Podkast: Rádió 1 Balázsék

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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’.

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.

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.

Budgets will be wasted. Brands will be ruthlessly filtered out. The real game starts after full time. James Kirkham, founder of Iconic and ex-head of Copa90, joins Contagious to unpack why the 2026 World Cup is fundamentally different to previous tournaments - and what brands need to do about it.

In this episode, Contagious investigates what happens when content supply completely outstrips human attention, and how brands can win in a world dominated by infinite scroll, clip farms, AI slop and algorithmic overload.

Pokemon. Meatball lollipops. 17th Century silk traders. In this episode, Contagious explores weird and wonderful brand collabs, why they’re so effective, how to use them as a shortcut to cultural relevance and which brands are doing them well.

Nostalgia. Cultural déjà vu. Kidulting. Why are so many people desperate to escape the present? In this episode, Contagious investigates everything from why adults are rebuilding their teenage bedrooms, to landlines for kids and the return of the iPod, and revealing why the past has become one of culture’s most powerful refuges.