Colle+McVoy and Exponent, its PR partner, won nine first-place awards and three merit awards, making them the most awarded agency at the 2013 National Best of NAMA awards, sponsored by the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA). Award-winning work included campaigns for WinField, Purina Animal Nutrition, CHS Inc., DuPont Crop Protection and Farm Credit Mid-America.

NAMA serves the food and fiber industry, focusing on members’ professional development by providing access to solutions and opportunities in agribusiness. Each year, Best of NAMA honors excellence in agricultural communications. Companies and agencies must first qualify through regional competitions to advance to the national level.

Colle+McVoy and Exponent PR’s first-place clients and categories include:

• Single-page ads, series – WinField Answer Plot^® Print Ads
• Radio, series – WinField Answer Plot^® Radio
• TV, single or series – “We’re With You” for CHS
• Corporate identity – Farm Credit Mid-America Brand Identity Refresh
• Public relations program, internal – Farm Credit Mid-America: A Fresh Coat of Paint
• News or feature article – “South Korea Packs a Wallop” for CHS
• Direct mail, directed to farmers, growers and ranchers - flat – WinField MAX-IN^® X-RAY Direct Mailer
• Company publications, internal – WinField Expertise^® E-Newsletter
• Companion animal; or turf and ornamental campaign – Purina Animal Nutrition Big Thoughts from Small Animals Videos

Colle+McVoy and Exponent PR’s merit clients and categories include:

• Billboards or other outdoor ads – WinField Answer Plot^® Field Giants
• Brochures, catalogues, etc, directed to dealers, distributors, sales reps or others serving agribusiness – WinField Brand Brochure
• Producer or company funded public relations program to consumers – CHS Tanks of Thanks

MINNEAPOLIS, May 12, 2011 - Colle+McVoy won two Judge’s Choice Awards and had seven pieces selected (tied for the most selected) at the AIGA Minnesota Design Show 2011. The awards, sponsored by AIGA Minnesota, highlight the region’s top work, submitted by creative professionals and students, and is judged by a panel of nationally recognized design professionals.

"This is incredible recognition since the Twin Cities design community features some of the most creative work in the nation," said Ed Bennett, design director, Colle+McVoy.

Colle+McVoy won two of four coveted Judge’s Choice Awards for the corporate identity for People for Bikes, the nation’s largest unified movement to improve bicycling, and for the Schwinn Bell Choir, a holiday campaign for Schwinn featuring eight festive people on bikes performing e-carols that helped get bikes and helmets to kids across the country.

The other five pieces selected into the show include the agency’s All Set Card Set, Caribou Coffee Globe/Donate/I Heart You out-of-home (OOH) campaign, Caribou Coffee Oven OOH, Schwinn Calendar and the mobile site for TakeMeFishing.org.

AIGA Minnesota supports the interests of professionals, educators and students who are engaged in the process of designing, regardless of where they are in the arc of their careers. Its mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force. It is one of the largest chapters in the AIGA, serving nearly 1,300 members in Minnesota and the upper Midwest.

MINNEAPOLIS, March 1, 2010 - Caribou Coffee customers in all stores nationwide will notice a new coffee-centric caribou on their cups as they reach for their beverages today. As part of the company’s strategy to enhance its brand position and create new opportunities to engage customers, the 17-year-old brand has undergone a makeover orchestrated by Colle+McVoy, which will roll out during 2010 and into early 2011.

See the work

"The evolution of the Caribou Coffee identity will provide more people with more reasons to feel deeply connected to the brand" said Christine Fruechte, president and CEO, Colle+McVoy. "Whether you’re a customer or an employee, Caribou will be symbolic of living life to its fullest, and that’s rich territory for a brand like this to own."

"As we explored hundreds of iterations of the brand’s central elements, we made sure to stay true to the personality of the company, the vision in which it was founded, as well as the myriad reasons why people love Caribou Coffee," said Mike Caguin, executive creative director, Colle+McVoy.

The new brand look includes a new logo, color palette and design elements that bring fresh energy and broader context to the existing tagline: Life is short. Stay awake for it.® Previously the tagline focused on the benefits of caffeine, but Caribou has now shifted the element from a declarative statement to an opportunity for customer engagement on a more personal level; "stay awake" has grown to signify a "seize the day" attitude.

"We saw an opportunity to better express who we are and what we believe in as a company across all interactions with our customers," said Alfredo Martel, senior vice president of marketing, Caribou Coffee. "The new elements of our brand give us an opportunity to do that and to ask our customers to explore and share what staying awake means in their lives."

Beginning on March 1, the new look will be introduced via in-store elements such as napkins, cups, drink carriers, canteens and signage. A redesigned Web site and extensive out-of-home campaign launch April 1.

Bringing the Brand to Life
Central to this new rebranding, the company’s logo has been adapted to a simpler representation of the brand’s key identification. Most noticeably, the leaping caribou is now a coffee-brown color and in the brand’s playful nature, is assembled out of graphic elements, including a coffee bean at the heart of the animal and "C" shaped antlers. The caribou also now leaps to the right, signifying the company’s vision and movement toward the future.

The shield element in the original logo has been updated to a rich blue color with a new shape that echoes the shape of national park system signage, a nod to the Caribou founders’ hike in Alaska’s Denali National Park where they were inspired to begin the company.

A New Approach to Growth
Since Caribou Coffee CEO Mike Tattersfield’s arrival in August 2008, Caribou has shifted focus away from expansion and toward elevating all aspects of the brand experience to match its world-class coffee. The company’s new strategy has resulted in the most diverse and premium line of offerings since the company opened its first store in 1992.

"Our brand relaunch runs much deeper than the new logo design; it really signifies the evolution of our company. We are passionate about and committed to creating the best cup of coffee possible and an experience that extends beyond our products," said Martel. "We are working to ensure that all aspects of the customer experience are at the same premium level of quality as our coffee."

In November 2009, Caribou unveiled a menu of reformulated chocolate beverages made with all-natural gourmet chocolate from Guittard Chocolate Company of San Francisco. To boost its breakfast platform, the retailer introduced handcrafted oatmeal to its menu in January of this year and has been testing baked in-store pastry items at 25 stores in its home market of Minneapolis.

Named agency of record for second-largest coffeehouse operator in America

MINNEAPOLIS, February 20, 2009 - Colle+McVoy received a strong shot of new business after being named agency of record for Caribou Coffee, the second-largest company-owned gourmet coffeehouse operator in the United States. The agency was selected after a very competitive and challenging search.

"Colle+McVoy’s approach was very courageous. Their creative ideas pushed our brand in a more innovative direction, which we believe will help differentiate it for today’s customers and future generations," said Caribou Coffee Senior Vice President of Marketing Alfredo Martel. "The team presented a comprehensive strategy to drive growth and create long-term value, as well as actionable solutions for our immediate needs."

"We have been given an amazing opportunity to help Caribou Coffee become the leading gourmet coffee brand in the world," said Christine Fruechte, president and CEO, Colle+McVoy. "Every idea we create needs to be engaging and tell the brand’s memorable story through groundbreaking programs." Colle+McVoy ended 2008 with revenues at an eight-year high, driven, in part, by high-profile assignments from ESPN, Yahoo! Messenger, Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, and Manhattan Toy Company, to name a few.

Colle+McVoy will share in the brand strategy and planning, as well as manage the day-to-day execution of all marketing campaigns for Caribou Coffee, including brand identity, package design, interactive, advertising and promotions. The scope includes consumer marketing via all channels (trade, retail and online). Program budgets have not been finalized.