Host: Nadia Cameron, Publisher | Editor – Marketing

This year’s CMO Awards again set out to recognise marketing teams driving strategic growth for their organisations with our Best Growth Initiative of the Year Award, presented by Publicis Groupe.

Our 2026 winner? A driving test from the Suncorp team that set out to change behaviour and instill safer driving practices across Australian consumers, thereby combatting a 42 per cent rise in motor claim costs and 22 per cent lift in national fatalities. The AAMI Driving test not only achieved this ambition – so far, it’s reduced annual insurance claims by $4.2 million, 9 per cent above target – it also lifted brand consideration and engagement for the iconic red brand across customers and non-customers alike. And while it wasn’t the objective, it’s now expected to bring in $1.9m in premium revenue generated.

“Too often, growth is approached as a marketing or sales problem, focused on immediate volume, reach or conversion. The AAMI Driving Test reinforced that real growth really came from solving a meaningful business problem,” says AAMI head of brand and content, Rapthi Thanapalasingam. “By focusing on prevention first, we unlocked growth outcomes as a byproduct, including stronger engagement, brand consideration, and that premium revenue.

“Campaigns end, but capabilities compound. The biggest value came from us building an asset using our telematics and data capability that can continue creating value long after the campaign is over.”

In a similar vein, this year’s Highly Commended growth initiative, Wesfarmers Health’s ‘Anything Menopause’ program, developed in response to a clear and urgent consumer, commercial and societal gap. Over 3 million Australian women experience menopause, with 85 per cent reporting symptoms. Despite this prevalence, stigma and confusion persist. Market analysis identified a $667 million menopause category, with at least one-third of that effectively unserved.

Priceline’s response has been an end-to-end menopause care platform. Grounded in education and empowerment, the key was firstly knowledge uplift across pharmacists, says GM of marketing, Corrina Brazel. Across 3500 frontline staff, Wesfarmers has already seen a 35 per cent jump in confidence in staff discussing menopause with customers as a result. The commercial gains also ensued, including a 63 per cent increase in dispensary sales, 6 per cent increase in penetration with the core target demographic of women between 45 to 65 years of age, and 13-point increase with standard Priceline shoppers.

“Given the topic at hand around menopause, if we’d just been chasing purely a transactional play, that could have gone very badly for us from a brand and reputation point of view. Because the real opportunity would have been completely missed,” comments Brazel.

For Brazel, it’s also creating new confidence inside the marketing team. “What ‘Anything Menopause’ has done for the marketing team is built a real level of capability and awareness and strength of conviction that I don't know they previously necessarily thought they had,” she says. “It's built a bit of a muscle we're now going to continue to use as we see what other platforms we may be able to get out there to drive more growth.”

For Growth Initiative judge and former V2 Foods chief growth officer, Andrew May, the two examples stand out because they don’t talk to standard campaign metrics and come from a position of behaviour change.

“It was really about where do they show broader business alignment, better capability, stronger customer experience, margins or reduced costs,” he says. “The growth isn't just coming from marketing alone. Marketing is, and always has been, a growth engine for strong businesses. Seeing where we can impact other areas is critical.”

Tune into this latest CMO Awards podcast as we unpack the nature of unlocking and pursuing these AAMI and Wesfarmers Health growth opportunities, and importantly, how it’s paying off.

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CMO Awards Podcast Episode 15: Going for growth: AAMI, Wesfarmers Health on the case for behaviour change

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CMO Awards Podcast Episode 15: Going for growth: AAMI, Wesfarmers Health on the case for behaviour change