Stuff Events with NZ Police wins Sponsorship of the Year

A playful and creative police recruitment campaign at the country's largest fun run series has seen Stuff take home the inaugural Event Sponsorship of the Year at the New Zealand Event Awards.

The partnership between New Zealand Police and Stuff's own Southern Cross Round the Bays national fun run series saw thousands of Kiwis test themselves mid-race against the 2.4km distance of the Police Physical Appraisal Test (PAT), encouraging participants to "make their fitness make a difference".

Beating sponsorships of other major events including the World of Wearable Art, T20 Black Clash and Fieldays, judges said the fully integrated, on-course experience — complete with personalised proof that runners already had the fitness to consider a career in policing — "set a benchmark for what a great partnership can look like".

Stuff Events Partnership Manager Kristine Horne said the results spoke for themselves. "In the week following the Wellington event, Police recorded a 30% increase in new applications, with 70% arriving via direct traffic, highlighting the value of in-person activations at large scale events."

"We worked closely with Police to create a campaign that included pre- and post-event communications, dedicated recruitment ads throughout the course and encouragement from uniformed officers at the timing mats. This delivered sponsorship that went well beyond logos and messages to instead become part of the fabric of the event itself."

NZ Police Executive Director Media & Communications Cas Carter said the partnership was a great opportunity to showcase policing as a career and encourage potential recruits to test their fitness. "Our staff enjoyed engaging with the thousands of runners, many of whom were interested in joining Police. We're proud of this partnership and delighted to see it recognised with this award."

Southern Cross Round the Bays has been a fixture of New Zealand's events calendar since 1972, growing from a single Auckland fun run into a three-city series across Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland. In 2026 the series delivered a record 44,800 entries.

It will return to Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland in February and March 2027, continuing its 55-year legacy as New Zealand's funnest fun run.