical role that great research and data can provide at all stages of the development process.

We are looking here for examples of new research or data applications that unlocked previously hidden value; harnessing data to enable new ways to communicate; development of bespoke data platforms to change what was possible in reaching the right audiences; or textbook examples of unlocking audience understanding through smart research.

Campaigns that have a PR or Experiential idea at their heart.

The kind of idea that sets out with the explicit purpose to get the media talking or involve consumers in a tangible experience that delivers on the brand's positioning or business objectives.

Judges are looking for campaigns that begin with a PR or Experiential idea, as opposed to marketing or integrated campaigns with a PR or Experiential element. Great use of sponsorship or partnerships could be entered in this category.

The judges will be looking for evidence of significant earned media, alongside commercial results. They'll need a clear rationale for why PR or Experiential was the right way to tackle the client's brief, and evidence of how the PR or Experiential activity measurably and materially drove the commercial result.

Strength of proof will rely on demonstrating the link between this activity and how it has shifted consumer perceptions and behaviour in a way that has tangibly driven business effect.

This category is for short-term impact campaigns that are designed to work within a 6-month period. This could be a day, a week or a number of months.

Judges will still be looking for proof around the business challenge, where the insight and strategy came from, the great execution and how it delivered excellent results that met the short-term objectives.

Campaigns that showed the greatest fresh insights and strategic thinking to lead to the communications idea and achieve the marketing objectives. This is the thinking before the creative brief, as opposed to the creative idea or execution.

Judges are looking for examples of where an agency has taken a client’s brief, and through fresh insight or inspired problem solving, developed a ground-breaking strategic direction.

Judges will need to see a clear delineation between the strategic and creative thinking and understand how the strategic and creative platforms have or will deliver long-term success for the brand.

This category applies to any campaigns, brand or non-profit, whose success was dependent on effectively and authentically connecting with specific cultural, ethnic, or under-served groups or communities (example: Māori, LGBTQIA+, disabled people, Pacific Peoples, etc.). If the entry had multiple audiences, it is necessary to demonstrate results for the specific audience detailed in the entry.

Judges will be interested in not only the direct results of the work, but also the broader impacts of the work including the process of developing the work (e.g. journey you took to ensure authentic and meaningful connection with the community), and the indirect impact of the work (e.g. how the work either challenged or reinforced existing narratives about the community to a broader audience).

Judges may not be familiar with your particular audience, so this is your opportunity to showcase the details that they may miss.

Entries that aim to address issues faced by a marginalised group by speaking to a broader audience should enter category B11 Positive Change.

This category celebrates work with objectives designed to have a positive impact on society, people and the planet. Diversity and inclusivity initiatives or campaigns targeting broad audiences on issues such as sustainability, inequality, poverty, prejudice, or disabilities.

The entry will need to demonstrate that efforts have measurably shifted audience behaviour towards better choices and/or grown demand by integrating relevant socially aware messaging into their marketing communications.

Entries could be either for commercial enterprises, brands, governments and not-for-profit organisations or philanthropic trusts.

This is an award for rebirth campaigns. To enter, your brand must have experienced a significant downturn in brand equity/share followed by a period of at least six months of upturn sales. Entrants must detail the business challenge, the situation of the brand, the competitive landscape and how the effort succeeded.

Your entry must address the previous marketing investment and strategy as part of the entry context. Also, provide detail on the length of the rebirth.

Products or services that have experienced sustained success for a period of at least 36 months. Entries must have a common objective and utilised the same strategy throughout the length of the campaign. They may have done so using different executions, but still deliver to the core insight and ideas. The current year’s results must be included and be shown to build on the previous results.

This award recognises strategy and creative platforms that are ‘built to last’ and demonstrate effectiveness over time. Judges will be looking for proof around the scale of challenge, where the strategy came from, where it’s going and how it continued to deliver results for the client over a sustained period of time.

Campaigns must have run for at least 36 months from 1 June 2023, or earlier, through to 30 June 2026.

All Gold Effie category winners will be eligible for the Grand Effie. This award is given to the campaign that achieved the most extraordinary results for its client.

Executive Judges will evaluate the magnitude of the results, the return the client received on its investment, and the evidence that the return has been driven by the agency’s campaign.

Sponsored by TVNZ

Campaigns that begin with an extraordinary degree of difficulty and achieve the seemingly impossible.

Executive Judges will be looking for evidence that the challenge was an extremely tough one and the solution delivered beyond expectations. Judges will favour entries that provide evidence of sustained effects.

Recognising the Advertiser organisation that achieves the most success in the 2026 Effie Awards Aotearoa.

The award is based on the weighted value of Gold, Silver and Bronze Effie Awards won by Client (Advertiser) organisations.

This award recognises the most significant contribution made by an advertising agency to the success of their clients in the Effie Awards.

The award is based on the weighted value of Gold, Silver and Bronze Effie Awards won by both Lead and Contributing agencies.