A number of changes at Contagion, the Auckland full-service indie founded by Dean & Bridget Taylor in 2010. They’ve just enlisted former Ikon joint MD Emma Bolser as managing partner of media.
Most recently, Bolser was joint MD at Ikon, with Linus Hjoberg – who together grew the business from four to 30 staff.
Contagion founder Dean Taylor says that Bolser’s track record and reputation in the industry motivated him to start conversations with she left her position at Ikon.
“Emma built Ikon from the ground up by doing the right thing while still delivering results for clients, and that’s a rarity in this business,” he said.
“I want to give her the opportunity to build that kind of culture at Contagion.”
Bolser, who is currently in the UK on holiday, says she looks forward to getting back to work, particularly because the agency is independent.
“I want to give her the opportunity to build that kind of culture at Contagion.”
“I have watched them with interest since they launched and can see incredible potential to build on their success,” she says.
“What draws me most is the fact they are transparent; totally independent, and locally owned. Endless global reporting and process for process’ sake destroys great teams. Clients want to work with happy and engaged people who love what they do.”
Also joining the agency is channel manager Jillian Hor, who departs Y&R NZ after a two-year stint as a senior digital planner.
In addition to her stint at Y&R, she also spent a year and a half at OMD and two years at Mindshare Malaysia.
Contagion will, however, also farewell current head of media Suzie Thompson, who is moving to network media agency Vizeum.
Ex-boss’s praise ringing in her ears
“Suzie is moving on to a great job at a network media agency Vizeum,” Taylor says. “She has been a key part of Contagion for over five years and we owe her a huge debt for all the effort and dedication she has shown on every job.
“She has also been instrumental in helping me hire the right people for this next phase of Contagion media’s growth and development – I personally want to thank her.”
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