The D3acons Awards 2025 - Celebrating D3's Values Champions
At D3, we've always believed that awards ceremonies focused on industry accolades miss the point entirely. Whilst the rest of the agency world chases shiny trophies, we've consistently chosen to focus on what truly matters: our people and our clients. This philosophy gave birth to the D3acons Awards – our annual celebration of the team members who best embody our core values throughout the year.
The History of the D3acons
The D3acons Awards were established in our early years as a distinctly D3 way of recognising excellence. Rather than spending considerable time and money chasing awards that are often chosen on politics, writing style and subjective merit, we prefer to champion our people through the way they work for both our agency and, more importantly, our clients.
Now in its fifth year, and named with a cheeky nod to more traditional industry awards, the D3acons represent something far more meaningful: the recognition that our success isn't built on individual brilliance alone, but on how well we live our values as a team. Each award corresponds to one of our six core values: Innovation, Excellence, Commitment, Collaboration, Authenticity, and Fun.
The awards have become a cherished tradition, eagerly anticipated by the entire team. They're not just about recognition – they're about reinforcing the culture that sets D3 apart in New Zealand's media landscape.
Our 2025 Values Champions
The Innovation Award: James Ellis
James has consistently pushed the boundaries of what's possible with data analytics this year. From developing our bespoke anomaly detection system and our automated pacing technology to implementing cutting-edge audience segmentation strategies, James embodies our commitment to being intellectual innovators. His ability to uncover the truth through research and objectivity, and then translate complex insights into actionable strategy, has been nothing short of remarkable.
The Excellence Award: Keila Bituin
As our new Head of Performance, Keila has set the standard for excellence from day one. Her meticulous approach to campaign management, combined with her extensive programmatic expertise, has significantly enhanced our entire performance offering. Keila's commitment to delivering outstanding results whilst maintaining the highest standards of execution perfectly captures what excellence means at D3.
The Commitment Award: Alex Fallowfield
Alex has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to both her clients and our team throughout 2025. Whether it's ensuring seamless client communication during critical trading periods or mentoring junior team members, Alex's dedication to going the extra mile epitomises our commitment value.
The Collaboration Award: Mady Johnson
Mady has been the glue that holds our collaborative culture together this year. Mady understands that our collective success depends on how well we work together. Her natural ability to bring people together and foster genuine teamwork makes her the perfect collaboration champion.
The Authenticity Award: Conor Hinton
In a world of agency speak and marketing jargon, Conor has consistently brought genuine authenticity to every client interaction and team meeting. His ability to cut through the noise, talk truthfully about both challenges and opportunities, and maintain integrity in all his dealings perfectly embodies our authenticity value. Clients and colleagues alike appreciate Conor's refreshingly honest approach. And the incredible results he gets for his clients
The "Vicky Fletcher" Fun Award: Briar Ulberg
Named after a beloved former team member who knew how to bring joy to even the most demanding project, this year's Fun Award goes to Briar. Throughout 2025, Briar has ensured that whilst we work hard, we never forget to enjoy the journey. From organising team celebrations to bringing levity to stressful moments, Briar reminds us all that having fun isn't just nice to have – it's essential to who we are.
Legend of the Year 2025: Keila Bituin
In her first year with D3, Keila has not only excelled in her role but has embodied every single one of our values. Her innovative approach to programmatic strategy, commitment to excellence in everything she delivers, dedication to our clients and team, collaborative spirit in working across divisions, authentic communication style, and ability to bring energy and enjoyment to her work make her a true D3 legend.
Keila's impact extends far beyond her impressive technical skills. She's helped shape our future strategy, mentored team members, and consistently demonstrated what it means to have "ambition with integrity" – our core philosophy that drives everything we do.
What the D3acons Really Mean
The D3acons Awards represent more than internal recognition – they're a reflection of our fundamental belief that sustainable success comes from building a team of people who genuinely care about each other and our clients. In an industry often obsessed with self-promotion and ego, we've chosen a different path.
These awards remind us annually that whilst we may not fill our walls with industry accolades, we're building something far more valuable: an agency culture where talented people can do their best work, clients receive exceptional service, and everyone can be proud of what they contribute.
As we celebrate our 2025 winners, we're already looking forward to seeing how our values will be lived and exemplified throughout 2026. Because at D3, the real measure of success isn't the awards on the wall – it's the people behind the work and the values they bring to it every single day.
Congratulations to all our D3acons winners, and here's to another year of proving that when you focus on your people and your values, everything else falls into place naturally.
