Amanda Wilson, brand strategist at These Guys I Know, reflects on a big 2025 where the agency delivered creative campaigns like “Thanks Driver” that sparked national conversation and showcased its strengths in PR, brand awareness and media planning. Highlighting work that drives impact beyond commercial outcomes, Wilson shares insights on the year’s challenges, achievements and what’s ahead in 2026.

These Guys I Know returns for its third year as strategy and communications partner to the Z Manu World Champs, helping accelerate event activation, PR services, media planning and brand awareness across 10 cities in New Zealand and Australia.

Tributes for FCB and DDB are already flowing globally in “something we prepared earlier” style obituaries, as it’s announced that the two brands will fold into McCann in New Zealand - and cease to exist around the world off the back of the acquisition of Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) by Omnicom. It won't come as a surprise to anyone within the organisations impacted; a friend in a senior role at one of the agencies had outlined this likely outcome to me a couple of w

My Journey in New Zealand's Music Retail Industry My first substantial marketing role was as Head of Marketing for New Zealand’s largest music retail chain, Sounds. One minute, we were making and breaking the international careers of rockstars. We launched the careers of homegrown superstars and decided what albums were purchased in what quantities. We showcased music in-store and enjoyed side-stage seats at sold-out concerts. The next minute, we became irrelevant. Doh. The C

A New Era of Workspaces These Guys I Know has a strong interest in the future of work and workplaces. We have even led a “work from anywhere” tourism campaign, which aligns with our innovative approach. We’ve never adopted a traditional workspace model. Like our business, our approach to workspaces is flexible. We pop up! We design around client needs and how teams choose to work. We’ve run hybrid models, remote teams, and pop-up spaces, especially when we are in production m

Content creation has never been easier. That’s good news - and bad news, depending how you look at it. It means of course, that anyone with a phone and an idea can make a post, a reel, a video, a blog - and millions of pieces of content flood the internet every single day.  But with that ease comes a flood of noise. 

​​ At These Guys I Know we built our service offerings to address pain points we had when client side. A biggie was PR. Paying, relatively significantly, for press releases to be written and distributed that didn't get picked up - that drove us absolutely nuts! 🤯 Not so much that there wasn't the pick up - but there didn't seem to be much concern or accountability about that. It seemed to us that when it came to PR,  the client / agency model wasn't actually incentivised to

When it comes to Business to Business (B2B), an area of specialisation for These Guys I Know, the #1 driver of success is TRUST. Ultimately, that a client feels safe doing business with you. Personal drivers are taking increasing priority in the buyer journey.  This is a key focus area for These Guys I Know - and it’s particularly important when clients are doing things like putting their story out into the public arena, but also in general - when they are spending their valu

Arriving with the family at Disneyland in LA, the security guard twisted the tiny feet of the furry doll hanging from a backpack and said, “Be careful with those here, people steal them.” In a sea of content and product clutter, authenticity isn’t just a brand value - it’s a currency, and Labubus have it in spades. Labubu hunting has become something of a scavenger hunt - an unexpected adventure for both kids and adults. It’s also a window into a broader cultural phenomenon.

Why Personal Branding Matters Personal branding is a key service offered by These Guys I Know. Over the years, we’ve collaborated with celebrities, founders, business leaders, and high-profile partners like McKinsey. Here’s a little secret: Personal branding isn’t just about being seen. It’s about being seen in the right way. There’s a common myth that to build a successful personal brand, you need a big, noisy profile. However, the truth is that positioning matters far more

If we ever needed evidence that the world of news and event coverage has changed forever, the trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs leaves us in no doubt. Wow.  A team member at These Guys I Know is captivated by the trial and has followed the trial exclusively on TikTok, updated throughout the day by her chosen creators - @devotedly.yours, with 1.7 million followers being her “broadcaster” of choice. The creators themselves, being quite the spectacle, have become the subject of media

Positioning Brand New Zealand to Drive Our Tourism Industry Forward! Let's Go! 100% Pure New Zealand: A Fresh Start for Tourism Tourism New Zealand has officially returned to its iconic global brand position: 100% Pure New Zealand . As proud New Zealanders, we can't express how excited we are about this strong brand platform. This campaign represents a renewed focus and comes with a budget of $5.5 million . In today's media landscape, that’s a significant investment. The crea

From Could to Should: The Strategy Filter Your Business Needs

This article was originally published on StopPress - https://stoppress.co.nz/news/z-manu-world-champs-a-masterclass-in-sponsor-activation...

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