A small, locally owned Christchurch media company has beaten some of the country’s biggest industry players to win a prestigious national award.

VAST Billboards was named Sales Team of the Year at the 2026 Beacon Awards, despite having a sales team of just six people.

The Commercial Communications Council confirmed VAST had received the award, with judges recognising the team’s ability to turn its position in the market into a competitive advantage.

Coverage of the awards described VAST as a standout winner in the category.

VAST was recognised alongside major media businesses JCDecaux New Zealand, TVNZ and New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME).

VAST Head of Growth Strategy Gary Rosewarne said the award was an extraordinary achievement for the independent company.

“We’re genuinely humbled to be recognised in a category alongside such respected businesses as JCDecaux New Zealand, TVNZ and New Zealand Media & Entertainment,” he said.

Rosewarne said being named the country’s top media sales team was a particularly special moment for a small independent business.

The Christchurch-owned and operated digital billboard company has built a network spanning regional centres, suburbs and major cities throughout New Zealand.

VAST said its approach had focused on championing regional and suburban audiences, helping advertisers create campaigns that better reflected where New Zealanders lived, worked and travelled.

The company said the recognition reinforced a belief at the heart of its business that “regional New Zealand matters”.

While much of the media industry had traditionally been centred around the country’s biggest cities and largest companies, VAST had worked to establish a different position in the market.

The company said it was grateful to the clients, advertising agencies and partners who had supported its growth.

For a locally owned company, the award showed smaller independent operators could compete with, and win against, some of the most powerful names in New Zealand media.