How Lisa Fedyszyn and Jonathan McMahon landed at the hottest agency in New York

In June this year multi-awarded Aussie expat creative directors Lisa Fedyszyn and Jonathan McMahon – who departed Whybin\TBWA, Auckland in February – scored plum associate creative director roles at arguably the hottest ad agency on the planet: Droga5, New York. Campaign Brief takes a closer look… 

So you’ve finally made the move overseas. Why now?

Well, if there’s one thing that Back to the Future has taught us it’s that a teenage boy travelling to strange places with an old man is totally normal. But, if there are two things it’s taught us, it’s that the year 2015 has flying cars and hoverboards, so what better time to be in the USA.

Why Droga5?

We think the better question would be to ask them, why us? We have always admired Droga5’s work; I think everyone in the industry does. They consistently put out amazing work, and that’s what we’d like to be doing.

Droga5 has grown so much in recent times. How has it gone from working in a small Auckland agency to a  larger New York agency?

It’s great, we get to work with more Australians! Possibly more than when we worked in Australia. But it’s been brilliant because there’s just so much going on, so many great people, who are not just super talented, but extremely modest and nice too – Which always makes for a good working environment. Plus, we have an amazing view. Another challenge has been trying to remember to leave the letter ‘u’ out of words like favourite, neighbour and colour, and switch the ‘r’ and the ‘e’ in such words as centre and metre. Speaking of ‘metre,’ we’ve had to forget the entire metric system while we’re at it.

There are some big names in that building, who do you consider major influencers in your career so far?

Yeah, there are many great people here to be inspired by and learn from. I think we can honestly say that we have learned something from everyone we have worked with. Looking back, lessons that super-smart businessman Sean Cummins taught us still hold true, Nick Worthington is a brilliant craftsman as well as a champion of ideas, and we always liked his approach. Toby Talbot was very generous, hired us twice and gave us our first crack at being creative directors, which has definitely helped shape us.

You’ve remained partners since day dot, that’s obviously working well.

It’s just that no one else will work with us. We are forced to stay together because we are the only ones who can stand each other.

What makes the relationship work?

We both have a similar sense of humour and work ethic, but we both bring our own points of view to the table. We are both wanting to go in the same direction. And that direction is down. Oh, we mean up. And forward. But maybe back if we are going to reminisce.

What was the defining moment in your career?

The defining moment in our career was getting our first job. We burned our student folio to get it (Sean made us). But we were grateful and that set us on this path.

What keeps you in the game?

We would have to say solving problems, creating and making ideas, working with interesting and inspiring colleagues and clients. That, and having no discernible skills that would cross over to any other industry.

Spotted any famous people yet?

Yes, there was a Jake Gyllenhaal sighting just yesterday. And we spotted Hugh Jackman walking past our desks in our first week.

What do you hope to achieve in your time at Droga5?

Not get fired is high up on the list. So is doing world-class work for big clients, as well as broadening our influences.

You guys were head of AWARD School in NZ for a couple of years and then CDs, so mentoring young teams has been a large part of your career; What’s your advice to young teams thinking about working overseas?  

Do it. When it feels like the right time, do it. Go early in your career, or later, there are no set rules – it’s just about doing whatever makes you happy and keeps you creatively inspired. You can do good work anywhere in the world, but budgets can make a big difference to what you want to achieve. We were really lucky to work with some of the most talented people in NZ. It was too good to leave. Having said that, the world has opened up a lot more so it’s a lot easier to move about these days. And this side of the world likes Aussies and Kiwis because we have a great work ethic. So do it. Or don’t.

What philosophy drives your life?   

Work hard and be nice to people. Well, that’s what the poster we used to have on our wall said. But then again we also had a poster of a sad and depressed rabbit reading Watership Down, so who knows.

What do you miss about New Zealand?    

Working with lots of Poms.