Brother: NZ Marketing Awards celebrate industry success

With the entry deadline for the 2024 YouTube-NZ Marketing Awards fast approaching on Friday April 26 (extension deadline May 3), we catch up with Julie Chappell, Marketing Manager at Brother New Zealand on their big wins from last year and why the awards are so important for the marketing industry.

What did you win?

At the 2023 NZ Marketing Awards, Brother won Best B2B Marketing Campaign and Excellence in B2B Marketing Strategy.

What was it about your entry that stood out?

For me, it was the way we demonstrated the impact of the campaign on our business. Sales and market data showed how we achieved our goal of repositioning our business in a B2B market, while also keeping our consumer market steady.

We were able to demonstrate gains in market share whilst most of our competitors saw decline over the same period. Having that data really helped to verify that we’d achieved our objectives.

We knew we had a good story to tell from the development and implementation of the campaign, as well as the business results achieved. Crafting an entry that was interesting to read was also important.

How did winning help your company, your staff or your career?              

Winning these awards was a significant achievement for me, my team and our company. It felt hugely rewarding and was justification for the decisions we made to end our previous campaign and invest in something bigger.

That decision to refresh our brand and go to market with something quite different was a challenging journey and we suffered many setbacks along the way. But we ended up with a strategy and campaign that all staff could relate to and feel proud of.

It helped boost the profile of the Brother brand in the marketing and advertising industry. We were up against much larger organisations with significantly bigger budgets and large agency partners to do the heavy lifting.

What we achieved with a smaller team and budget felt like a David and Goliath effort, but it reinforced the quality of our people and showed we could still achieve big things. 

Would you recommend other brands, businesses and agencies enter the awards?

Absolutely. There’s a real sense of achievement in being acknowledged with any award. You’re in such prestigious company and being celebrated among leaders from all over the country is really rewarding.

Winning a big award like this is also fantastic for company culture. Coming back to the business the next day with two awards was huge for everybody, and it really helped to reinforce the sense that everyone in our business is doing amazing work.

What are some of the major differences between these awards and other awards in the world of marcomms?

A lot of awards are focused on the craft of the advertisement, the creative, the media metrics. This looks at the role marketing plays at taking business objectives and delivering marketing that delivers results back to the business.

It felt like the entry forms were really seeking proof points in the effectiveness of our campaign, over and above our own perception of things.

What advice or recommendations do you give to other brands, businesses and agencies looking at entering the awards?

Line up the strategy with the results. Use data to show how you achieved something great.  That makes it easy for the judges to make the connection of what you planned and what you delivered.

Break up the entry as much as you can. Use things like subheadings and bullet points so it’s digestible and engaging throughout.

What did you love the most about being at the NZ Marketing Awards 2023 awards ceremony?

The whole night was a big celebration of success in marketing across such a diverse group of brands and markets. Just being in the room is really inspiring.

It’s valuable recognition for hard-working marketers delivering value to their organisations. Having our team there was a way for us to celebrate them, even before we won anything.

For people in marketing, it’s the ultimate showcase of all the amazing work happening in our industry.

Enter the 2024 YouTube-NZ Marketing Awards now and celebrate exceptional marketing.

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