TBWA\NZ Launches AI Practice to “Reimagine What Brands Can Deliver”

TBWA\New Zealand has launched TBWA\i, a new practice designed to help brands unlock the full potential of AI by combining people, product, and process. 

Hot on the heels of TBWA\Australia’s hire of Lucio Ribeiro as chief AI and innovation officer and the launch of a tool to help brands remain discoverable within AI-driven platforms, Rise, Catherine Harris, CEO of TBWA\NZ, told LBB TBWA\i brings together “the right minds, the right systems, and the right ways of working – to help clients go from AI experimentation to execution.”

“The ambition is simple but bold: to reimagine what brands can deliver and how they work, with AI as the catalyst,” she said. 

“And to make sure that in a world racing towards efficiency, creativity and distinctiveness don’t get lost in the noise.

“TBWA\i is designed to help brands cut through the chaos of the current AI conversation and actually implement meaningful, creative, and business-driving solutions. While there’s no shortage of AI tools out there, what’s been missing is a smart, human, and creatively ambitious way to apply them and unlock their possibilities. That’s what TBWA\i is for.”

TBWA\i is now live, and helping clients in four key areas: building custom AI tools designed to complement specific marketing activity, AI-led discovery and research, new creative and production formats, and redesigning workflows to make delivery faster and smarter.

“It’s especially powerful where creativity and complexity intersect – where clients need to scale content production without compromising craft, or where they want to use data and insight in new, more intuitive ways,” said Catherine. 

“We’re also finding it incredibly useful for helping teams think differently: challenging the brief, unlocking new ways of solving old problems, and inspiring ideas that simply weren’t possible a year ago.”

Catherine added TBWA\i is “already reshaping how we work,” creating impact “not just internally, but in how we partner with clients.”

“This isn’t about creating a separate AI lab; it’s about integrating AI into the creative and strategic process in ways that enhance imagination, not just efficiency.

“For clients, that means faster pathways to innovation, a competitive edge in their categories, and a partner who can guide them through what can otherwise feel like a confusing and fragmented space. For us as an agency, it means upskilling our people, building entirely new capabilities, and pushing the boundaries of the kind of work we can deliver. It's energising. This is the kind of transformation you feel day-to-day – not just on a pitch slide.”

As well as upskilling people, TBWA\NZ is building – and currently hiring for – a team around the practice, underpinned by the agency’s strategy department. 

So far, that team includes creative and technical experts including Trudi Greig, head of innovation and AI delivery; David Parkinson, MD of TBWA\i; Billy Weir, lead innovation developer; Blair Walker, head of innovation and creative delivery; and Shane Bradnick, chief creative officer.

Catherine said the “common thread” for everyone behind TBWA\i “is mindset.”

“People who don’t just understand the tools, but who think critically about how and why they’re used.

“This isn’t about chasing shiny objects – it’s about building things that matter. So we want people who are excited to experiment, but also understand the responsibility that comes with working in this space. We’re designing the future of how creative teams think and work – and that takes smart, ethical, bold people. If that’s you, we’d love to talk.”