From Upper Hutt to leading adidas across the Pacific, Rachel Howard is proof that world-class marketing talent is born right here in Wellington. Rachel is an award-winning brand builder, a strategic change maker & cultural architect within adidas - and a former international footballer & Olympian.

In this standout keynote, Rachel shares how she’s helped evolve adidas into a global cultural icon - while staying relevant across diverse markets. Expect insights drawn from award-winning campaigns and global leadership roles, and find out how Wellington marketers can make a global impact.

What you’ll learn:

• Brand Evolution: The strategic pivots, collaborations, and innovation bets that have kept adidas in the cultural conversation (and closets) for two decades.

• Global vs. Local: How brand managers navigate the fine line between a single, global identity and the need for local nuance.

• Customer Meaning: What adidas stands for today - and how those meanings flex depending on country, culture, and even generation. 

About Rachel

Rachel Howard is a creative and strategic brand leader with over 20 years at adidas across New Zealand, Germany, China, Hong Kong, Russia, Dubai, and Australia.

Currently General Manager of adidas Pacific, she leads the brand and business across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, driving growth, innovation, and consumer connection.

Previously, she held senior leadership roles in Emerging Markets, CIS, Hong Kong, and Greater China, shaping disruptive strategies and inclusive cultures.

A former New Zealand Football Fern, World Cup and Olympic athlete, Rachel brings passion, resilience, and global perspective as a change maker and cultural architect.

From the heart of Wellington, Jess Bovey has helped shape one of New Zealand’s most distinctive and effective public-sector brands. As a key force behind NZ Police’s marketing and social strategy - and part of the Marketing Team of the Year (Worthies 2026) - Jess will take you inside the thinking, risks, and results behind a voice that balances authority with authenticity.

From viral recruitment campaigns to cultural moments like #FridayFloof, Jess will unpack how humour, humanity, and smart timing can build trust at scale - without compromising credibility. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how bold, real-world activations (like police-wrapped buses and trains) sparked nationwide engagement and user-generated content.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to use humour strategically - when it works, when it doesn’t, and how to shift tone without losing trust
• The ingredients behind shareable, conversation-starting campaigns
• Why showing personality drives stronger engagement
• How to create sustained social connection and long-term brand goodwill
• What commercial brands can learn from public-sector marketing done right.

Blending real-world case studies with frontline experience, Jess will share how modern marketing in a high-stakes environment can still be bold, human, and highly effective. 

About Jess

Jess Bovey has spent more than 20 years in social media and currently manages the social media and brand function for the New Zealand Police.

She has led Police’s social media response to major national events including the March 15 terrorist attacks, the Whakaari / White Island eruption, COVID-19 and Cyclone Gabrielle, building a trusted, human voice under intense public scrutiny.

Under her leadership, Police’s channels have grown to more than 2.8 million followers. She’s known for sharp social instincts, smart risk-taking, and introducing #fridayfloof. Jess has  proven that even the most serious brands can earn attention (and affection) when they understand the platform and their audience.

Jess leads teams across social, marketing, recruitment, TV, design and video and firmly believes the best social strategy is brave, human and a little bit bold.

Born in Wellington and now one of Aotearoa’s most recognisable digital brands, Trade Me is a true local success story – and rapidly emerging as one of New Zealand’s most sophisticated AI marketing case studies.

In early 2026, the brand leaned into strategic partnerships to accelerate AI adoption, not just for speed, but to redefine the quality and efficiency of their entire marketing ecosystem.

In this session, we’ll explore how Trade Me is leveraging new "ways of working," high-impact pilot programs, and cutting-edge AI platforms to scale business outcomes and elevate customer experiences.

What You’ll Learn:

• How Trade Me utilises AI across Lifecycle, Campaigns, Performance Marketing, and SEO/GEO.

• From "Play" to "Production": Practical lessons on moving beyond experimentation to full-scale AI integration.

• The Unfiltered Journey: An honest look at the journey so far, including the wins, the failures, and the ongoing challenges of AI transformation.

About Dean

Dean Napier has extensive experience in marketing and customer engagement, currently serving as the acting Head of Marketing & Customer Engagement at Trade Me since October 2018, where responsibilities include managing a 20-member team across various marketing functions and leading initiatives in customer data and lifecycle marketing.

Previously, Dean has held multiple roles at Trade Me, such as Head of Martech, Media & Analytics, and Senior Product Manager - Audience, focusing on SEM, marketing automation, and SEO strategies. Additional experience includes serving as Treasurer for the Wairarapa Sports Education Trust, and holding marketing positions within Suncorp Group, Oracle, and ANZ.

Dean holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and Management from Victoria University of Wellington.

Wellington consistently punches above its weight creatively - but why? This panel brings together leaders from agencies, culture and the crafts to unpack how a small city produces world-class ideas. we’ll explore the creative ecosystem that fuels collaboration, the constraints that sharpen thinking, and how ideas move from insight to impact. Expect an honest, behind-the-scenes look at how great work really happens – the messy, intuitive, collaborative reality.

What you’ll learn:

• What makes Wellington’s creative ecosystem uniquely powerful
• How constraints and collaboration fuel better ideas
• Where great ideas actually come from (beyond the brief)
• What marketers can learn from entertainment and immersive storytelling
• How to create work that transcends marketing and becomes culture. 

About Chris

Chris Bleackley is responsible for some of New Zealand's most loved ads. He enjoys nothing more than pushing the creative envelope and oversees all of the work from strategy to output.

Surprisingly, after so many successful years in the industry, Chris thinks the greatest achievements are still ahead of him. He also strongly believes that the best time to be in advertising is right now, and with hard work, patience and a love for ideas, we can create effective, meaningful and world changing work for our clients.

Wellington consistently punches above its weight creatively - but why? This panel brings together leaders from agencies, culture and the crafts to unpack how a small city produces world-class ideas. we’ll explore the creative ecosystem that fuels collaboration, the constraints that sharpen thinking, and how ideas move from insight to impact. Expect an honest, behind-the-scenes look at how great work really happens – the messy, intuitive, collaborative reality.

What you’ll learn:

• What makes Wellington’s creative ecosystem uniquely powerful
• How constraints and collaboration fuel better ideas
• Where great ideas actually come from (beyond the brief)
• What marketers can learn from entertainment and immersive storytelling
• How to create work that transcends marketing and becomes culture. 

About Mark

A proud Wellingtonian, Mark started his career here over 20 years ago, cutting his teeth on behaviour-changing subjects like road safety and alcohol consumption.

He then set sail for Paris, where he spent 15 years working on global and local clients, producing award-winning work, sitting on the jury at Cannes Lions, helping start a new agency, and diving headfirst into French cuisine.

He misses the 1,500 varieties of cheese on hand, but is stoked to be back in his hometown. During his three years at Special, the agency has twice been ranked New Zealand’s Most Effective Agency at the Effie Awards, as well as Campaign UK’s Global Creative Agency of the Year.

We celebrate marketing excellence with three standout Wellington winners from the 2025 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards. You’ll hear about their work, the thinking behind the campaigns, and how they each turned insight into successful marketing execution.

Find out how Summerset, Sport NZ and Sharesies identified barriers to behaviour change - and redesigned conditions to make action easier, safer and more relevant.

• Summerset → low enquiry-to-settlement conversion
• Sport NZ → declining physical activity among teen girls
• Sharesies → lack of cross-product adoption

From hyper-local data to Gen Z creators to contextual media, they prove that impact comes from relevance and precision, and scale comes later. Expect a candid discussion on working within constraints, and why modern marketing is about removing friction - not adding noise. 

About Kate

Kate Thirkell is a senior brand and marketing leader with experience across agencies, client-side organisations and government, known for turning sharp insight into measurable impact.

Originally from Yorkshire, Kate moved to Aotearoa New Zealand in the late 1990s, joining Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington, before moving client-side to lead major brand and behaviour-change programmes across sectors—from launching EECA’s Gen Less to driving national brand and marketing initiatives at Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa.

As Brand and Marketing Manager at Sport NZ, Kate led the team behind the award-winning Go UnPro campaign, designed to help reverse declining physical activity levels among teenage girls by rewriting the rules of what ‘sport’ looks like - and who it’s for. The work combined sharp insight, Gen Z creators and contextual media to remove barriers, challenge norms and make participation feel more relevant, achievable and - most importantly - fun.

We celebrate marketing excellence with three standout Wellington winners from the 2025 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards. You’ll hear about their work, the thinking behind the campaigns, and how they each turned insight into successful marketing execution.

Find out how Summerset, Sport NZ and Sharesies identified barriers to behaviour change - and redesigned conditions to make action easier, safer and more relevant.

• Summerset → low enquiry-to-settlement conversion
• Sport NZ → declining physical activity among teen girls
• Sharesies → lack of cross-product adoption

From hyper-local data to Gen Z creators to contextual media, they prove that impact comes from relevance and precision, and scale comes later. Expect a candid discussion on working within constraints, and why modern marketing is about removing friction - not adding noise. 

About Annalies

Annalies Kruiniger is a senior marketing leader with 20 years’ experience across New Zealand and the UK, spanning agency, client-side and government roles, and working with both major global brands as well as ambitious challenger businesses.

Her career has included roles across financial services, energy, technology and the public sector, with a focus on brand strategy, customer engagement and behaviour change.

Known for her energy, curiosity and straight-talking style, Annalies enjoys conversations about creative thinking, customer behaviour and building brands people actually care about.

We celebrate marketing excellence with three standout Wellington winners from the 2025 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards. You’ll hear about their work, the thinking behind the campaigns, and how they each turned insight into successful marketing execution.

Find out how Summerset, Sport NZ and Sharesies identified barriers to behaviour change - and redesigned conditions to make action easier, safer and more relevant.

• Summerset → low enquiry-to-settlement conversion
• Sport NZ → declining physical activity among teen girls
• Sharesies → lack of cross-product adoption

From hyper-local data to Gen Z creators to contextual media, they prove that impact comes from relevance and precision, and scale comes later. Expect a candid discussion on working within constraints, and why modern marketing is about removing friction - not adding noise. 

About Brendon

Brendon McLean is Marketing Manager Villages at Summerset Retirement Villages, leading village marketing and lead generation across the country. With experience in New Zealand and the UK, he has worked across numerous local and international brands.

A mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Auckland, Brendon now applies that analytical background to data-informed marketing effectiveness, customer insight and performance measurement. The work of his team has been recognised through multiple marketing effectiveness awards, most recently winning Best Use of Data Insight & Strategy at the 2025 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards.

We celebrate marketing excellence with three standout Wellington winners from the 2025 YouTube NZ Marketing Awards. You’ll hear about their work, the thinking behind the campaigns, and how they each turned insight into successful marketing execution.

Find out how Summerset, Sport NZ and Sharesies identified barriers to behaviour change - and redesigned conditions to make action easier, safer and more relevant.

• Summerset → low enquiry-to-settlement conversion
• Sport NZ → declining physical activity among teen girls
• Sharesies → lack of cross-product adoption

From hyper-local data to Gen Z creators to contextual media, they prove that impact comes from relevance and precision, and scale comes later. Expect a candid discussion on working within constraints, and why modern marketing is about removing friction - not adding noise. 

About Ben

Ben Stonyer is an experienced sales & marketing professional with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry.

He is currently a marketing lead at Sharesies where he has worked for four year and led the marketing for the launch of the Sharesies KiwiSaver Scheme.

About Jasmine

Jasmine Currie is an award-winning marketing leader with over 15 years’ experience transforming brands and driving growth in New Zealand’s FMCG sector.

As Head of Marketing, she’s known for building high-performing teams, delivering standout campaigns, and turning challenger brands into market leaders through smart, integrated strategy.

Her work spans major product launches, digital transformation, and high-impact partnerships - consistently delivering exceptional commercial results.

A finalist for NZ Marketer of the Year and a regular industry speaker, Jasmine also gives back as Co-chair of the Marketing Association’s Wellington Committee and a mentor to emerging talent. Bringing energy, insight, and a natural stage presence, she’s the perfect host to guide today’s conversations.