Harvey Norman tops New Zealand’s biggest ad spenders as retail leads and telcos and beverages sure
Auckland – March 3, 2026 – Nielsen’s New Zealand’s Biggest Ad Spenders of 2025 Report shows that Harvey Norman was New Zealand’s largest advertiser in 2025, overtaking Foodstuffs NZ as the country’s highest-spending brand. The annual analysis, powered by Nielsen Ad Intel, tracks advertising investment across the market and highlights where competition intensified year-on-year as brands fought harder to win attention across a rapidly evolving media environment.
Nielsen’s latest research shows retail remained the clear heavyweight of the New Zealand market, while ad investment strengthened across categories where Kiwis are actively comparing value, switching providers and researching big-ticket purchases.
The biggest year-on-year increases from 2024 to 2025 were led by Telecommunications, up $41.8m (+25%), followed by Beverages (+$40.5m, +25%), Government Departments, Services & Community (+$24.8m, +7%), Travel (+$23.8m, +10%), and Business Services (+$21.6m, +10%).
Rose Lopreiato, Nielsen Ad Intel’s Pacific Commercial Lead, said: “In New Zealand, it’s not only about how much you spend, but where you place it. With retail still leading the market and competition heating up in categories where consumers are comparing value and changing providers, marketers need a sharper view of where the pressure is building, both the sectors drawing the biggest budgets and the brands increasing their share of voice. Nielsen Ad Intel delivers an independent read on that competitive landscape, helping advertisers defend that share and invest where it will have the greatest impact”
New Zealand’s Top 20 advertisers for 2025
1. Harvey Norman, 2. Foodstuffs NZ, 3. Woolworths, 4. Spark NZ, 5. Chemist Warehouse, 6. McDonald’s, 7. One NZ, 8. IAG, 9. KFC, 10. The Warehouse, 11. NZ Lotteries Commission, 12. Bunnings, 13. ANZ, 14. Reckitt Benckiser, 15. Bank of New Zealand, 16. Auckland Council, 17. Farmers Trading Co, 18. Uber, 19. Air New Zealand, 20. 2degrees Mobile
Several of the most notable shifts in 2025 reflected momentum in telecommunications, retail, and everyday purchase categories. Spark NZ climbed from #8 to #4, reinforcing the scale of competition among telcos, alongside One NZ holding at #7 and 2degrees Mobile entering the Top 20 at #20. In quick-service restaurants, McDonald’s rose from #10 to #6, while KFC moved from #5 to #9, highlighting sustained investment in high-frequency categories.
Retail competition also strengthened, with The Warehouse moving from #12 to #10, Bunnings lifting from #16 to #12, while Chemist Warehouse remained in the Top 5 (slipping from #4 to #5).
New entrants also reshaped the 2025 Top 20. Auckland Council (#16) and Air New Zealand (#19) joined the rankings alongside 2degrees Mobile (#20), while Unilever Australasia, Brand Developers and Mitre 10 dropped out. Bank of New Zealand strengthened its position, climbing from #20 to #15, while ANZ moved from #6 to #13, pointing to shifting pressure among major banks.
Top 20 ad categories by investment in 2025
1. Retail: $675.4m, 2. Leisure, Entertainment: $465.4m, 3. Foodstuffs: $441.8m, 4. Government Departments, Services & Community: $379.2m, 5. Automotive: $346.3m, 6. Investment, Finance, Banking: $303.6m, 7. Travel: $264.4m, 8. Home Improvements: $263.5m, 9. Pharmaceuticals, Health: $251.6m, 10. Business Services: $246.0m, 11. Real Estate: $244.5m, 12. Telecommunication: $206.8m, 13. Beverages: $200.6m, 14. Insurance: $179.0m, 15. Computers: $171.0m, 16. Household Furnishings: $137.1m, 17. Household Electrical Products: $89.0m, 18. Toiletries/Cosmetics: $82.0m, 19. Clothing: $72.8m, 20. Household Cleaning Products: $46.3m
Despite ongoing economic pressures, the spread of investment across categories shows brands continued to prioritise advertising to protect share and stay front-of-mind in a competitive environment, especially in sectors where consumers are making more deliberate choices.
About the report
Nielsen’s “New Zealand’s biggest ad spenders of 2025” report provides an independent, comprehensive view of advertising investment across New Zealand, identifying the nation’s top advertisers, the categories attracting the highest spend, and the key shifts compared with 2024. The report is underpinned by Nielsen Ad Intel, offering an authoritative perspective on where the advertising market is heading, and what it signals about competition, consumer behaviour and brand strategy in the year ahead.
About Nielsen Ad Intel
Ad Intel provides the most complete source of cross-platform advertising intelligence available today. With intuitive software, review-and-compare ad activity across media, company, category or brand, plus historical data.
Note: Nielsen monitors gross advertising expenditure in major media at published rate card values. While discounts are made available from some media owners, rates are not openly available. Please also note that the category and brand/product groupings figures are grouped at Nielsen’s discretion.
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About Nielsen
Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their global audiences – now and into the future. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram).
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Dan Chapman
Assoc. Director, Communications, Nielsen, APAC
dan.chapman@nielsen.com
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