LBB Partners With AWARD to Present The Work Behind The Work at This Way Up

Little Black Book has partnered with AWARD to host two sessions of 'The Work Behind The Work' at next month's This Way Up festival. 

Two of the most talked about campaigns will be unpacked live on stage at AWARD's festival of creativity: 'Make New Zealand the Best Place in the World to Have Herpes' and 'Better on a Better Network'.

Hosted by LBB AUNZ managing editor Brittney Rigby, the sessions will reveal how the ideas came to life and what it really takes to pull off world-class creativity.

Motion Sickness ECD and founder Sam Stuchbury and FINCH director Alex Roberts will speak about how a bold idea for the NZ Herpes Foundation became a global sensation, collecting two Cannes Grand Prix and sparking millions of conversations.

Bear Meets Eagle on Fire's founder and CCO, Micah Walker, and lead producer Emma Wright, plus Revolver MD Michael Ritchie, will take the audience behind the scenes on the Telstra campaign that won the Grand Prix in Film, showing how irreverence, humanity and high craft turned a utility message into a creative showstopper.

“Behind every piece of metal is a mess of late nights, big bets, brave clients and brutal feedback. AWARD will pull back the curtain on that reality, not just to celebrate it, but so the industry can learn from it,” said AWARD chair Mandie van der Merwe.

“If we want more campaigns like these, we need to understand what really goes into making them."

The sessions will be followed by Creative Impact Unpacked, presented by Lions, which will offer Cannes Lions insights into the campaigns delivering the biggest business results in 2025.

Senior vice president of LIONS APAC, Ed Pank, will present new findings from the 2025 Cannes Lions, exploring the creative strategies driving business results. The session will unpack why consistency is the new creative superpower and what it takes to blend brand and performance in today’s fragmented world.

​This Way Up will take place in Sydney from August 12-15, and is supported by Meta, LinkedIn, OMA and TalentPay.