Top indie Federation shifts the dial for brands by asking questions that cut through.
Federation is proof that independence can be a powerful thing. The agency, which works across Auckland, Wellington and Melbourne, is ranked in New Zealand’s top three independents by Campaign Brief.
It is proving that quiet audacity, executed with precision, is the fastest way for brands to win and grow in 2025 and 2026, in both culture and commerce.
Federation’s rise over the past five years is anchored in both its people and its marketing clients, who share the belief in creating “work that works”. Work that combines undeniable product truth with bold, creative thinking, challenging category norms, turning attention into measurable action.
Fuse creativity with ambitions
In 2025, boards and markets are demanding faster, sharper returns from CMOs and marketing teams. Says chief creative officer Brad Collett: “Federation is an agency that is deliberately fusing creativity with the ambitions of some of the highest growth brand clients. Creativity with precision has become non-negotiable. It’s why we’re creating ideas that have deep relevance to popular culture, with the ultimate goal of embedding brands into the lives of consumers.”
Olly Walker-Boden, Federation’s managing director, sums up the agency’s brutal approach to creating the brief for its marketing clients.
“Whether you’re talking with us about your new brand platform, your next tactical in-market brief, or your RFP pitch brief, we start by asking, ‘What’s the truth that only this brand can tell?’
“And then explore, ‘What’s the boldest way to own the conversation?’ And finally, ‘How do we make sure every second of attention we earn turns into action from your consumers, with measurable shifts in success for your brand?’”
He says: “Federation’s strategic framework for marketers blurs the lines between brand building, data insights and customer activation. We’re creating enduring brand platform campaigns that deliver fame while converting consumers into loyal customers in the same breath.”
Collett says the agency’s philosophy of ‘work that works’ comes to life in its transformative new brand campaign for DoorDash.
“If you’re a marketer, the key outtake from this is that success can happen faster. DoorDash is proof. In a matter of months, the quiet audacity of our new ‘Dash’ superhero campaign has become the face of on-demand delivery in Aotearoa.”
Unstoppable growth
DoorDash is the private equity-backed, global market leader pursuing unstoppable growth through global expansion, category diversification and a data-driven approach to customer behaviour.
Rhian Bedford-Palmer, marketing manager for DoorDash, comments: “Our brand truth is baked into our new character, Dash. He’s the embodiment of everything DoorDash represents – fast, reliable and always there when you need him. Best of all, he brings relatability and Kiwi humour to every situation he is summoned to.
“Already our multi-channel media approach has seeded the character of ‘Dash’ into the psyche of Kiwis far and wide.”
With a strong launch presence across the country – linear TV, BVOD, OOH, radio and organic/paid social channels, the ‘Dash’ campaign is everywhere.
An extra layer of magic
For DoorDash globally, this is an incredibly successful brand campaign on every measure, with some notable standout moments.
Dash was picked up and featured by Rolling Stone Australia, while the stardust from the rights usage of Queen’s iconic Flash Gordon track is still settling. The powerful combination of the creative idea itself, alongside the Queen track, has given the campaign an extra layer of magic and credibility with Kiwis everywhere, helping to embed DoorDash into the hearts of New Zealanders.
Bedford-Palmer adds: “One of the best things about the ‘Dash’ brand platform is its enormous flex. It’s already working seamlessly with the demands of our fast-paced business and all the exciting new launches and partnerships that we have coming up.
“Our brand tracking continues to show incredible growth with significant increases in brand awareness, consideration, investigation and usage. And of course the uplift in sales that we wanted to see. Dash is amazing entertainment for audiences, but this was never about entertainment alone. This is about designing a brand system that works, that starts with attention but closes the loop into sign-ups, orders and creating brand love which translates into customer preference and loyalty.”
‘Mix’ message is a goer
The same ‘brand truth-based thinking’ also powered ‘Mix Your Go’ for Auckland Transport, aimed at changing post-pandemic WFH travel habits into full-scale multi-modal shift.
Instead of lecturing commuters to stop using cars, Federation positioned AT’s transport choices as a lifestyle upgrade, supporting the core message with bold, mnemonic creative messaging to embed the idea in memory.
Anna Lawrence, head of brand and marketing for Auckland Transport says: “‘Mix Your Go’ is a brilliantly clever solution to a complex business problem. Federation created an optimistic, flexible campaign platform that quickly became part of popular culture in Auckland. Using the behavioural psychology of verbal and visual mnemonics, it not only drove significant shifts in Aucklanders’ transport choices but also delivered outstanding results for Auckland Transport’s revenues and brand, surpassing even our most ambitious objectives.
“More than just a creative idea, it became a massive call to action, addressing multi-faceted societal challenges around transport behaviour while solving critical business issues for AT linked to lost revenue. Aucklanders just got it and loved it. From commuters to public transport and active mode users to car drivers, ‘Mix Your Go’ proved that creativity, when grounded in brand truth and human behaviour, can inspire change at scale.”
Proven strategic method
CEO and founder of Federation Sharon Henderson says that for the agency, these aren’t one-off wins. “They’re examples of a proven strategic method built on four principles: start with a product truth no competitor can own, amplify it with culturally magnetic creative, design the system to capture and convert attention and use real-time data to optimise while the campaign is live. Fame without a funnel is wasted. We build both at the same time.”
In 2025, many marketers have been forced into safe territory, restricted by tighter budgets and risk-averse decision-making. Federation’s chief strategy officer Dan Bye sees this as the moment for brands to push forward.
“At a time when marketing can be in danger of whispering, the brands that speak up smartly own the room. Audacity isn’t recklessness. It’s precision and boldness, guided by strategy to create game-changing results.”
A very happy birthday
Walker-Boden cites Federation QSR client St Pierres Sushi, as another example of marketing audacity.
2024 was marked by historical recession for New Zealand. Consumers had developed a markedly pessimistic mood, right when St Pierres Sushi also wanted to celebrate their 40th birthday.
Head of marketing for St Pierres Sushi Chelsea Lung says: “Retail birthdays can be pretty ‘meh’, but Federation unlocked a strategic gamechanger with us that boosted our brand awareness and pushed our flat sales into positive territory. Something that was very hard to achieve in our category at the time, especially with our level of spend. Instead of targeting New Zealanders wallets with margin-reducing low prices like the big budget players of the QSR category, our strategy leveraged audience data and insights to target the low mood of the country with a massive feel-good idea. We gifted Kiwi something to really smile about – 40,000 free pieces of sushi. Our incredible results speak for the power of focusing on your brand truth.”
St Pierres Sushi 40th birthday strategy turned into a two-phased, extended birthday campaign event that was billed as “Bigger than Godzilla”. Over 10 weeks, the campaign helped build brand fame and retail store amplification, while using digital precision, social engagement and integrated customer marketing. The campaign also deliberately made the most of Gen Z preferences for fresher, healthier food, while incorporating smartphone calendar setting – a digitally savvy campaign quirk that Gen Z loved.
The results were phenomenal, a finely balanced mix of emotional storytelling and commerciality, driving both sales growth and brand love.
Exceeding benchmarks
The belief in creating ‘work that works’ has paid off. Federation’s campaigns are exceeding benchmarks in both recall and sales impact.
We position ourselves as growth partners. “We’re in the room with strategies for innovation and growth that are built out of brand truth, says Walker-Boden.
Federation’s approach has seen it increasing its scale into its core markets of Auckland, Wellington and Melbourne. The throughline is ambition: clients wanting ideas that are unmissable, unmistakable and built to deliver measurable results.
As AT’s Anna Lawrence puts it: “We don’t work with Federation because they’re just a great creative agency – they are a true partner, invested in understanding our business objectives and what we are trying to achieve, and proactively working with us to provide effective and impactful solutions.”
Walker-Boden sums it up when he says: “It’s boldness, done with insight and intelligence that cuts through, sticks and works. It’s the business that we’re in. Creating work that works.”
