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.
Remade
- Founder: Clara McLaurin
- Year founded: 2020
Tell us the story behind founding your agency.
Starting my own agency was something I’d always wanted to do. But between working across Australia and New Zealand and starting a family, the timing never seemed right.
Then Covid came along. I was creative director of a small independent agency when the owner decided to shift the focus of the business and my role came to an end. I shared the news with a client and she asked what I was going to do. I said I was thinking about starting my own agency. “If you do, I want to be your first client,” was her reply.
My previous employer kindly waived my non-compete clause and Remade began. After more than 25 years in the industry, I’ve been fortunate to work with and befriend talented people across both sides of the Tasman. Bringing that experience and shared history together at Remade has helped define the agency from the start.
What’s your favourite thing about running your own agency?
Remade has a different energy. Our core and wider team have worked together over many years across agencies, industries and campaigns. There is real trust, shared understanding and a common way of working between us.
What I enjoy most is what this allows. The robust conversations, the differing world views and the assurance that we’ll all meet in the middle somewhere at the end of it all.
I’m grateful that people feel able to speak freely and bring different perspectives and lived experience to the table. It only makes the work better and the process more enjoyable.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned?
An agency doesn’t exist for its own sake. Clients have a lot on the line and they need to succeed.
As budgets tighten and marketers are asked to do more with less, what matters is whether your thinking can still deliver real impact. That’s where senior judgement really counts. Experience helps you simplify complexity and make better decisions faster.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received or given out?
No matter what you’re saying to your audience, ask yourself if it’s interesting first.
Anything else we should know?
Our model is intentionally built for where the market is heading, not where it has been. Across the industry, agency mergers and cost cutting has meant that senior talent is harder to come by just when it is most valuable.
Our level of experience means there are few problems we haven’t seen before, our creativity means we love finding new ways to solve them. In my experience, for a larger agency with larger overheads using senior people in this way is incredibly hard to do. But due to our pared-back structure, it’s entirely affordable for our clients. In fact it’s our BAU.
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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