BACKGROUND...

WHAT ARE THE GOLD AWARDS ?

The Wellington Gold Awards in association with The Post celebrate excellence and enterprise of businesses in the Greater Wellington Region and Horowhenua.

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Since being established in 1999, they have become an eagerly anticipated event on the business and social calendar. 

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We have witnessed Wellington transform herself from a grey civil service town to a hive of entrepreneurial activity and home to some world-class businesses and events.

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The Gold Awards are successful because:

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• they highlight the vital contribution that business makes to our region
• high-quality businesses are involved - both as Sponsors and Entrants
• the quality of competition and the judging process means that participation and success have real value to businesses  that enter
• they bring together private and public sector organisations across all industry sectors in a feel-good night of          celebration 
• it’s a fun night out and a great event!

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The Gold Awards are a showcase of our business talent and capability and are a way of paying tribute to those who are building our community and economy.

WHERE?

The Gold Awards are held annually, this year in Wellington's iconic Embassy Theatre. With guests including Members of Parliament, the region’s Mayors, many business leaders and the Gold Awards Finalists.

The Gold Awards are open to businesses in the Greater Wellington Region and Horowhenua.

WHEN?

The 2024 Finalists will be announced on Friday 5th July at an event at Te Wharewaka o Poneke on Taranaki St Wharf. 

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The 2024 Gold Awards are scheduled for Thursday 22nd August at the Embassy Theatre. These will be the 26th annual Gold Awards. 

 

Generally, Entries open in  March each year.  This kicks off a 5-month programme from gathering the entries over the 2 rounds of judging and the Finalists Announcement in  June/July, until the awards night in July-August.  

WHO PARTICIPATES?

The Wellington Gold Awards have 8 main industry Categories and 2 Best Practice Awards, as follows:
 

INDUSTRY CATEGORIES x 8:

 

  • CREATIVE GOLD ~ film, media & content
  • INNOVATION GOLD ~ recent R&D projects
  • EMERGING GOLD PRODUCTS ~ small businesses, 10 or fewer FTE equivalents
  • EMERGING GOLD SERVICES ~ small businesses, 10 or FTE equivalents
  • GLOBAL GOLD  ~ exporters 
  • SUPPORTING GOLD ~ infrastructure & services 

  • TECHNOLOGY GOLD - digital creators
  • VIBRANT GOLD ~ events, hospitality & tourism 

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BEST PRACTICE CATEGORIES x 2
 

  • ACC EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR GOLD~ creating healthy workplaces
  • GREEN GOLD ~ sustainability practices & products

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IMPORTANT NOTE:
Businesses can choose to enter one of the top 8 Industry Categories, as well as one or both (or none) of the Best Practice Categories. 

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You can view the winners in each category since 1999 here...

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HOW ARE THEY JUDGED?

The Judging process is as follows:

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1. Nominations and Entries are sought via The Post advertising and a general Entry Drive across the region.

2.  All Entrants select the Category best suited to their organisation and submit an Entry Form for whichever Main Category they have selelcted. They may also choose to enter 1, 2 or all 3 of the Best Practice Awards.

3. In Round 1 the 25 Gold Awards Judges assess the entries in each Category and independently select their top 5. The Judges selections are then collated to determine the Finalists in each Category.

4. In Round 2 the Finalists are given the opportunity to update or supplement their  Entry Form, which then go back to the Judges to be reassessed.  The Judges rate the Finalists in each Category against each other to determine the Winner of each Category. 

5. The Judges also vote for the Winner of the supreme award - The Post Gold Award. 
 

This whole process takes about 20 weeks, with the Finalists being announced about 6 weeks before the event at a Finalists Announcement event at Te Wharewaka o Poneke.

  

WHO ELSE IS INVOLVED?

The Wellington Gold Awards are effective because leading businesses have supported the concept from the outset. This Private/Public sector partnership is one of the most successful characteristics of the Gold Awards.  

 

All of the region's councils are our "Council Partners" making it a truly regional programme of celebration.
 

     SPONSORS

The Post, as lead sponsor, gives extensive advertising as well as editorial coverage across the whole Gold Awards process, from the time of Nominations, Entries, through the Finalists Announcement, to the event itself.

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The Post leads a group of committed businesses in championing our local business heroes.

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The 4 cities of Wellington: Hutt City, Upper Hutt City, Porirua City and Wellington City were inaugural partners.

 

More recently they were joined by the Kapiti Coast District Council, Masterton District Council, Carterton District Council and the Greater Wellington Regional Council. Our latest Council Partner is the Horowhenua District Council.

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We are very proud to have a core group of long term founding business partners in PwC, Beca, ACC and ANZ.
 

     ENTRANTS

High-quality entrants are the lifeblood of any awards. Each year over 300 businesses are nominated across the 11 categories. These are distilled down to almost 100 entries from which the 11 winners and a supreme winner are chosen.

 

The quality and range of Entrants since 1999 (as demonstrated in the Hall of Fame) is essential to the event. We applaud all of the businesses who step forward each year and take the time to enter the Gold Awards.

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From the global brands like Weta Digital and Weta Workshop, Icebreaker, Xero, Trilogy, Pukeko Pictures, phil&teds, Ata Rangi, Volpara,  Wedgelock, NZ Tube, Fix & Fogg, J H Whittaker & Sons. And in 2023 New Zealand's latest high tech sports training facility - the New Zealand Campus of Innovation & Sport.

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Then there are the more localised heroes: Boomrock, WoW, Matterhorn, Tuatara Brewing, Tranzit Group, The NZ Festival, Wings over Wairarapa, Te Papa, CubaDupa, Golden Shears and all the others that make the Wellington region tick.

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The Wellington Gold Awards were set up to inspire others and tell the many stories, some that may otherwise go untold.

     

        JUDGES

The Judges are another vital ingredient of the Gold Awards.

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Twenty five or so business and community leaders make up the group that decide the Winners. This ‘peer evaluation’ makes the process both robust and of real value to the winners.

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Each Judge also assesses all the entries independently, eliminating any of the lobbying or pressure that can sometimes occur with judging panels.

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         ANY MORE QUESTIONS?

         call Gayle Page on
         027 208 8780
         or email gayle@agenda-marketing.co.nz

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