The 36-year-old festival, which is owned by Destination Queenstown (DQ), brought home the Best Marketing of Event trophy at the 2010 New Zealand Association of Event Professionals (NZAEP) TicketDirect Event Industry Awards.
The award recognises innovative and effective promotions which achieve marketing goals. The judging panel was made up of industry specialists from various event disciplines throughout the country.
In 2009, the festival won best established event at the same awards night for its innovation, rejuvenation and initiative and economic, environmental, social and cultural sustainability.
Festival director Simon Green, marketing and public relations manager Mandy Kennedy and operations manager Caroline Popple accepted the award at a gala dinner in Christchurch last Monday.
"I'm extremely proud of our marketing efforts, headed by Mandy, which have achieved such great recognition by the industry," Mr Green said in a statement.
"This year we had a smaller marketing budget to work with, but we were able to use it creatively and effectively thanks to support from our major sponsors.
"Our media profile also increased 62% compared with last year."
DQ chief executive Tony Everitt said he was delighted the team's efforts were once again recognised at a national level.
"Winter Festival has always celebrated the start of our winter season but now, as the southern hemisphere's biggest winter party, it's grown into a world-class event and a key winter marketing tool, which gives Queenstown's national and international profile a huge boost."
The festival beat Auckland-based festival organisers Splore Dynamics Ltd, behind Splore 2010, in the competition's final stage, after entrants were whittled down from 37 entries from across the country.
