Nicola McConnell

Brand Amp Founder and Director

Nicola McConnell is a marketing communications professional who chooses to specialise in the area she loves – food and drink.

She’s worked in the field for more than 20 years after training as a journalist, working on a daily paper and on radio. As well as working on both sides of the media release, she’s traversed the Tasman Sea working in Sydney and Melbourne and now works from her Dunedin base. Nicola has worked for publicly listed corporations, family owned businesses and for herself – giving her an understanding of business from all sides.

In partnership with Kathie Bartley, Nicola is co-owner and founder of Marvellous Marketing which established and runs the annual Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards and the biannual New Zealand Chocolate Awards. Marvellous Marketing is also the marketing communication agency for New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers organising the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards and NZ Cheese Month. As the owner of Dunedin marketing and PR consultancy Brand Amp, Nicola recently established Dine Dunedin and she runs the marketing communications for iD Dunedin Fashion Week.

Nicola is on the Board of the Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival and on the executive committee for Food Writers New Zealand.

Other career highlights include helping the team behind the International Food Design Conference in Dunedin in 2014 and 2016; working with King Island Dairy cheeses in Australia, a stint as the Marketing Manager for the world acclaimed Sydney Fish Market and marketing communications for Penfolds including Penfolds Grange and Magill Estate Restaurant at Penfolds home vineyard in Adelaide.