New Zealand Insights Effectiveness Awards 2026

‘From tight times to Tough Comfort with Norsewear’

This entry emerged as the standout submission of the year. A well-written small-budget entry that shows clear evidence of how the insights generated impacted many of the decisions required to reposition an iconic New Zealand brand, changing its trajectory and positioning the company to compete better and thrive going forward. This entry is an excellent example of how the right partnerships, using well-designed, targeted research, can have a huge impact on brands, companies, and the communities they support. When the panel considered whether two Supremes might be warranted, the answer was unequivocal: this entry was the clear winner. A powerful example of insight translated into action, impact and organisational transformation.

The judges were impressed by Amanda’s sustained impact across every dimension of the insights profession. Over a 25-year career, she has combined commercial success with an unwavering commitment to people, clients, and the wider industry. At Ipsos, she has grown both the Public Affairs team and its revenue threefold, while building enduring client partnerships grounded in trust, quality, and demonstrable impact. 

What stood out most was Amanda’s passion for helping people thrive. From graduates taking their first steps in research to experienced professionals becoming leaders themselves, she mentors, educates, and creates opportunities for others to fly. 

Her contribution extends beyond Ipsos through her long-standing support of RANZ as a Fellow and involvement in driving professional development across the industry. Amanda demonstrates that great insight leadership is a team sport: growing people, strengthening organizations, and creating lasting impact. Amanda has truly had an outstanding impact on the people, the organisations, and the industry.

Rachel Pita made a distinctive and lasting contribution to New Zealand’s insights profession.

Throughout her career, Rachel helped create a stronger place for te ao Māori, te reo Māori and kaupapa Māori-aligned approaches within mainstream research. She showed that cultural integrity and research rigour could strengthen each other, changing both how research was undertaken and what clients came to expect from it. 

Her impact was also deeply personal. Rachel developed and encouraged a generation of Māori and Pacific researchers, generously sharing her knowledge, creating opportunities for others and building confidence and capability across the profession. Many of those she supported are now carrying her influence into other organisations, sectors and communities. 

Rachel was remembered by those who worked with her for her warmth, integrity, determination and ability to bring people together. Her absence will be deeply felt across the insights community, but the people, practices and possibilities she helped create form an enduring legacy.

The judges were exceptionally impressed by Chung’s ability to combine original thinking and technical expertise with commercial insight and influence. His initiative, judgement and tenacity have shaped senior decision-making well beyond expectations for his career stage.

The judges were impressed by Eleanor’s initiative, thoughtful problem-solving and meaningful impact, transforming complex operational challenges into improvements in research quality, efficiency and participant experience.

Kantar, nominated by AA Insurance

Kantar stood out as the winner for this category. AA Insurance referred to Kantar as an extension of their insights team, reflecting the strong, long-term relationship between the two organisations. They have worked collectively on a number of pieces of research but what stood out was the impact that this work and partnership has had on the organisation. The entry included clear examples of how the teams wove together findings from across the research programme to reinforce insights and turn these into tangible actions which have led to positive outcomes for AA insurance.

Ideally, nominated by One NZ

Ideally’s AI-powered platform delivers the twin advantages of speed and accessibility, providing an always-on research capability that allows One NZ to test and validate ideas quickly, easily, and cost-effectively. It has opened the door to answering questions that previously would never have been researched, unlocking rapid evidence for better decision-making. Over more than 50 fast-turnaround projects in the past two years, Ideally has worked collaboratively and closely with One NZ, proving itself to be a genuine and trusted technology partner. Their platform has fundamentally shifted how insights are accessed and applied across the organisation, enabling research at the true speed of business.

ASB, nominated by Ipsos

ASB is awarded the 2026 Insights Team of the Year for an exceptional transformation of its customer insight capability and its clear impact on business performance. The team reimagined its Voice of Customer programme, creating a journey-based framework that sharpened focus, alignment and action across the organisation. Judges were impressed by the depth of evidence presented, including improvements in customer experience, reputation, business performance and ROI. Crucially, insights were adopted widely by leaders and frontline teams, becoming integral to decision-making.

‘Beyond Reported Crime: Giving Victims a Voice’

A powerful example of long-term impact through giving voice to an underrepresented and hard-to-reach audience. Over time, this work has generated insights that meaningfully shaped national-level decision-making, demonstrating both the value of sustained evidence and the importance of listening to those most affected.

‘Active NZ: How nine years of evidence has helped shape New Zealand's sport and recreation system’

A significant evidence base built since 2017 that has informed decisions across New Zealand’s sport and recreation system. The programme consistently delivers insights that support agencies, shape programmes, and demonstrate the value of long-term, high-quality measurement.

‘Out of the shadows – how insight is reshaping MBIE’s response to worker exploitation’

A successful systems-change approach to a deeply challenging issue—shifting focus from people exposed to power imbalances to those who create them. This work delivers societal impact by moving from broad messaging to targeted interventions. The study deepened understanding from multiple perspectives and developed models to monitor and track changes in opinion and outcomes. It delivered insights that shifted MBIE’s strategy from education to targeted action. This multi-layered programme went well beyond its initial scope, resulting in policy reforms, communication changes, measurable calls to action, and wide media coverage.

‘Small screens, big worlds – Mapping the media lives of the alpha generation.’

A study that reshaped media planning and distribution decisions affecting tamariki, whānau, and reo Māori exposure. With clear contextual challenges and implications, the team reframed insights to reframe the problem - now referenced in funding proposals, demonstrating wide sector impact. A deserving Gold winner, this is a standout example of research helping clients understand the changing behaviours of emerging customer groups who could easily be lost. A well-considered study uncovering how rangatahi access NZ-produced content, leading to clear channel solutions and helping local content credibly compete with global platforms. Significantly overachieving subscription targets, generating massive media coverage, and influencing funding decisions - this work delivered impact at scale.

‘Hospice New Zealand and Perceptive: Amplifying the voices of patients and their families to drive a world-first campaign and social change.’

This research transformed tapu experiences into opportunities for industries to do better, lifting the voices of whānau who deserve more. It clearly benchmarked what needs to improve, shifting the problem up the chain and creating outcomes with the power to change lives when it matters most. Bold in intent and original in execution, the work used research to drive issue-based advocacy. A world-first study with massive media uptake, global impact, and—most importantly—measurable behaviour change. Outstanding work with outstanding impact.

‘Listening First - How student voice is transforming physical activity in schools and kura.’

An elegant approach that empowered student voice to shape physical activity in schools. Blending national insights with local realities, the work improved participation, wellbeing, and school decision-making.

‘The tool that saved marketing’

This entry stood out unanimously for its innovation, clarity, and compelling evidence. It demonstrates powerful proof that “the tool that saved marketing also saved lives.” By cutting through complexity, the work unified scattered knowledge into a single, practical decision-making foundation—turning dense data into a clear picture of real-world risk. It pinpointed exactly where and how to invest, and it worked: the results were outstanding. Crucially, the research spoke the language of numbers to a tough, action-oriented team, making marketing visible, valued, and aligned with the organisation’s core language of risk, investment, and effective outcomes.

‘Summerset Retirement Living & Matter: Scout by Matter’

A clear and brilliantly executed tech solution that unlocked the true power of Summerset’s existing tracking research. Scout solved the challenge of trapped intelligence, enabling immediate insight access. Its reach, usability, and emerging impact show strong promise for transforming internal decision-making.

‘When Insights Become an Organisation's Vocabulary’

This work went above and beyond in meeting the needs of multiple audiences—tailoring, contextualising, and empowering teams across the organisation to own and action research-led insights. A clear winner for communicating insights effectively. The challenge was to deliver results that get used and answer the perennial question: “What happens after the report?” The solution was an internal communications programme that champions practical behaviour change at the level of individual business divisions. Using simple, meaningful models such as “Push & Pull” and “Price & Value,” the work reframed business conversations through a customer lens, turning pricing problems into communications opportunities.

‘Beyond the cost-of-living crisis’

Clear, compelling mahi that communicated hidden issues around food insecurity and informed NGO funding efforts. By addressing evidence gaps and using international benchmarks, the research moved debate beyond anecdote and delivered insights that delighted the client.

‘Holding Our Nerve: How Evidence Protected a Multi-Million Dollar Brand Strategy’

This entry stood out for its powerful use of existing data to challenge long‑held internal assumptions about marketing. The modelling provided compelling evidence for a major strategic shift—from a performance‑led approach to renewed investment in brand building. Its influence across the organisation was substantial: the work reshaped how teams, from brand managers to CFOs, understand and discuss marketing’s role in driving growth. A decisive, insight‑led intervention that delivered clarity, confidence and meaningful change at scale.

‘From tight times to Tough Comfort with Norsewear’

A feel-good hometown story about revitalising a community and investing in Aotearoa. The work delivered strong, tangible outcomes, with clear evidence of insight impact — from identifying commercial opportunities to shaping the brand positioning of socks back to New Zealand. Operating on a shoestring budget, the team proved how targeted design can deliver outsized commercial and cultural impact. An entry that shows how insight, partnership and local commitment can spark meaningful change.

‘Fletcher Living: A Place for Every Buyer’

A comprehensive, phased research programme that shaped development positioning and improved sales in a down market. The approach strengthened internal processes and now guides how Fletcher Living designs and markets new properties.

‘Customer first. System second. How Gallagher and Perceptive mapped the customer journey to shape a major technology investment.’

Customer-journey insights drove a cultural shift at Gallagher, especially among brokers, placing customer needs at the centre of interactions. The work delivered a significant NPS lift and strengthened organisational focus on customer experience.

‘From mystery to market leader. How one unanswered question about web traffic led to research that helped shape One NZ’s rise in business brand consideration.’

This entry earned Silver for demonstrating how research can effectively support commercial decision‑making. A multi‑method programme created a solid evidence base that informed strategy, strengthened brand consideration, and helped embed insight more broadly across the organisation.