Winning a B&T Award isn’t easy. But Thompson Spencer perhaps pulled off the coup of the year in 2025, beating Special, Droga5 and Bastion Shine to the take the inaugural Aotearoa New Zealand Agency of the Year crown.
A year on, and ahead of the 2026 B&T Awards, presented by Rokt, we caught up with Melanie Spencer, Thompson Spencer’s co-founder and group CEO, to reflect on its well-earned success.
“[It was] tough competition but we do believe in our agency, our people and our work. And we’re really proud of what we’ve pulled off in the last five years. So yes, [we were] mildly confident,” said Spencer.
Thompson Spencer’s 2025 was one of the most important 12 months in the agency’s 15 years of operation. In March last year, it merged with another New Zealand agency, Reason, to round out its capabilities. The pre-merger Thompson Spencer focused on creative and media, while Reason’s expertise lay in performance media.
“We knew the future was creativity working hand in hand with performance, tech and data. So we knew we had to build that capability with an agency renowned as one of the best in New Zealand. And with 42 per cent of our top 35 clients collaborating across our divisions in the first six months of the merger, the proof point so we absolutely made the right move,” said Spencer.
“Brands are looking for an integrated offering and Reason has completed the puzzle for us. Brands want to truly connect with their audiences and they can do that with us. We call it the Golden Thread,” said Spencer.
At the time, we lauded the agency for its foresight in seeking to create a model where technology working simultaneously with real people. The ideas will be big and grounded in human truths but the behind the scenes work will be augmented by machines.
“We’re a creative and media agency with social at the heart of everything we do. Ultimately we’re a Connection Agency: we don’t just run campaigns, we build communities and shape culture. Connection across all our specialist divisions is everything, because changing behaviour, building trust and reaching communities that have every reason to tune out takes more than a clever ad. It takes genuine connection, and the skill to connect on and offline is paramount today. The right connection, with the right ideas, creates momentum. And with momentum? You don’t just reach people. You move them. That’s the Golden Thread,” added Spencer.
That thread, Spencer said, is helping the agency attract new clients, as well as new talent.
“Our mantra is the spark of an idea turning into a movement and a community of raving fans – not a massive campaign idea and a hope that it all works out. That’s why we’re winning pitches and growing our existing client base. Add to that our human lens with influencers, our ability to connect with diverse ethnicities through our Chinese Media Marketing arm across NZ and Australia, all overlaid with data and insights,” said Spencer.
“We’re attracting some of the best talent in NZ, we’re doing bigger projects, and we’re being really innovative with tech and AI across the agency. We’ve invested in a full-time tech team led by a CTO who keeps building our own proprietary tech and it streamlines processes and gives everyone visibility across the agency, as well as overlaying AI into all our divisions. There’s a lot going on that I can’t share… because it’s top secret. But it’s really, really cool.”
Since winning the trophy, Thompson Spencer has now expanded back across the Ditch to Australia. For Spencer, the expansion was a no-brainer, with more clients available. She also called Sydney home for 10 years and had three of her four children in the city.
But is she confident in retaining the Aotearoa New Zealand Agency of the Year title?
“I’m going to say yes. It’s easy to forget everything we’ve achieved in a year, but awards like this make you stop and take stock of what we’ve done as a wholly-owned Kiwi business in a tough economic climate. We’re always looking forward and we’re optimists so bring it on, I say!” she said.
