40 Under 40 2022: Tina Comrie, The Attention Agency

Tina Comrie

Chief executive officer
The Attention Agency 
New Zealand

Having written and published her first ‘magazine’ when she was just eight years old, it was clear from an early age that Tina Comrie was destined to become a media maven.

A magazine editor by the age of 24, Comrie drove the success of New Zealand's independent fashion and lifestyle magazine, Remix. An early adopter of social media, she co-founded The Classroom, New Zealand’s first Facebook-endorsed training course and from there took a role as the group head of social media at New Zealand Media & Entertainment, working for over 50 brands.

In 2020, Comrie saw the opportunity to establish her own social media and digital marketing agency, to further help ambitious Kiwi businesses to reach more customers. Thereon, The Attention Agency was born.

Launching a new agency during the depths of Covid is no easy feat. But since she founded The Attention Agency in May 2020, she led the business from zero to achieve $1.5 million in annual recurring revenue. As founder and CEO, Comrie drives all areas of growth for the agency, and has single-handedly signed 55 clients over 30 months.

From just herself at the start, she now has a team of 10 staff and has built a values-led organisation. Comrie ensures that every team member has a specific, measurable skills-development plan for their career progression. Every week, every month, and every quarter, every team member is able to learn, grow and track their progress, making sure it is abundantly clear where they are going, and what the next move is for them as individuals and within the wider team.

Outside her work at The Attention Agency, Comrie hosts twice-yearly ‘Power Panel’ events —panels of business owners and senior marketers that are open to those wishing to hear real-world insights, challenges, failures and successes from their marketing efforts. She is also an active member of the Entrepreneurs Organisation—a global programme for entrepreneurs—and a member of the Auckland Business Chamber.

In addition, she has also established a pro bono partnership with The Kindness Collective, a charity network that matches people to give back to those who need it most. Away from work, Comrie is a self-confessed ‘bird nerd’, and volunteers for PredatorFreeNZ, an organisation determined to rid New Zealand of introduced pests that threaten native birdlife.