Brand Leader · Auckland, NZ

Michael
Reynolds

Brand + Creative + Commercial

20+ years building brands that people choose, trust, and advocate for. From category leadership at ANZ to global award-winning work — I turn insight into culture, and culture into competitive advantage.

#1 NZ
Brand consideration overall (54.6%) — ANZ
$13.94 ROI
Return per $1 of brand spend — up from $7.40 in 2020
$810k
External agency cost reduction through in-house capability build
20+ yrs
Across NZ & UK — financial services, charity, regulated environments
66.5%
Consideration among
20–34 year olds — record high
+4.4%
Total brand consideration
growth since 2019
#2
NZ's favourite ads
(TRA) within 3 years
Grand
Global Grand Effie —
Sustained Success
01

Sizzle reel

Two decades of brand work.
Condensed.

From rehabilitating a brand's reputation under pressure, to launching a platform that made a bank feel human — this reel captures the campaigns, the thinking, and the impact behind 20+ years of brand leadership across New Zealand and the UK.

Award-winning work. Effie-recognised strategy. Category-leading results.

Brand strategy Creative direction Effie-winning ANZ · Lloyds · ASB
02

The work

Lloyds Bank · Brand Campaign · London
Lloyds Bank — Brand Campaign
Part of a sustained brand-building programme at one of the UK's largest financial institutions — delivering iconic campaigns featuring the Lloyds black horse across television, digital and OOH.
Lloyds Bank · 2016 · Brand Campaign · London
For Your Next Step
The 2016 Lloyds Bank brand campaign — launching the 'For Your Next Step' content hub that drew over 115,000 visits in its first six months, achieving the Group's highest brand dashboard scores.
Lloyds Bank · Brand Campaign · London
Lloyds Bank — Brand Campaign
Continued brand expression for Lloyds Bank — leading teams in crafting integrated campaigns, managing third-party relationships, and upholding stringent regulatory standards while maximising budget efficiency.
ANZ · 2020 · Brand · COVID Recovery
Good Sports
Created during a corporate reputation downturn and deployed through COVID-19, Good Sports restored brand trust and delivered an $8.50 ROI for every $1 spent — one of ANZ's most commercially effective campaigns.
ANZ · 2021 · Brand Platform Launch
WE DO HOW
The launch film introducing the Sharma Family — repositioning ANZ as a leader in authentic financial wellbeing storytelling. Created distinctive brand assets that drove sustained category leadership.
ANZ · 2024 · Small Business
HOWTWO — Small Business Support
Following Claire's two-year business journey, HOWTWO extended the WE DO HOW platform into small business — showing how ANZ supports founders through the toughest years.
ANZ · 2023 · Sponsorship · BLACKCAPS
Fans Since Forever
Leveraging ANZ's long-standing BLACKCAPS sponsorship to connect the brand with Kiwi sporting identity — earning genuine cultural currency alongside commercial results.
ANZ · 2022 · Product · Effie-recognised
Good Energy Home Loan
A brand strategy integrating financial wellbeing and sustainability — making ANZ the first NZ bank to offer a compelling, human-centred green home loan product.
ANZ · Product · Security
Dynamic Security Code
Communicating a genuinely innovative security feature in a way that built customer confidence — demonstrating that brand and product marketing can work together to drive both trust and consideration.
03

In the press

"We know that consumers crave consistency when it comes to reinforcing key brand messages — important for any brand to stay top of mind." — Michael Reynolds, Head of Brand Marketing at ANZ · The Research Agency, 2023
04

Career

2024 — Present
ANZ · Auckland
Head of Brand & Advertising

Accountable for strategic direction, performance, and governance of the ANZ brand across all marketing touchpoints. Leading the Brand & Advertising discipline to deliver category-leading outcomes, creative excellence, and commercial value — shaping brand strategy, evolving operating models, and embedding robust compliance and risk management.

Global Grand Effie — Sustained Success #1 Brand Consideration NZ $810k agency cost reduction New GTM operating model
2022 — 2024
ANZ · Auckland
Head of Brand Marketing

Led creative excellence, marketing effectiveness, and brand governance — including management of in-house studio Hustle. Elevated ANZ to #2 on TRA's NZ Favourite Ads within three years through distinctive storytelling and strategic brand building. Nearly doubled brand ROI through optimised media investment and Mixed Media Modelling.

TRA #2 Favourite Ads Brand ROI $13.94 Consideration +4.4% total In-house studio Hustle
2020 — 2022
ANZ · Auckland
Senior Marketing Manager — Brand

Created and launched ANZ's 'WE DO HOW' brand platform, introducing the iconic Sharma Family and building distinctive brand assets that repositioned ANZ as a leader in creative storytelling. Led the Effies award-winning 'Let's talk about F' financial wellbeing campaign and developed the brand strategy for the Good Energy Home Loan.

Effies Silver — Consumer Services Effies Bronze — Strategic Thinking 'WE DO HOW' brand platform Good Energy Home Loan
2019 — 2020
ANZ · Auckland
Brand Marketing Manager

Joined to rehabilitate brand trust following a reputational downturn. Created the 'Good Sports' initiative which restored stakeholder confidence and became the centrepiece of the advertising plan through COVID-19 — pivoting the entire marketing programme in real time while protecting brand consideration.

Good Sports — $8.50 ROI per $1 COVID response lead Brand governance overhaul
2013 — 2019
Lloyds Banking Group · London
Senior Marketing Manager

Six-year tenure spanning three progressively senior roles. Delivered iconic campaigns for Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland, pioneered new channel formats including London Underground Digital Escalator Panels (17.7% engagement), and achieved record brand linkage scores among non-customers.

Lloyds 'Dawn' — #1 IPSOS brand linkage 115,000+ hub visits in 6 months 650,000+ social views — Bank of Scotland
2009 — 2013
Age UK + ASB · London & Auckland
Campaign & Brand Foundations

Began career at ASB in Auckland managing credit cards and loyalty programmes — including a role in launching one of NZ's first Visa Debit cards. Moved to London for three years at Age UK, building expertise in direct marketing, data-led campaign planning, and eCommerce launch across a 250,000-member loyalty programme.

NZ Visa Debit card launch Age UK Lottery eCommerce launch 250,000-member newsletter programme
05 / Philosophy

How I think about brand

"The best brands don't just occupy space in the market. They occupy space in people's lives."

I've spent two decades in regulated industries — financial services, charity, and beyond — where the temptation is always to play safe and say less. The opportunity to bring that experience into a new category, like telco, is exactly the kind of challenge I thrive on. I've consistently pushed the other direction: lead with humanity, earn trust through authenticity, and measure everything. Brand isn't decoration. It's the single most durable commercial asset a business can build.

Insight-led
Every platform, every campaign begins with a real human truth — not a category convention.
Commercially rigorous
I speak CFO. Brand ROI nearly doubled on my watch. Creative ambition and business results aren't in tension.
Build to last
Distinctive assets. Consistent expression. Capability that doesn't walk out the door with the agency.
06

Recognition

Global Grand Effie — Sustained Success
ANZ Bank · 2024. The industry's highest honour for sustained marketing effectiveness over time.
Effies Silver — Consumer Services
ANZ 'Let's Talk About F' financial wellbeing campaign · 2022
Effies Bronze — Best Strategic Thinking
ANZ 'Let's Talk About F' campaign · 2022. Recognised for insight-led strategic approach.
TRA Top 10 Favourite NZ Ads
ANZ ranked #2 nationally within three years of creative transformation programme.
IPSOS — Highest Brand Linkage
Lloyds Bank 'Dawn' campaign · 2017. Top score in Group dashboard; highest non-customer linkage.
Record Consideration — 20–34s
66.5% consideration among the most contested demographic in NZ banking — a category record.

Let's build
something
remarkable.

I'm a brand leader with a proven record of turning insight into impact, building teams that punch above their weight, and creating brands that people genuinely choose.

Phone 022 500 5100
Sizzle reel vimeo.com/983947028
Location Auckland, New Zealand
Education BBus Advertising & Marketing, AUT
Dip IDM, Institute of Data & Marketing, London