From Brand to Culture: Recognising excellence in how practices communicate, connect, and build lasting reputation.
Overview of category:
This category celebrates businesses that demonstrate excellence in strategic marketing, branding, and communication, recognising that how a firm communicates shapes both its external reputation and its internal culture.
Entrants will show how brand clarity, creative communication, and authentic engagement build trust with clients, attract and retain great people, and strengthen business performance. This award recognises what is achievable and appropriate for a firm of your size, not against a corporate benchmark. What matters is strategic thinking, intentional communication, and measurable impact.
Judges are looking for evidence of how communication is used as a strategic tool, both internally with staff and externally with clients and the wider market. Entrants should demonstrate how their brand values are lived, not just stated, and how consistent messaging and authentic storytelling contribute to credibility, visibility, and business success.
Finally, businesses are asked to reflect on their communications journey, highlighting what they have learned, how they have adapted, and their aspirations for the future.
Eligibility:
This award is open to all CSNZ member firms. This year, the award runs across three size-based categories:
Category A — firms with 1 to 15 staff
Category B — firms with 16 to 50 staff
Category C — firms with 51 or more staff
You'll only ever be compared with firms of a similar size. Staff count is based on full-time equivalents (FTEs) at the time of entry, including principals and directors. Whether you're a small specialist practice that punches well above its weight in how it presents itself, a mid-sized firm that's invested in building a strong internal culture, or a larger firm with a sophisticated communications strategy — there is a place for you here.
Why enter:
Beyond the recognition itself, entering is genuinely valuable. The process of writing your entry is one of the best strategic exercises you can put your firm through — it forces you to articulate what you do, why it works, and where you want to go. Finalists and winners also receive detailed judges' feedback, which many past entrants have found very useful.
NOMINATION DEADLINE IS MONDAY 3 AUGUST 2026
This award is part of the S+SNZ Excellence Awards that will be presented at the S+SNZ Conference GSI Awards Evening in Auckland, Thursday 10 September 2026.