This year, the liquor industry has won big at the Shop! ANZ Retail Marketing Awards, with Sapporo taking home the Tom Harris Retail Marketing Award (Best in Show) and Best Shopper Experience prizes.
The awards were held at Sydney’s Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf and celebrated the ingenuity and success of the Australian and New Zealand retail marketing industry and its campaigns, with entrants awarded gold, silver, and bronze accolades across 27 categories including experiences and displays.
Sapporo’s Win this Fish promotion was created by advertising agency Sunday Gravy and creative team, Immediate and won gold in the highly competitive category, Integrated Path to Purchase.
The promotion offered Sapporo drinkers the opportunity to win a trip to the famous Toyosu Fish Market auction in Tokyo to bid on a yellowfin tuna and have it prepared in a high-end sushi restaurant with Sapporo Beer.
Dan Murphy’s Dan in Dan’s takeover took home silver while Sanitarium’s Weet-Bix Coco Bites launch received the bronze award in the category.
Shop! ANZ General Manager, Carla Bridge, said the standard of retail marketing over the last 12 months had seen a noticeable improvement, with a record number of judges providing feedback on the calibre of work submitted in the entries.
“The 2025 Awards have been the most competitive we have seen to date, which really reinforces just how important an effective retail marketing campaign can be to retailers and brands alike,” said Bridge.
“Businesses are having to work much harder and take more creative, clever approaches to coax customers to part with their cash in the current financial environment, so they’re leaning in harder than ever before on their marketing to do this job for them.”
Other winners in the Liquor category were awarded for their engagement and interactivity.
IVE Group with PMG for Lion Nathan took home two awards winning gold for its Heineken Stands out for the F1 promotion along with a silver for the Every Day in Winter was a Good Day for a Guinness promotion.
The bronze award in the liquor category was tied and awarded to 31ST’s Espolon RTD Launch Campaign for Campari as well as Communicado and Lithocraft for the Asahi Skill Tester Off-Location Display.
Occasion-based campaigns also gained prominence instore over the last 12 months, with the category split into Display and Campaign for this year’s awards.
5P’s Greenies Christmas Pallet for Mars Wrigley along with PepsiCo and Uber’s Premium Chips with Alcohol pairings with The Ship won golds in display.
PepsiCo and Uber also won gold in the campaign category for the Premium Chips – The perfect pairing with alcohol promotion while silver went to Heineken Fires on all 6x Cylinders by PMG for Lion and bronze went to VML and Affinity for Lion’s XXXX Locate the Tin to Win.