We’ve added some new recruits to the creative team in 2011 and to let you know a little bit more about the kind of people we hire, we asked them questions only slightly related to their jobs.

Lee Kimball, copywriter
If you were an advertising superhero, what would your name be and what would you do?
Exclaimo, Keeper of Superlatives. I would fly across the sky (in a glorious green, crushed velvet unitard) inspiring writers to gussy up their copy a bit and make everything grand.

Where do you find creative inspiration?
Music is huge for me. I like listening to music that fits the tone of the brand I’m working on to give me creative concepts, and then I write like mad while listening to jazz or classical music (or maybe techno if there's a glow stick in the vicinity).

When you want to hide in the Twin Cities, where do you go?
It depends on whom I'm hiding from, but generally I go for the men's restroom at C+M. But considering I don't own a cell phone, it's pretty easy to hide pretty much anywhere.


Phil Kjelland, production artist
Superhero: I'd be known as 'Kern-Duder' – able to rid the world of all poorly kerned text…and the misuse of smart quotes.

Creative inspiration: I work with so many talented individuals that it's impossible not to be inspired by their creative thinking and design solutions.

Hiding spot: It wouldn't be a very good hiding place if everyone knew about it.


Nick Watts, interactive producer
Superhero: Tim Machine – A fan-boy of Web pioneer, Tim Berners-Lee, who after hacking into Lee's original CERN mainframe was mysteriously given superpowers, including the ability to vocally mimic the dial-up login sound, and a lifetime membership to America Online.

Creative inspiration: I'm a motorcycle and bicycle fanatic, so I get creative inspiration while out riding. When I'm in front of a computer, I follow tons of blogs. One of my favorites is The Selvedge Yard http://theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com/. There's also a surprising amount of inspiration on Janet Reno's wiki page,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Reno

Hiding spot: At 6'7" it's hard to hide anywhere, but I can always escape while riding my bicycle on the quiet roads along the Mississippi River.


Jonny Thompson, interactive producer
Superhero: That's a tough one, but I would want to be Jonny McFly. I would drive a DeLorean time machine with the ability to go back in time and create Facebook before Mark Zuckerberg.

Creative inspiration: I love watching TED talks. During my commute to work, I'll try to listen to one or two talks on my iPhone.

Hiding spot: I'm a big fan of Barrio in St. Paul. I drink their fantastic margaritas while playing Kung-Fu on the big screen. And if you go there in the summertime, they open up the giant doors to let in the cool breeze from Mears Park.


Sean Cooley, designer
Superhero: So as an advertising superhero, I believe my name would be something along the lines of Vectorer, Pica or maybe Steve the defender of Kerningville, not sure which one has the best ring to it. I feel like everyone needs a trusty sidekick, so maybe Sir Phot O. Shop (cousins of Sir Mix-A-Lot) or Madam Ill U. Strator. As a team, we would fight crime, kick butt, kern, track, lead (not sure what the verb is for adjusting leading) and maybe even start up a rec flag football team. My archenemies would probably be Widows, Orphans (not actual widows and orphans, but the ones that reference page layouts and design), Comic Sans, Curlz and Mayo (seriously that stuff creeps me out).

Creative inspiration: Not going to lie, generally the first 15 minutes at work, I kind of go through a list of design blogs for daily inspiration. The blogs' contents are anywhere from band posters, furniture design, illustrations, photos, diy projects, albums to just found objects. I'm a big fan of finding inspiration in the unexpected, whether it's music or something entirely unrelated to the current project.

Hiding spot: When I'm not out fighting crime, and I get some downtime in the Twin Cities, I tend to play Jenga against fellow competitors at the Jenga Centre just down the road from where I live or practicing the ability to bite my own ear (it has not been going well so far). Those more or less take up most of my time, but with the remainder hours, I frequent awesome places such as Bulldog, CC Club, Bryant-Lake Bowl, Triple Rock and Seventh St Entry. When I want to live life on the edge by crossing the river via car and running the risk of never finding another parking spot near where I live, I enjoy Northeast Minneapolis and Grand Ave area in St. Paul, especially burgers at the Blue Door. Biking is seriously bad ass in this town and I feel like it's a challenge to hit up all the routes, but something I'm definitely going to try and take on, granted it my be a 10 year process but I've got to aim high. I'm about 2% of the way there. Since I'm new to the area, I'm intrigued to take on the winters here, but definitely pumped about going to some hockey games. Yep, that's about it for now, oh and I'll get working on the logo for this superhero shindig asap.


TJ Beagan, broadcast producer and manager
Superhero: The Grinch – with a mission to eradicate poor planning.

Creative inspiration: The cinema.

Hiding spot: Any racquetball court.

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 27, 2010 - The League of American Bicyclists has recognized Colle+McVoy as a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB). As an award winner, Colle+McVoy is providing a more bicycle-friendly lifestyle for its employees and serves as an example for best practices and innovations in bicycle friendliness at the workplace.

"Colle+McVoy is making a difference for employees, clients and communities," said Bill Nesper, Director of the Bicycle Friendly America Program. "The agency promotes bicycling as a viable form of transportation and gives their employees choices and options that make biking to work easy and fun."

Colle+McVoy makes bicycling an easy option for transportation and provides amenities such as a locker and shower room for changing, in-office bike parking, direct access to hundreds of miles of bike trails and free bike repair gear. It also offers incentives such as an employee bicycle financing program.

"We are proud to be recognized for our efforts to make Colle+McVoy and the Twin Cities a more bike-friendly place," said Christine Fruechte, president and CEO, Colle+McVoy. "Part of our commitment to the outdoor recreation category is encouraging our employees to live the lifestyle. Supporting bicycling is a big part of this and allows us to promote something we love, as well as health and wellness. It’s a win for everyone."

The Bicycle Friendly Community and Bicycle Friendly Business programs are generously supported by program partners Bikes Belong and Trek Bicycle’s One World, Two Wheels Campaign.