TWE's In-House Agency Splash Wins Agency of the Year at IHAC Awards

Treasury Wine Estates' in-house agency Splash took four major titles at the 2026 In-House Agency Council Awards, including In-House Agency of the Year. The ceremony on 20 April recognised Splash's Best Integrated Campaign, Best Creative Work and Award for Agility.

Judges praised Splash for turning "impossible into unmissable", citing a Snoop Dogg AFL Grand Final activation for 19 Crimes that cut through a beer-dominated media moment and drove measurable sales impact. The 19 Crimes Halloween campaign was also recognised for clear retail insight and business results.

The awards introduced three new categories this year: Best Use of AI, Best Use of Media and Leader of the Year. Those additions reflect how far in-house teams have expanded beyond basic content production into technology, data, media buying and strategic leadership.

The in-house agency trend is no longer a trend. It is a structural shift in how Australian brands manage creative production. TWE's Splash is not a small team doing social content. It is a strategic partner to the business, running integrated campaigns that compete with (and beat) external agency work.

For Australian marketing leaders evaluating their agency model, the IHAC Awards are a useful benchmark. The winning entries show what in-house teams look like when they are properly resourced and given strategic scope: they produce culturally relevant, commercially effective work at speed.

The new AI category is also worth watching. In-house teams have a natural advantage with AI tools because they sit closer to the brand data, product information and customer insight that AI systems need to produce good output.

If you are building or scaling an in-house team, study the IHAC Award winners for structure and scope. The winning teams are not doing everything in-house. They are doing the high-speed, high-context work internally and partnering externally for specialist capability.