Speaker.
Panel guest.
Chair.
MC.
Sarah has spent 22 years shaping the digital marketing industry, in New Zealand as well as overseas. Most recently as founder of Sense, The Social Agency, a specialist Meta agency built on the belief that creativity and performance aren't competing forces, they're the same conversation. She has built and rebuilt a business through industry shifts, a pandemic, and a platform landscape that moves faster than most brands can keep up with, and she brings that hard won perspective to every stage she stands on.
As a speaker, panel guest, chair or MC, Sarah brings energy, clarity and a refusal to talk in platitudes. Her sessions cut through generic “digital marketing” content to give audiences real, workable insight into what makes creative led performance marketing succeed in todays’ social landscape. Event organisers can expect a speaker who prepares properly, respects the room, and leaves audiences with something they can actually use on Monday morning.
Sarah's contribution to the industry has been recognised nationally. She was inducted into IAB New Zealand's Digital Hall of Fame in 2026, following the IAB New Zealand Service to Industry Award in 2017. Her community leadership has also been acknowledged with the Pakuranga Rotary Club Services to the Community Award (2025) and The Eastern Times Community Hero Award (2022). In 2025 she stood as a candidate for the C&R Local Board, extending her commitment to community leadership beyond the boardroom.
Sarah is a proud member of Australian Women Speakers and an active member of BNI Metro, Auckland. She has built a business through industry shifts, a pandemic, and a platform landscape that moves faster than most brands can keep up with, and she brings that hard won perspective to every stage she stands on.
Sarah Kavanagh
IAB Hall of Fame
To mark a decade of the IAB New Zealand Digital Advertising Awards, IAB New Zealand are honouring the original Foundation Award Recipients, and the winners of the Service to the Industry Award. These are the leaders whose vision and dedication have shaped digital advertising in Aotearoa, and whose influence is still felt across the industry today.
Sarah Kavanagh is proudly one of these recipients.
Sarah Kavanagh is the founder and Managing Director of Sense - The Social Agency, a New Zealand agency built on a simple but powerful premise: that great creative and measurable performance aren't in tension, they're one and the same. With over two decades in digital marketing, Sarah has spent her career championing creative-led performance marketing for NZ businesses. Through Sense, Sarah and her team help Kiwi businesses grow, with effective creative strategies, built to perform.
See all the IABNZ Hall of Fame inductees here.
