Best Advertising Agencies in Wellington: Creative, Media Planning and Paid Campaigns

The best advertising agencies in Wellington cover the whole job, from brand strategy and creative production through to media planning, buying and paid digital campaigns. Whether you need a television and radio schedule, an out of home run across the city, or a programmatic and Google Ads campaign you can measure week by week, the advertising agencies in Wellington below work across those channels for local businesses, national brands and government clients. Hemisphere and The Media Lab open the list.

1Hemisphere

Hemisphere is a Wellington advertising agency that keeps a creative studio and a media team under the same roof, so the idea, the production and the channel buying are handled by one group. Its campaign work runs across television, radio, out of home, video and paid social, with a particular line in behaviour change communication. The agency works from Level 1 on Oriental Parade and also keeps an office in Mount Maunganui.

Services

• Television advertising, on demand and live
• Radio and audio advertising
• Out of home and outdoor placements
• Video production, from six second bumpers to long form storytelling
• Media strategy, planning and buying

Highlights

• Creative and media specialists on staff, including a head of creative and a head of media
• Tiriti-dynamic partnership with Big River Creative, sharing one office and one team in Te Whanganui-a-Tara
• Climate positive business, offsetting through Ekos indigenous carbon forest projects plus a further 20 percent
• Second studio in Mount Maunganui alongside the Wellington office

Location & Contact

Name: Hemisphere
Address: Level 1, 58-60 Oriental Parade, Wellington 6011
Phone: 04 384 5994
Website: hemisphere.nz

2The Media Lab

The Media Lab is a media planning, buying and strategy agency working from Level 2 on Cuba Street in Te Aro. Being independently owned means it is not selling media space it owns, so plans are built around a client’s goals and it partners with separate creative studios where campaign production is needed. Its client base spans small and medium businesses, NGOs and government agencies.

Services

• Media planning and buying
• Digital marketing and advertising
• Marketing communications strategy
• Social media management and content development
• Consumer insight, audience analysis, digital tracking and data analytics

Highlights

• Independently owned, and not part of a multi agency or international marketing group
• Manages more than 150 social media accounts across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and Snapchat
• Named a Best Places to Work employer in 2024
• Separate practice areas for All of Government campaigns, food and beverage brands, youth audiences and campaigns that engage Māori

Location & Contact

Name: The Media Lab
Address: Level 2, 60 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6012
Phone: 020 420 0888
Website: themedialab.co.nz

3Ambitious Aotearoa

Ambitious Aotearoa is a full-service creative agency on Tory Street in Te Aro that works across brand strategy, advertising creative and paid digital promotion. Its capability started in digital and has since extended across the wider media landscape, including media strategy, planning and buying. Copywriting, art direction, motion design and film sit alongside its branding and website work.

Services

• Advertising ideation, copywriting and art direction
• Motion design, animation, film and photography
• Brand strategy, consumer research and buyer behaviour insights
• Search marketing, social media marketing and campaign management

Highlights

• Media strategy, planning and buying handled alongside the creative work rather than outsourced
• Reverse brief process, where the client service team writes the brief back to the client for sign off
• Branding, visual identity and web development delivered by the same team that runs the campaigns
• Front end development capability on staff for campaign sites and landing pages
• States a policy of ethics in advertising and inclusivity in its workplace

Location & Contact

Name: Ambitious Aotearoa
Address: 9 Tory Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Phone: 04 280 1107
Website: ambitious.co.nz

4Werk Agency

Werk Agency is a creative and marketing agency on Cuba Street in Te Aro, with a second studio on Karangahape Road in Auckland. It pairs brand and design work with data-driven campaign delivery, and shoots its own photography and video rather than briefing it out. Projects range from a single shoot or branding exercise through to multi-channel campaigns run month to month.

Services

• Digital advertising campaigns
• Brand and design
• Photography and video production
• Social media management
• Communications strategy and e-commerce marketing

Highlights

• Photographers, videographers and an editor on staff rather than contracted per project
• Studios in both Te Aro and on Karangahape Road in Auckland
• Campaign and content work for Wellington names including CubaDupa, Fix & Fogg and Six Barrel Soda Co

Location & Contact

Name: Werk Agency
Address: Level 1, 181 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Phone: 04 385 6104
Website: werkagency.co

5Aro Digital

Aro Digital is a paid digital specialist based on Waring Taylor Street in Wellington Central, with a second base in Christchurch. The team builds and runs Google Ads, programmatic media buying, display and video, and paid social, then reports on it through custom dashboards. Named practice areas cover behaviour change communication, B2B lead generation, events and e-commerce.

Services

• Google Ads and paid search
• Programmatic media buying
• Display and video advertising
• Social media campaigns
• Search engine optimisation, analytics and reporting dashboards

Highlights

• Paid media roles are dedicated, including a performance team lead and a senior paid media specialist
• Creative production specialists on staff for display and video ad builds
• Practice areas in behaviour change, social enterprise, event marketing and e-commerce
• Runs digital marketing workshops for client teams alongside campaign delivery

Location & Contact

Name: Aro Digital
Address: Level 2, 30 Waring Taylor Street, Wellington Central, Wellington 6011
Phone: 027 314 9510
Website: aro.digital

Advertising Agencies in Wellington at a Glance

How to Choose the Right Advertising Agency in Wellington

• Work out whether you need creative, media buying or both, because some agencies make the advertising and others place it
• Ask which channels the agency buys directly, covering television, radio, out of home, programmatic display and paid search
• Check whether production sits on staff, since photography, video and animation costs shape the budget more than most people expect
• Look for experience with your audience type, whether that is consumers, business buyers or public sector behaviour change
• Ask how results are reported, including which platforms the dashboards pull from and how often you will see the numbers

Frequently Asked Questions About Wellington Advertising Agencies

What does an advertising agency actually do?

An advertising agency takes a business goal and turns it into a campaign, which usually means research and strategy first, then a creative idea, then production of the ads themselves, then placing them in the channels where the audience will see them. Some agencies handle the whole chain, and others focus on one part of it, such as media planning and buying or paid digital.

How much do advertising agencies in Wellington charge?

Agencies rarely publish rate cards, because the cost depends on the scope, the channels and whether media spend is included on top of the fee. Work is typically quoted either as a project fee or as a monthly retainer, with media budget invoiced separately. Ask for a written scope that separates agency fees, production costs and media spend so you can compare proposals properly.

What is the difference between a creative agency and a media agency?

A creative agency develops the idea and makes the advertising, including scripts, artwork, film and audio. A media agency decides where that advertising runs, negotiates the buy and tracks the performance. Full-service agencies do both, while specialists in each discipline often work together on the same campaign.

Which parts of Wellington are these agencies based in?

Most of the city’s agency scene clusters in Te Aro and the central city. Cuba Street and Tory Street hold several studios within a few minutes’ walk of each other, Oriental Parade sits just around the waterfront from the CBD, and Waring Taylor Street is in Wellington Central near the Lambton Quay end. If you are looking for an advertising agency in Wellington close to your own office, almost everything is within a short walk of Courtenay Place or the railway station.

Do Wellington agencies work with small businesses or only large brands?

Both. Several agencies in the city run dedicated programmes for small and medium businesses alongside their corporate and government work, and a small budget spent well on paid search or paid social can be a sensible starting point. Ask directly what a realistic minimum monthly spend looks like for the channels you are considering.

Who regulates advertising in New Zealand?

Advertising content is self-regulated through the Advertising Standards Authority, which publishes the codes that apply to advertising across all media and handles public complaints. You can read the codes and the complaints process at the Advertising Standards Authority. Claims about products and services also have to comply with the Fair Trading Act, which the Commerce Commission enforces.

How long does it take to get a campaign live?

A paid digital campaign using existing brand assets can often be built and launched within a couple of weeks. Anything involving new production, such as a television commercial, a radio series or a photo and video shoot, takes considerably longer because casting, filming, editing and approvals all sit in front of the media booking. Out of home and television also have booking deadlines that vary by site and by channel.

Should I hire an agency or build an in-house team?

An agency gives you access to a spread of specialists, including strategists, designers, producers and media buyers, without carrying all of those salaries. An in-house team gives you more day to day control and deeper product knowledge. A common middle path is an in-house marketing manager who briefs and manages an external agency, and some agencies also run training workshops so your own team can take more of the work over time.