Low-budget bangers: how brands win on a tiny budget

Why is a fashion brand behaving like an entertainment company, a retailer making a talk show for an AI audience, and a video generator covering people in spaghetti?In this episode, the Contagious team explores why Gap is trying to become a pop-culture brand, how John Lewis is trying to make celebrity chat useful to bots, and why Runway is turning AI video into a game of one-upmanship. Plus, could AI finally get the films that never got funded made or will it just flood the world with crapslop? Along the way, we’ll examine:Why Gap has hired a chief entertainment officer and partnered with a boy bandWhether Louis Theroux will solve John Lewis’s agentic retail challengeWhy shoppers who use AI interact with three times as many touchpointsHow AI is dividing filmmakers over what counts as creativityWhy giving an AI agent access to your inbox could expose other people’s emails, too If Aaron Sorkin is right about attitudes towards human creativity If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.

Five million followers but only 500 likes? The algorithm has (again) changed the rules and brands can’t rely on fans seeing their posts.Rachel Karten, creator of the Link in Bio newsletter, joins This Is Contagious to unpack why Instagram is increasingly about the meme you send a friend in your DMs, why brands need to tell stories only they can tell, and why the smart move is to focus on tension over attention. We also get into the murky waters of why the people paid to keep us online are increasingly questioning whether that’s good for us and whether they want to be part of it.We’ll explore:Why five million followers no longer guarantee five million viewsWhy 44% of social marketers feel their boss doesn't understand their jobThe risks of relying on AI-generated creative and rage bait for attentionThe reason treating Instagram like a mood board no longer cuts itWhat libraries know about social media that brands don’tWhy Mr Rogers should be an avuncular role model for brands The perfume brand turning wild roadside apples into cinematic social films If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.

What does it take to become a brand people actually want to spend time with?The Contagious Brands Report 2026 brings together 45 brands finding unconventional answers to some of marketing’s biggest challenges - from earning attention and building communities, to making products more desirable, embracing AI and responding to affordability concerns.This episode reveals some of the standout brands in the report, from sunglasses sold in art-gallery-like spaces to tractors-as-a-service, AI film festivals and a pickle brand turning students into creators. Along the way, they explore what marketers can learn from brands finding new markets, new opportunities and new ways to keep people coming back.We’ll exploreWhy destination retail overindexes on ROI per square footHow brands are designing products to generate stories and attentionWhy some brands are turning employees and students into their marketing department How brands can turn customers into communities, and communities into value Why reframing value can be as powerful as changing the productWhy the thrill of potentially owning crab-soup sake is attracting Gen Z in Japan If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.

Becky Owen, CMO at social agency Billion Dollar Boy, joins Contagious to challenge the received wisdom about how brands should work with creators – from the three-second rule to the idea that good content is all that matters.Drawing on new research, the latest Contagious podcast explores how brands should work with creators, from using emotion and microdramas to build audiences, to deliberately creating imperfection to fight AI slop. We also look at why creator fandom can now come before the streaming deal, and how brands are having to rewire themselves to keep up.We’ll explain:Why the three-second rule may be tanking your campaign performanceWhy creators are deliberately embracing messy bedrooms and mistakes to prove they're humanHow the same emotion can boost performance in one category and tank it in anotherHow creators have become data-driven marketers, not just media channelsWhy some brands are exploring equity and longer-term relationships to make creators genuinely invested in their successHow social creators are using micro-pilots to build fandom before getting picked up by streaming platformsWhy Argos turned everyday kettles into gallery-worthy objects  If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.

Dirty mattresses. Giant hairballs. Bad Bunny. The Pope. This CFO-friendly episode explores how brands can overindex on impact by investing in creativity rather than throwing money at the problem.The Contagious team analyse some of their favourite low-budget marketing campaigns, unpacking the creative principles behind them and asking how brands can turn tiny budgets into big ideas, big conversations and even bigger earned media.We’ll explain:How to weaponise your audience as a media channelWhy withholding information can be more powerful than broadcasting itHow an ick factor can make out-of-sight products impossible to ignoreWhy the WTF factor works so well in outdoorHow to turn existing infrastructure into emotion and engagementHow one tiny physical change can become a huge media event How shoplifting can become brilliant PR If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.

Mary Kish, Head of Community at Twitch, joins Contagious to break down why people are flocking to Twitch – and why brands should care.  As a streamer herself, Mary doesn’t just work at Twitch, she lives the culture. In this conversation we explore why experiencing things together matters more than ever and how participation kicks the ass of passive viewing when it comes to building engagement.  We also explain:  How Twitch builds community in a world that feels lonely  The power of ‘I was there’  The origin of ‘rizz’  How a falcon rehabilitator found her people through Twitch  The main character energy of ‘chat’   The golden rule for brands on Twitch If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.

Tracing a line from Tolkien to Mattel’s toyetics, the Contagious team explores why brands are moving beyond storytelling to create richer, more immersive worlds.  We look at the rules that make fictional worlds believable and how worldbuilding can help brands escape commoditisation, fuel always-on creativity and give people something to believe in, belong to and buy into. Along the way, we explore: How Jellycat’s worldbuilding whimsy helped drive 66% revenue growth Why the story is in the world, not the other way around The toyetic rules that make Barbie Land believable How Disney’s underground Utilidors keep fantasy intact When a brand should act like a character, not a company How Trader Joe’s became a tiki-themed grocery store and why Londoners carry its tote bags Why your brand might need a map more than a sales strategy If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.

Kory Marchisotto, the president of E.l.f. Brands, joins Contagious to unpack how a scrappy startup selling premium cosmetics at affordable prices evolved into a beauty powerhouse.  This episode explores the ideology, marketing and organisational culture behind E.l.f. Beauty’s explosive growth. We dig into how its biggest innovations were led by its community, how the company encourages healthy conflict and why its mantra is ‘anything is e.l.f-ing possible’.   We also explain: Why E.l.f. started selling empty bottles to its fans The difference between shaping and leading culture Why people were clamouring to get financial advice from a beauty brand How girls dropping out of sports could impact their future career success How to create the workplace conditions necessary for innovation to thrive Why E.l.f. maintains ‘zero distance’ between its C-suite and its fans. How to jolt people into awareness around important issues If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.

AI companions. Lonely cities. Yakult Ladies.  In this episode, Contagious investigates the rise of loneliness and why brands as diverse as Heineken and Games Workshop are winning by becoming the new facilitators of human connection.  Along the way, we explore lonelygenic cities, discover what brands can learn from 19th Century Parisian architecture, asking whether boyfriends are embarrassing and whether we’re trapped in the Me Operating System. We’ll explain: Why the real world is becoming a brand's biggest advantage How cities and environments shape social behaviour The real reason teenagers are using AI companions What’s fuelling the social skills apocalypse The hidden health impact of loneliness Why technology creates the illusion but not the value of connection Why Taylor Swift has done more for social cohesion than Mark Zuckerberg If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.

The Contagious team returns from Cannes Lions 2026 to deliver our sunburnt take on the awards, the talks and what it all means for the industry.  Hot from the Croisette, we find out whether How Brands Grow is a brutally boring read, why the UN needs marketers more than ever, how the industry's best work is turning problems into opportunities, and how creative treasure can be found everywhere - from a dot-matrix printer receipt to a 12-tonne chocolate heist. Along the way we delve into: How to navigate the AI bifurcation without losing your humanity The psychology behind humorous responsibility Why lived human experience is becoming marketing's biggest moat How the biggest award winners turned problems into creative opportunities Why the marketing funnel is giving way to communities, conversations and participation How to tell if your CEO has no imagination If you work in marketing, you should almost definitely subscribe to Contagious IQ - an intelligence platform that helps brands and agencies supercharge their creativity by learning from the world's most impactful brands, campaigns and trends.