In the June-August 2026 issue of NZ Marketing magazine, we asked agency founders to tell us the story behind why they started their agency, their favourite thing, what they’ve learned and their best advice.
Contagion
- Founder: Dean Taylor
- Year founded: 2010
Tell us the story behind founding your agency
Contagion started in an unusual way. While I was CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi in Asia, a client I was working closely with asked a simple question: “Why don’t we start an agency together?” That summed up what I’d always enjoyed most about the job. It wasn’t scale or spectacle. It was working closely with clients on real commercial problems and producing creative work that was genuinely effective, because it was grounded in strong thinking. Contagion was founded in 2010 to protect that closeness.
From the start, the agency was built to operate like a senior in‑house marketing team. Embedded, strategy‑led and accountable for outcomes. Over time, that evolved into a strong focus on behavioural psychology and behavioural economics, not as theory, but as a practical tool for driving growth. The principle has stayed the same. If clients win commercially, the work has done its job.
What’s your favourite thing about running your own agency?
The absolute joy is working through the strategic and creative way forward with a client, getting to that moment where everything clicks, and then seeing the results roll in. I still get a real buzz from that. The thinking, the creative, the decisions and then watching their business success because of it. Being independent means I get to stay close to those moments, working side by side with clients on the things that actually matter, rather than being removed from the outcome.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned?
That marketing only works when it changes behaviour. For a long time, our industry rewarded awareness, volume and activity – but none of that guarantees growth. What actually moves a business is understanding how customers really make decisions, what stops them and what gives them confidence to act. I’ve learned that the hardest discipline is simplicity. When something isn’t working, the instinct is usually to add more. More messages, more channels, more work. Almost always, the better answer is to strip it back and focus on the few things that genuinely influence behaviour. That’s why behavioural psychology and behavioural economics have become so central to how we work. They keep us honest and focused on outcomes. If behaviour doesn’t change, nothing else really matters.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received or given out?
If it doesn’t change behaviour, it isn’t marketing. It might look good, it might win attention, but if people don’t think or act differently as a result, it hasn’t really done its job. That line has shaped how I approach strategy, creative and decision‑making. It keeps the work honest and focused on outcomes rather than activity.
Anything else we should know?
Sixteen years on, we’re just as ambitious about the work and the impact it can have as we were when Contagion was founded. The business has evolved, the market has changed, but the drive hasn’t. We still care deeply about solving meaningful problems for clients, doing the thinking properly, and seeing that work translate into real commercial results. That ambition, and the enjoyment of the work itself, is what continues to power the agency today.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 87, June-August 2026. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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