Auckland
Wellington
Melbourne
From a market challenger start-up in 2008, Federation has become one of the leading independent agencies in New Zealand – headquartered in Auckland, with operations in Wellington and Melbourne. We are hungry to do things differently and free to do the best work possible.
We work with leading New Zealand and Australian global brands. NZX and ASX listed and private equity owned companies. Government and local government. Multi-national brand leaders. And entrepreneurial brands ambitious for the world stage.
We create far-reaching, enduring solutions to your opportunities and challenges. More than an advertising agency, we are innovators with a focus on your mission.
We are a team focused on building enduring success, both for our clients and for Aotearoa New Zealand. We’re a full-service team of multi-discipline experts. We build brands and change behaviour through exceptional capability across strategy, creative, account service, digital and social. Together, we create ideas that deliver maximum impact on the people you want to influence most.
Sharon is our fearless agency leader. A strategic partner to Federation’s clients, Sharon is passionate about building the bond between a brand and its customers. She brings a world of experience to her role. Prior to starting Federation in 2008, Sharon was Managing Director of some of New Zealand’s largest advertising agencies. She’s also an active board member for Consumer New Zealand.
Olly is a rare breed of account leader. He brings his digital, social and mobile expertise as well as blue chip brand experience to Federation. His ‘big picture’ perspective and endless good humour make him a great guy to have on the team.
Brad Collett, the charming Chief Creative Officer at FEDERATION has worked on iconic global brands, as well as local favourites.
Brad's passion for design, strategic flair, and innovative ideas have not only won awards but also driven tangible results, from selling cars and burgers to promoting digital TV subscriptions and overseas trips. With Brad at the helm, expect nothing short of memorable, resonant work that captivates both customers and clients alike.
Dan Bye wears a whole lot of hats. Starting his career on the client side of the fence has given him an innate understanding of the challenges of the modern marketer. Subsequently, Dan moved into the agency world, where he fine tuned his strategic chops as well as managing a large number of humans. On top of all that, Dan has also turned a life long passion for cycling into a thriving small business. Walk a mile in your shoes? Yup, Dan’s done it all - with cleats on.
There’s not much that surprises Liz. An experienced customer marketer, Liz has the patience of a saint and the tenaciousness of a terrier. She delivers the goods while others are still making plans to meet for coffee.
Taryn is a woman who gets things done - in style and at pace. With an impressive track record that stretches from large international brands to fast-moving FMCGs, her genius lies in collaborating to transform the way that brands connect with their customers. When Taryn’s sneakers are bustling around the agency, great things are happening.
Growing up on a sun-drenched vineyard in Marlborough must have been hell. But our Ollie’s a trooper. He overcame this difficult start to forge a successful career in advertising. A keen athlete, he has a passion for sports marketing. This makes him something of a conversational chameleon – capable of discussing the subtleties of the All Black lineout as well as an organic sauvignon blanc.
Damian is a man who gets stuff done. If there’s a meeting to wrangle, a creative to cajole or a deadline to hit, he’s your guy. Our honorary in-house project manager, he keeps us all on our toes. And yet we still like him.
If it didn’t happen on the socials, did it really happen? Molly is our Social Media ‘It’ girl, coming to us from the world of beauty and design. She enjoys developing strategy & brand positioning across social channels and is eager to sprinkle some social fairy dust across all of Federation’s clients.
#fingeronthepulse
We’re very pleased to welcome Hinemoa to the Federation whānau. She joins us, dripping wet from the pool, where she represented the Kingdom of Tonga as a competitive swimmer. She brings a commitment to excellence and a love of extremely early starts.
Emma Fern is one of New Zealand’s most experienced integrated communications Planning Directors. She works alongside Federation’s clients to create strategies that win the hearts and minds of consumers.
Bobbie has a love affair with words.
An award-winning creative, she has worked on some of New Zealand’s most iconic brands across brand, retail, experiential and behaviour change space. When she’s not adding a little theatre to a presentation, she’s likely to be entertaining her kids with outlandish stories or spinning a good yarn.
There’s very little Bobbie won’t do to ensure the success of a job, including running across Eden Park dressed as the ‘Spud’ mascot for Auckland Rugby.
Yup, you say po-tay-to, she says po-tah-to.
Ask Jeeves, Napster and Bebo – after 15 years in the digital design and advertising world, Jeremy has seen it all. An inquisitive creative, he’s constantly building on his encyclopedic knowledge of all things online, mobile and all the bits and bytes in between. Over the years, Jeremy’s stashed away plenty of awards, but he’s most proud of floating a pub to the UK for the Speight’s Great Beer Delivery.
Opeta is a celebrated designer with an understanding of the power of branding. As the creator of the Advance Pasifika symbol, Opeta has the rare honour of being featured in Te Papa’s history collection. He says of the piece: “It is a rallying cry for equality and fairness in the justice system.”
A thoughtful designer, Opeta is able to consider design through a Pasifika and tikanga Māori lens. Oh, and he also happens to be a very cool guy.
English, Spanish and Hebrew. Many can claim fluency in one language, but Gal can move nimbly between three. Her tri-cultural upbringing helps her to see the world from many perspectives – a useful skill for a copywriter. Having studied both architecture and media, she inevitably found her way into the world of advertising. We’re happy to have Gal weaving her wordy magic.
Gene has been described as ‘effortlessly cool’.
Something of a magpie, he takes inspiration from music, art and pop culture, a designer who brings them together in fresh ways.
Gene believes in constantly improving and in creating the best possible experience for the end user. In some instances, that’s him. Gene’s bold, audacious designs have even featured in some of his tattoos. And If that isn’t evidence of a confident designer, we don’t know what is.
Miranda’s official title is Creative Delivery Lead but she’s better described as an energiser battery wrapped in cashmere. Reflecting on her career, Miranda comments how lucky she is to have worked in advertising in the 90s. Not only does she have better work stories than most, but it was during this time that she developed her love affair for craft and typography. Every day, Miranda aspires to be an effective presence in the workplace. Job done, Miranda.
A recent arrival from Bristol, Phoebe quickly won our hearts. Her design skills enable her to create distinctive and elegant solutions for clients, as well as stylish uniforms for the Federation social netball team she leads onto the court.
Amy doesn’t just see ‘design’. She sees possibilities. Amy enjoys getting under the skin of a project in order to create engaging design solutions and expand her knowledge. When she’s not at her computer, she’s likely to have stuffed her backpack with scroggin and gone bush.
Sarah is a commercially focused marketing strategist, with over 10 years’ experience both publisher and client-side. My background includes brand planning, marketing strategy, performance marketing, digital communications, advertising technology, analytics as well as client relationship management and business development. Most recently Sarah was the Marketing Lead for a land development consultancy and prior to that drove the digital brand strategy for BurgerFuel.
Sarah enjoys spending time with her family, is a musician and has an interest in design, ceramics and getting into nature.
Yes, we sweat the big stuff. But we also sweat the smallest of details to help you succeed.
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