Foundry Collective launches – the agency group built for the AI era

With SMEs forming the backbone of New Zealand’s economy, a new Auckland-based agency group, Foundry Collective, is launching this month – to help ambitious Kiwi businesses grow in a more sustainable way, at a time when effective marketing, brand building and performance have never been more important.

 

Co-founded by Emily Ostrowska and Wade Kirkland, Foundry Collective is designed to redefine the modern agency model – combining intelligent systems, strategic oversight and AI-enabled optimisation at its core, as the industry shifts from execution-led delivery to strategic integration and system design.

Under one integrated umbrella, Foundry Collective brings together Folk&Tale – a strategic growth consultancy specialising in brand storytelling and marketing ecosystems, using a fractional CMO model to embed senior strategic leadership into client businesses – and Explosive Social, a performance-led digital agency specialising in paid media, social and customer acquisition.

Together, the model connects long-term brand building with short-term performance to drive more sustainable business growth for SMEs in New Zealand.

Emily Ostrowska, Co-Founder of Foundry Collective and Folk&Tale, says: “Marketing is moving into a new era. Execution is becoming faster, cheaper and more accessible through AI – but the real value is no longer in doing more. It’s in designing how everything works together. That’s the shift we’re here to lead.

“We connect brand strategy, performance and every customer touchpoint in one coherent system – so brands can move beyond fragmented activity and drive growth that actually compounds.”

A new way of structuring marketing

“Built to support New Zealand’s SME sector, the Foundry Collective model responds to growing pressure on businesses to deliver results – balancing long-term brand building with the immediacy of performance media, so both work together in a streamlined system, to drive sustainable compounding growth rather than disparate activity, says Ostrowska.

“AI plays a central role in how that system operates, it’s transforming how marketing gets done – streamlining execution, automating repetitive tasks and unlocking deeper data intelligence. But the real value still lies in how that’s applied.”

Through Explosive Social, growing businesses access high-performance paid media, social and customer acquisition – building the traction and data needed to scale.

As those businesses grow, Folk&Tale layers in – embedding senior strategic leadership through a fractional CMO model, and adding the fuller brand and marketing capability that scaling businesses need: from brand strategy and design through to website development, campaign production and ATL activity.

Ostrowska adds: “Many businesses have strong individual components – brand, media, content – but they’re not connected.

“Across my time working in agencies, I’ve seen the same pattern repeat – activity everywhere, but little integration behind it. That’s where growth starts to plateau. The real opportunity now is in connecting those pieces in a way that builds momentum. That’s where we’re seeing the biggest impact.”

Leadership built for a new model

Led by Emily Ostrowska, alongside Co-Founder Wade Kirkland and Head of Growth Fiona Kerr, the leadership team brings together expertise across strategy, commercial leadership and growth.

Ostrowska brings international experience across New Zealand, the UK and the US in digital strategy and integrated marketing. Kirkland adds commercial and operational leadership across media and business growth, while Kerr brings senior marketing leadership experience, having held strategic growth roles and worked across brands including VAPO, alt., Coca-Cola, Lion and Nestlé.

Built for a new generation of businesses

“We’re seeing a wave of ambitious businesses launching faster than ever,” says Ostrowska.

“As they grow, the challenge becomes less about execution, and more about how everything fits together – from initial customer acquisition through to long term brand growth.

“This is about building an agency that aligns with how modern marketing actually works – more connected, more strategic, and designed to support growth over the long term.”

Foundry Collective launches with a team of 20 across both agencies, spanning employed talent and fractional CMOs, with plans to expand capability and market reach over time.

For more information about Foundry Collective, please head to www.foundrycollective.nz.

Pictured (L-R): Wade Kirkland, Fiona Kerr, Emily Ostrowska

 

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