The week of the B&T Awards is upon us! But we’re not stopping in our quest to make sure that all of you are familiar with greatest work emanating from Australia and New Zealand.
And this time, we’re taking a look at the work from all of Australia and New Zealand—not just the hoity toity metro areas—with the best Regional Media Campaign finalists, presented by Boomtown.
If you’re still without ticket, firstly what on earth have you been doing?
Second, you are rapidly running out of time to buy and the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney is set to be completely packed on Friday 28 November. Enquire here…
Last time, we looked at the finalists in the Best Pro Bono Campaign category. You should also take a moment to check out the full list of Agency of the Year finalists and Campaign of the Year finalists.
As part of each entry, we ask entrants to submit a 300-word condensed version of their entry. So here, in their own words and in alphabetical order only, are the finalists.
Awaken, ‘Seek Offbeat, A Regional Growth Engine’, Visit Newcastle
City of Newcastle set out to win the short break, not with deep discounts, but by making it effortless for families and value seekers to turn inspiration into a booking. The task was to lift visitation in shoulder periods and deliver measurable outcomes for local operators. We reframed Newcastle as the accessible, vibrant alternative within a practical four hour drive, then built a conversion spine to match.
The central idea was Seek Offbeat, a discovery platform that invites travellers to explore the city’s beaches, food, culture and quirky experiences, then click through to Hot Deals and book. We paired publisher authority with action, Time Out and Nine Travel delivered articles and video that set the narrative credibly, while Google Performance Max and Search harvested active demand, and Meta amplified itineraries and offers for shareable momentum. Every path landed on the Hot Deals hub, a clean user experience that linked directly to operator pages, keeping the journey simple. Operators were onboarded with a templated offer format so the hub stayed fresh and ready to convert.
Results show a regional campaign built around a single behaviour, click a deal, book a real break. Visit Newcastle traffic grew 8 percent year on year, dwell time rose 133 percent, Time Out content outperformed benchmarks by 525 percent, and Meta activity delivered direct bookings at 99 percent above average. Most importantly, the campaign delivered potential leads to local operators, which was +1,180 percent versus forecast. The model is now a playbook for future seasons, proving that a simple, distinctive idea paired with disciplined media and a frictionless path to purchase can deliver outsized regional impact.
GoTransit Media Group, ‘Ride the Fizz’, Hard Fizz
Hard Fizz is no stranger to bold, unconventional ideas. With global DJ, FISHER, as co-owner, the brand is built on cultural moments as much as beverages. When the Out 2 Lunch Festival returned to the Gold Coast in 2025, Hard Fizz aimed to fuel anticipation, drive social buzz and be the festival’s cultural heartbeat.
Transit OOH was the perfect stage. Buses move with people through Burleigh, Surfers Paradise and the Coast’s social hubs, the same places festival goers live, work and play. Unlike static media, transit delivered scale, mobility and cultural relevance, embedding the brand in the city during the lead up.
In partnership with GoTransit, three buses delivered a focused approach.
Two Megasides carried Hard Fizz’s Light on the Rig creative with FISHER front and centre, building brand fame along the Gold Coast corridor.
One Full Wrap teased See You @ Out 2 Lunch, acting as a moving countdown. That bus then became the Hard Fizz rave bus, a roving DJ stage with Richy Penny and Nicka35 performing live as it rolled through the city. Loyal taproom customers and Gold Coast influencers were invited on board, ensuring the experience was captured, shared and amplified. The spectacle blurred the line between OOH and live entertainment, creating the kind of FOMO money cannot buy.
Results:
- 1.3M+ social views, fuelled by reposts from FISHER, Chloe Fisher and Richy Penny
- Reach up 65% to 911.6K
• New followers up 109%
• Mentions up 79%
• Engagement rate up 67%
• Earned media coverage in News.com.au, ABC, Gold Coast Bulletin, Campaign Brief and B&T
• Out 2 Lunch Festival, complete two day sell out!
Hard Fizz did not just sponsor a festival. It turned the streets into part of it and owned the conversation.
INNOCEAN, ‘How We Turned the pre-EOFY Quiet Period into a Goldmine for Regional Hyundai Dealers’, Hyundai
Hyundai needed a new approach for their EOFY sales to meet ambitious targets. Historically, Hyundai’s EOFY campaigns were highly inconsistent, with regional dealers managing their own media and creative. The brief was to create a singular, effective sales event to convert in-market buyers and achieve specific targets: 38,300 walk-ins and 20,120 sales.
Our central media idea was born from a key insight: while EOFY is a prime time for car purchases, it’s also a stressful, rushed period for buyers. To stand out, we gave potential customers the time they lacked. The strategy was to launch Australia’s first pre-EOFY automotive sale, playfully named “PREOFYS.”
We began the campaign in early April, well ahead of the traditional EOFY rush, to build brand salience. The plan was a comprehensive, localised media mix. We used high-impact audio-visual content on screens and Out-of-Home (OOH) displays to drive localised consideration and dealership visits. Audio channels, including sponsorships with regional radio and sports programs, built positive sentiment and drove footfall. Digital channels like social media and rich media delivered targeted reach and leads. This approach was highly tailored, with insights from local dealers influencing decisions like partnering with NRL podcasts in the east and press in Western Australia.
The campaign was a resounding success. We achieved a 362% quarterly increase in web traffic to the offers page and jumped from equal 5th to equal 2nd in Share of Voice. YouTube delivered 14.4 million impressions with a completion rate almost double the global average. Most importantly, the campaign delivered 5,676 leads nationally and increased model share views by 41% in targeted regions. The “PREOFYS” campaign successfully transformed Hyundai’s EOFY approach, proving that giving buyers time was the key to converting interest into sales.
Keep Left, ‘How Ya Travellin’?’ Healthy Heads Trucks & Sheds
Truck drivers spend weeks moving freight across Australia’s most isolated highways – the Eyre, Stuart, Hume, Great Northern and beyond. These long, lonely journeys come at a cost. The transport sector ranks last out of 19 industries for mental health, with drivers among the most vulnerable workers in the country. Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds (HHTS) briefed Keep Left to deliver preventative support directly to drivers in regional Australia, far from metro centres.
Research confirmed the need for a regional-first strategy. Drivers distrust corporate messaging but rely on radio and podcasts in the cab as constant companions. The insight was clear: use sound to break through the silence of regional roads.
The idea: How Ya Travellin’? – a unifying campaign fronted by comedian and licensed truckie Shane Jacobson, delivering wellbeing tips, lived experience and expert advice. At its core, geo-targeted radio hijacked ad breaks on isolated highways, supported by a $911k regional media buy spanning 100+ regional stations, 36 billboards and 124 service-station posters. Eight podcast episodes extended the storytelling, while digital, social and PR activity pointed drivers back to the audio.
Launched during National Road Safety Week, the campaign covered thousands of kilometres of regional highways and ensured drivers couldn’t miss the message. The integrated approach delivered scale and consistency, from service stops to cabins.
The results were powerful. How Ya Travellin’? reached over 12M Australians, achieved 7,000+ podcast downloads in five months (top 10% globally), and generated hundreds of responses from drivers thanking Shane for recognising their struggles. Perceptions of HHTS as “just for corporates” dropped from 67% to 44%, while seven in ten drivers attributed the campaign back to Healthy Heads.
How Ya Travellin’? proves the power of a regional-first idea: strategically targeted, geographically expansive, and genuinely effective.
Showpony, ‘Water Conservation’, TasWater
Water is everywhere in Tasmania and an intrinsic part of the lifestyle Tasmanians enjoy every day. With increasing pressure on the water supply, TasWater needed to remind Tasmanians their water was not an infinite resource, and that saving it was equally as important as enjoying it.
To engage and educate a statewide audience on the value of conserving water and promote uptake of daily water saving habits, we shifted the idea of water saving from a directive, into a demonstration of state pride. Leveraging TasWater’s brand platform “Water. It’s Tasmania’s thing.”, we executed a media strategy integrating a powerful mix of channels to maximise reach and impact, all for under 150K. To shift saving water from an abstract issue into a personal, everyday habit we built a media idea grounded in connection, talkability and action.
We built mass awareness through a screen first strategy across linear, Connected TV and streaming, complemented by OOH and Social. We then drove engagement through participation, a Triple M radio activation encouraged Tasmanians to call in and sing their favourite ‘shower karaoke’ song on air. Finally, we used shared media partnerships and owned channels to drive Action – and the results speak for themselves:
Strongest cut through was the ‘mainstream middle’ audience representing 55% of the Tasmanian population, with 1 in 4 people aware of the campaign stating that they reflected on their water usage.
In just a three month period, residential water use for Jan – Mar 2025 averaged 249 (L/p/day), compared to 254 for Jan – Mar 2024. That’s the equivalent of 41 olympic sized swimming pools of water saved! For a 136K spend we received over 195K in added value delivering paid media value to 332K and Showeroke was negotiated as bonus, valued at 60K .
Wülfe, ‘Lawn of Fame’, Mort & Co.
How do you make cow poo go viral? That was the challenge.
Mort & Co., Australia’s largest privately owned feedlot, had pioneered a world-first: a premium, 100% organic fertiliser made from cattle manure, built on circular economy principles. Groundbreaking in science, yes. But how do you convince Australians that cow poo belongs in their shopping carts?
Enter Wülfe. Instead of selling fertiliser, we sold what fertiliser creates: the pride of a great Aussie lawn. We launched “Lawn of Fame”, a regional competition to uncover Australia’s best backyard. Cheeky, bold, unapologetically grassroots.
We delivered a full funnel campaign that met consumers everywhere. In-person activations drove community engagement. Out-of-home and print delivered credibility. Fake out-of-home (FOOH) 3D modelling sparked social buzz. Influencer partnerships, paid ads and organic social fuelled shareability and kept the conversation alive long after the first click. Every channel worked together to turn Mort & Co.’s innovation into a cultural talking point.
To supercharge virality, we enlisted a judging panel featuring Adam Reynolds, captain of the Brisbane Broncos. If anyone knows grass, it’s him. His involvement gave the campaign cultural authority and instant trust with our target audience.
The impact was immediate. Social feeds overflowed with lawns. Regional media lit up with coverage. Participation soared. Most importantly, retailers couldn’t keep up — the Garden Range sold out in stores, proving demand for sustainability packaged in the language of lawn pride.
The campaign achieved viral traction beyond projections, delivered tangible commercial success, and is now scaling nationally. By reframing cow poo as the secret to lawn glory, we turned sustainability into an irresistible cultural conversation and proved even fertiliser can be famous.
