Auckland businesses looking for campaign thinking, sharp creative and media that reaches the right people will find the best advertising agencies in Auckland gathered below. These agencies cover brand strategy, creative concepts, television and video production, social content, and media planning and buying, for everything from a retail launch to a nationwide brand campaign. Motion Sickness and Contagion open the list.
1Motion Sickness
Motion Sickness is an independent creative company based in Grey Lynn whose work runs across advertising, design, film, product and experience, and it describes itself as a creative company rather than an advertising agency. Its campaigns for Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Frank Energy and Whānau Ora have collected Effie, Cannes Lions and AXIS awards. It suits brands and public sector clients who want one idea carried from strategy through to finished production.
Services
- Advertising campaigns
- Brand and creative strategy
- Film and video production
- Design
- Experience and product ideas
Highlights
- Agency of the Year at the AXIS Awards
- Grand Effie at the Effie Awards Aotearoa 2025
- Grand Prix For Good at Cannes Lions 2025
- Independent Agency of the Year at Spikes Asia 2025
- New Zealand owned and independent, with film and design handled in house
Location & Contact
Name: Motion Sickness
Address: 13 Maidstone Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland 1021
Phone: 09 523 0370
Website: motionsickness.company
2Contagion
Contagion is a full-service creative and media agency in Grey Lynn that keeps strategy, creative, media and design under one roof. It was founded in 2010 by Dean Taylor and works with brands including Tourism New Zealand, New Zealand Football, PlaceMakers, Paper Plus and MOTAT. It suits marketers who want campaign creative and the media spend behind it handled by the same team rather than split across suppliers.
Services
- Brand strategy
- Creative campaigns
- Media planning and buying
- Digital marketing and analytics
- B2B marketing
Highlights
- Independently owned, founded in 2010
- Strategy, creative, media and design teams all in house
- Dedicated media division led by a general manager of media
- Client list spanning tourism, sport, building supplies and finance
Location & Contact
Name: Contagion
Address: 4 Murdoch Road, Grey Lynn, Auckland
Phone: 027 755 5560
Website: contagion.co.nz
3Chemistry
Chemistry is an independent creative agency on Beaumont Street that connects brand strategy, creative, media and production in what it calls joined-up thinking. Its work includes campaigns for MTF Finance, Hato Hone St John, the TAB and Jaguar. It suits advertisers who want brand building and response-driven advertising treated as one brief rather than two.
Services
- Business and brand strategy
- Response-driven creative
- Social media content and management
- Full-service media planning and buying
- Television and video production, events and activations
Highlights
- Independently owned
- Media capability delivered through its own media arm, Sneakers Media
- Production, events and brand activations run through sister agency MetroEXP
- Directors Joseph Silk and Mike Larmer both publish direct contact details for new enquiries
Location & Contact
Name: Chemistry
Address: Level 1, 20 Beaumont Street, Auckland 1010
Phone: 021 567 455
Website: chemistry.co.nz
4Rainger & Rolfe
Rainger & Rolfe is a full-service creative agency in Auckland specialising in building brands, driving activation and improving customer experience across every touchpoint. Its work spans television commercials, point-of-sale and digital campaigns for bp, Honda, Mother Earth, UDC, Moana New Zealand and the Commerce Commission. It suits established brands that want awareness advertising, CRM and retail activation coming from one place.
Services
- Brand building and positioning
- Awareness advertising and television
- CRM and data-driven marketing
- Social and branded content
- Customer experience design
Highlights
- Works across consumer, automotive, finance and government, from Honda and bp to the Commerce Commission
- Television commercial production sits alongside retail point-of-sale work for clients such as Timezone, Healtheries and Wildbean Cafe
- New business enquiries go directly to named partner Jen Rolfe
Location & Contact
Name: Rainger & Rolfe
Address: Auckland
Phone: 027 462 5300
Website: raingerandrolfe.co.nz
5Partisan Advertising
Partisan Advertising is a small Auckland advertising agency that has been running campaigns, branding and media buying since 2010, with creative director Greg Kramer as the direct contact. Published case studies cover TR Group, Botany Town Centre, Virbac Animal Health and Excellence Pet Food. It suits businesses working a tight niche that want senior people on the job rather than a layered account team.
Services
- Advertising campaigns
- Branding
- Media buying
- Social media
- Video content production
Highlights
- Operating since 2010
- Fully accredited media resources for booking campaigns across channels
- Small team with the creative director as the first point of contact
- Publishes campaign outcomes on its own case studies, including a 150 percent increase for TR Group and Penclox 1200 selling 406 percent over forecast
Location & Contact
Name: Partisan Advertising
Address: Auckland
Phone: 021 254 0082
Website: partisanadvertising.co.nz
Advertising Agencies in Auckland at a Glance
| Business | Based in | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| Motion Sickness | Grey Lynn | Agency of the Year at the AXIS Awards |
| Contagion | Grey Lynn | Independently owned, founded in 2010 |
| Chemistry | Auckland | Independently owned |
| Rainger & Rolfe | Auckland | Works across consumer |
| Partisan Advertising | Auckland | Operating since 2010 |
How to Choose the Right Advertising Agency in Auckland
- Work out whether you need creative only, media buying only, or both, and check the agency holds media accreditation if you want it booking your spend.
- Read the case studies for results in a category like yours, not just for work that looks good.
- Ask who does the work day to day. A small agency often puts its directors on the account, a larger one may not.
- Check whether film, production and activation are handled in house or subcontracted, because that affects both cost and turnaround.
- Agree how performance will be measured before the brief is signed off, and make sure reporting covers business results, not just reach.
Frequently Asked Questions About Auckland Advertising Agencies
What does an advertising agency actually do?
An advertising agency takes a business problem and turns it into a campaign. That usually means strategy and positioning first, then creative concepts, then production of the ads themselves across television, video, radio, print, outdoor, social and digital. Many agencies also plan and book the media that carries the work.
What is the difference between an advertising agency and a marketing agency?
An advertising agency is built around campaigns and the creative that drives them, and often around the media buying that puts them in front of an audience. A marketing agency tends to sit wider, covering things like customer research, pricing, channel strategy, search engine optimisation and ongoing lead generation. Plenty of Auckland agencies do both, so the useful question is which discipline the senior people came from.
How much does it cost to work with an advertising agency in Auckland?
Fees vary widely with scope, and agencies rarely publish rate cards. The common structures are a fixed project fee for a defined campaign, a monthly retainer for ongoing work, or a mix of the two, with production and media spend costed separately. Ask for a written scope that separates agency fees from third party production and media costs before you commit.
Do advertising agencies handle media buying as well as creative?
Some do and some do not. Agencies like Contagion, Chemistry and Partisan Advertising run media planning and buying alongside the creative work, while other creative shops make the work and leave the booking to a specialist media agency. If you want one invoice and one point of accountability, confirm this at the first meeting.
Are there rules about what an advertisement can claim in New Zealand?
Yes. Advertising in New Zealand is governed by the Advertising Standards Authority codes, which cover truthfulness, social responsibility and advertising to children, and complaints about ads are decided by its complaints board. Separately, the Fair Trading Act prohibits misleading and deceptive claims in trade and is enforced by the Commerce Commission. A good agency will raise substantiation for any performance or comparison claim before the work goes to production.
How long does a campaign take to produce?
A straightforward digital or social campaign can move from brief to live in a few weeks. Anything involving a television commercial, a location shoot, talent or music licensing usually runs to two or three months once strategy, concept development, client approvals, production and post production are counted. Build the media booking deadlines into the timeline early, because the best inventory sells out first.
Should a small business use an agency or a freelancer?
A freelancer or a small studio is often the right call for a single asset such as a logo, a website or one video. An agency earns its keep when the work needs strategy, several channels, a production crew and a media plan pulling in the same direction. If your brief crosses more than two of those, an agency is usually cheaper than coordinating specialists yourself.
How We Chose the Best Advertising Agencies in Auckland
Every business in this guide was found by searching for advertising agencies in Auckland, then checked against its own website. Names, addresses and phone numbers are taken from the business’s own site rather than a directory feed, so what you see here is what they publish themselves. We also check that each one is actually based in or genuinely serving Auckland, rather than a national operator running a local landing page. A business with no website of its own is not listed, because there is no primary source to verify it against.