Wednesday, 11 November 2026Made in Tāmaki Makaurau · 239 stories this week
What's happening in marketing, right now.
Marketing news from the trade press, campaigns checked against their sources, and short lessons. For marketing students and anyone who wants to stay in the loop.
Read the newsLive from the trade press
B&T · Latest
Publisher's summary: News Australia has expanded its Technology, Data & Digital (TDD) leadership team, appointing two senior technology executives to strengthen its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and digital platforms. Paul Stevenson joins as director, AI, innovation &…
B&T·
Campaigns
Campaign Brief·
Social & creators
B&T·
Campaigns
Campaign Brief·
Campaigns
Mumbrella·
People & agencies
StopPress·
Campaigns
Search Engine Journal·
Social & creators · Search & GEO
Retail Dive·
This week by topic
GEO: generative engine optimisation
Tagged automatically from headlines, so counts are a guide.
Checked against sources
We only call a campaign a success when a source publishes results, awards or sales. Most new work hasn't got there yet, and we say so.
Tech & telco
2degrees · New Zealand
Agency: TBWA New Zealand (creative); Digital Arts Network (game design and development, part of TBWA); OMD New Zealand (media); Shout Media (mural)
2degrees launched the fifth year of its Data Piñata franchise, 'Data Piñataverse', created by TBWA New Zealand with game design and development by Digital Arts Network and media by OMD New Zealand. The campaign's storyline has portals from a 'Data Piñataverse' opening across New Zealand; piñatas that pass through lose their outfits, and players help restore them by playing a game to collect all 225 unique wearable items, which can be combined in more than one million outfit combinations. 2degrees says there are 800 years of data up for grabs, plus prizes from partners including Samsung, The Warehouse, Auckland FC and Tank, and that people who aren't 2degrees customers can play and then switch to the network to claim winnings. It is running across TV, online video, radio, social, digital and OOH (out-of-home advertising), including a mural on Auckland's High Street built over seven nights by Shout Media, completed to mark the campaign's launch.
No performance data published yet.
Our take
Read the breakdown →
Greenpeace Australia Pacific · Australia
The Flipper (Scott Reef campaign)
Charity & cause
Rao's (The Campbell Company) · United States
Make Time: Limited-Time Only
Food & restaurants
DiDi · Australia (Melbourne)
Nudgy Good Fortune Teller
Tech & telco
Coles · Australia
Take the Credit This Christmas
Food & restaurants
Also new this week · straight from the trade press, not yet checked by us
B&T·
Campaigns
B&T·
Campaigns
Campaign Brief·
Campaigns
StopPress·
Campaigns
Marketing Dive·
Campaigns · Social & creators
AdExchanger·
Campaigns · Media & ad tech
Creative Review·
Campaigns
Campaign Brief·
AI & tech · Activations
Patterns across the week's reporting
New technology in marketing
Amazon Ads
Announced at unBoxed: one AI interface for planning through measurement, and campaigns that combine sponsored, display, video and streaming TV while Amazon's AI decides execution.
Why it matters
Runway
An AI agent that makes ad variations, localises them, publishes human-approved versions to Meta, Google and TikTok, and feeds performance back into the next round.
Why it matters
Latest AI stories
B&T·
AI & tech · People & agencies
Search Engine Journal·
AI & tech · Search & GEO
Digiday·
AI & tech
Search Engine Journal·
AI & tech · Search & GEO
Success with evidence
Recently announced winners from D&AD and the London International Awards (LIA). An award is public recognition by an industry jury. It isn't the same as commercial results.
| Work | Brand | Agency | Award | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your Way Out | Coinbase | Isle of Any | D&AD (Design and Art Direction) Black Pencil ×2 (Visual Effects; Production Design) | Creative Review · 25 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| The Periodic Fable | The Ordinary | Uncommon Creative Studio | D&AD Black Pencil (Art Direction) | Creative Review · 25 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Three Words | AXA | Publicis Conseil | D&AD Black Pencil (Impact) | Creative Review · 25 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Unsponsored | Levi Strauss & Co. | BETC Paris, AKQA | Grand LIA (London International Awards): Ambient & Activation | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| The Pub That Refused To Die | Heineken | LePub Milan | Grand LIA: Creative Strategy | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Heinz Ketchup billboards (“Look Familiar?”) | Heinz | Rethink Toronto | Grand LIA: Billboard | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Sosegá | Cervezas Alhambra | LLYC Madrid | Grand LIA: Music & Sound | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Expensive Sh*t | Huggies | McCann New Zealand | LIA Gold: Ambient & Activation | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Lump Lottery | Testicular Cancer NZ | Colenso BBDO | LIA Gold + Silver: Creative Strategy | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| No Place to Grow | We Are Mobilise | Droga5 ANZ | LIA Silver: Ambient & Activation | Campaign Brief · 29 Sept 2026 ↗ |
| Find Your Wonderful | New World | McCann New Zealand | Effie Gold: Retail/Etail | Campaign Brief · 23 Oct 2026 ↗ |
| Fantasy Herd (with Together) | Goodman Fielder | McCann New Zealand | Effie Gold: Most Original Thinking; Effie Gold: Clever Use of Research/Data | Campaign Brief · 23 Oct 2026 ↗ |
| Making the world fall in love with 100% Pure New Zealand again | Tourism New Zealand | TBWA New Zealand | Effie Gold: International Marketing | Campaign Brief · 23 Oct 2026 ↗ |
| Booze Maths | NZTA Waka Kotahi | McCann New Zealand | Effie Gold: Insights & Strategic Thinking | Campaign Brief · 23 Oct 2026 ↗ |
Our own thinking · hypothetical
These are not real campaigns. They're our own ideas for how this week's mechanics could work for well-known brands, and the brands named aren't involved.
Idea for Spotify
A live-streamed, long-form game show where the most obsessive fans of one artist compete using their listening data.
Mechanic: Fans opt in with their stats; top listeners qualify; the artist hosts the final.
See the full plan →
Inspired by: KFC's superfan game show (Adweek)
Idea for Red Bull
A month-long skate/run/ride challenge where each suburb's tracked activity lights up live DOOH (digital out-of-home) boards, ending in a street event in the winning suburb.
Mechanic: App or Strava tracking → live DOOH leaderboard → finale event.
See the full plan →
Inspired by: Hoka's Strava-to-DOOH marathon build-up (Digiday)
Idea for IKEA
Players donate unused in-game furniture from home-building games; each donation unlocks a real-world contribution to a housing charity.
Mechanic: In-game donation → public tally → matched real donation.
See the full plan →
Inspired by: Kirkens Korshær's Secondhand Skins (Creative Review)
Got a brand in mind? Build an idea for it →