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Edward Tufte: Assign Homework Before Your Next Meeting

Dan Mandle

Because I work with data and visual displays, I was thrilled when asked to join a team enroute to New York City last week to hear from Edward Tufte, the man The New York Times calls "The Leonardo da Vinci of data." I attended his one-day "Presenting Data and Information" course.

I figured Tufte’s presentation style would be unique enough to warrant the meme I stumbled across a few years ago about him having a strong dislike for PowerPoint. Turned out the meme was well-founded — excepting the part about the kittens.

What I didn’t expect, though, were the similarities between how Tufte prepared us for his presentation and the recommendations provided in Al Pittampalli’s Read This Before Our Next Meeting.

Tufte and Pittampalli agree about empowering people to be efficient when working in a team environment. Better put, they both believe in empowering individuals to bring efficiency into their teams. Tufte estimates that by sharing content with team members in advance of meetings, the length of those sessions could be reduced by some 20% to 30%. For Pittampalli, the approach turns sessions into more useful discussion time rather than mere presentation time.

In addition to covering the expected topics of data and information, Tufte also demonstrated how providing content in advance makes for a more thorough and engaging session. When the Colle+McVoy team checked in at the Manhattan Center, we received an 11x17 duplex-printed sheet containing our pre-session homework. In the hour we had before Tufte was to take the podium, we were required to read the following lengthy excerpts from his books:

•    The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, chapter 1 and chapter 9.
•    Envisioning Information, chapter 2.
•    Visual Explanations, chapter 1.
•    Beautiful Evidence, introduction and pages 12 - 45.

It didn’t matter who we were or where we came from. Tufte wanted his audience to attend his study hall so they would be better prepared for his session. I can’t speak for the hundreds in the room with us, but I thought the reading was time consuming. However, once Tufte began his session, we were all better prepared to actively listen rather than feverishly jot down notes.

My Edward Tufte experience has encouraged me to consider sending out relevant materials to my colleagues the next time I schedule a meeting with them — regardless of whether or not the subject material will cover data and visual displays. What's more, the “Presenting Data and Information” course has given me some ideas about what form those materials might take to best convey the story hidden away in them. All in all, it should make for more invigorating meetings. Tufte left us with plenty of inspiration to make it happen.

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Observations From Advertising Week

Jen Stack

Advertising Week 2011 is taking place in NYC this week, gathering many industry leaders, luminaries, movers and shakers in one place. Over five days there are countless forums, panels, roundtables and one-on-ones, focusing on the issues and passions that surround the current business of marketing and advertising. I attended several events with C-level leaders discussing how technology continues to disrupt and change the business.

While the fate of the economy is still looming and there are plenty of issues, the overall vibe from these leaders is optimistic. Most find that this is one of the most exciting times of change, discovery, experimentation and creativity. Below are some of their inspiring insights on the topic.*

John Partilla, COO, Dentsu Network West: “Since there is so much specialization and complexity, clients are relying on us to be partners to navigate effectively. Clients are shifting budgets from mass to social media. It’s less expensive, but they need more help from agencies. It’s the first opportunity in a long time when agencies are more valuable…and there are better opportunities for agencies to work more strategically.”

John Adams, chairman and CEO, The Martin Agency: “We no longer sell units of advertising; we’re in the business of creating content. It’s liquid content that flows from one platform to another. Consumer-generated content creates a huge landscape when presentation turns to conversation and we can engage in that conversation.”

Maria Luisa Francoli, global CEO, MPG: “Never before have agencies been platforms to exchange ideas and technology.”

Christine Fruechte, president and CEO, Colle+McVoy: “We need to experiment with technology as much as possible. Twenty percent of our time should be spent exploring technologies. We need to use technology and data to be more relevant.”

Mike Sheldon, CEO, Deutsch LA: “We are in the business of generating content. Our goal is to create stuff that is super entertaining or super useful. If it falls in one of these two categories, consumers will engage.”

Lee Doyle, CEO, North America, MEC: “Technology has put us more in the position to go to agencies and be more of a partner. The right message is one thing, but the right environment is critical.”

Nick Brien, chairman and CEO, McCann Worldgroup: “Coke highly supports innovation and allows a 10 percent failure rate from experimentation. This should be encouraged. The notion is to break through. Technology enhances creativity. We are often business partners with our clients to be on the forefront of all this change. Clients are dealing with so many issues, and the one thing we need to understand is the truth of the brand and finding ways to connect in engaging and sustaining ways with consumers.”

Christine Fruechte: “We now have to constantly monitor and shift, plan and re-plan. It’s now a different mindset for clients and us.”

Greg Schaefer, president and CEO, NCC: “Content lives in all different platforms now, and clients are looking for media companies to connect more of the dots and understand what consumers expect from the iPad, mobile, TV, etc.”

Mike Sheldon: “We talk to clients about becoming more of idea venture capitalists, to experiment and loosen up the reins. We don’t think everything we do will be a home run.”

For more information about Advertising Week 2011 and lots more content, go to www.advertisingweek.com

*Please note that the sessions were not taped, so quotes are not verbatim.


The Great Minnesota Get-Together
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The Great Minnesota Get-Together

The Great Minnesota Get-Together

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Megan Weisenberger

As a native North Dakotan, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I was instructed to go “make cultural observations” at this year’s Minnesota State Fair, the behemoth state get-together that attracts 1.8 million people – a cool 34 percent of the entire state’s population – every year.

At its roots, the Minnesota State Fair is a shared experience for a diverse range of people. An event that rolls around every year like clockwork. Individuals enter the gates and become part of a sweaty mass of humanity, united under the shared goal of celebrating the last golden days of summer, determined to sweeten the transition into cooler months by consuming buckets of Sweet Martha’s cookies.

Most articles written about the fair tend to focus on the food (chocolate-covered jalapeños, new this year!), and god knows I love mini doughnuts for breakfast. But as an account planner at C+M, I’m far more interested in the people who go to the fair and what makes them tick.

Within the masses, I noticed that there are two very distinct groups of people: those who merely go to the fair and those who spend every waking moment outside this two-week period fantasizing about the fair.

Those who merely go to the fair seem to approach the event as something they feel they’re supposed to attend, a duty of being a citizen of this fine state. They may go because it’s a tradition in their family, albeit one with some of the novelty and shine worn off over the years. They may go because they’re bored one night, or they may go because their friends and family are diehards trying to get them equally enthused about the fair.

No matter what their reason for attendance is, these people stand out. They’re the ones looking hot and miserable after an hour or two, the ones flatly refusing to play along with the clowns and the ones taking up every square inch of bench real estate. They’re the ones who are perfectly content consuming a simple hot dog and a bottle of water in the shade as the rest of the fairgoers bustle past them. They’re not fair curmudgeons, by any means, and usually go with the best of intentions.

But at the end of the day, the fair doesn’t do a lot for them. They get more out of watching a loved one joyfully consume a Pronto Pup than they do out of actually eating one themselves.

The people who go all out, however, are incredibly fun to watch. These are the ones who eagerly await the fair for 11 months. The ones who rush in with their unbridled energy and their Minnesota State Fair iPhone app, eager to soak up the sounds, tastes and smells of this glorious event through every orifice.

These are the older women in bejeweled t-shirts and glittery visors, the couples sharing romantic moments in matching duck crowns, and the parents of sparkly haired little girls wielding plastic swords. Love for the fair is evident in those who have worked the entire year to create the masterpieces found in the craft barn, in those on the admirable quest to grow the state’s largest pumpkin, and in those who merely delight in the culinary art of continuously finding new things to fry and put on a stick.

This story completely delighted me: In 2008, a group of Minnesota ex-pats got together and created Minnesota State Fair Day in New York City, an oasis for Midwesterners homesick for the taste of cheese curds and corn on the cob. For its first year, nine plucky souls ventured into New York City, looking for anything-on-a-stick they could find. This year, the event sold out, with hundreds of ex-Minnesotans wearing Twins gear, gathering together to eat chocolate-covered bacon and reminisce about the real deal. The event featured a contest for best butter sculpture and a food-on-a-stick competition, judged by Al Franken. In the Senator’s words, “It was heartening to see so many Minnesotans in New York who still love to celebrate the traditions of our home state.”

My takeaway from all of this is that whether you love it or hate it, the fair is important — a triumphant celebration of all that is inherently Midwestern. This 157-year-old event is still growing, is important to young people and is so ingrained in Minnesota’s culture that even the people who don’t want to come … still come.


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Balancing Act: A Look at Advertising on Women’s Equality Day

Nina Orezzoli

When World War I was over, the United States was flush in money and optimism. Jazz played over the airwaves of the very first radio stations, and Coca Cola’s advertising strategy switched from medicinal to fun. And on August 26, 1920, women were granted the right to vote.

Now, 91 years later, things look very different, especially for women: For every two men graduating from college, three women are doing the same; almost half of American households count a woman as the breadwinner; and more than half of the country’s managerial and professional jobs are held by women.

Next to statistics like those, it’s obvious that women are underrepresented in ad agencies, at least in creative and leadership roles. Only 3 percent of creative directors are women; and a 2009 study found no American ECDs who are mothers with spouses who work. Plus, earlier this year, Forbes published an article, “The Glass Ceiling in Advertising,” revealing that only 15 percent of top managers in ad agencies are female and that none of the global ad agencies are led by women. So today, as we celebrate Women’s Equality Day, established by Congress as “a symbol of the continued fight for equal rights,” I wondered how the few women holding successful advertising jobs are doing it.

Christine Fruechte – one of a small number of female ad agency CEOs in the country – explains her success like this: “I never felt limited by gender bias. I simply focused on doing the best job I could and over-delivering. The fact that I was oftentimes the only woman in the room was my reality, but it never felt limiting. If men in the industry underestimated me, I was just at an advantage because I knew what I was capable of.”

But, after many years in the industry and having the opportunity to work at agencies from Minneapolis to Honolulu, Christine decided to become a mother. “This milestone causes many of us to reflect on our careers and on what makes life fulfilling,” she says. But it can be an especially difficult transition for women in advertising, since this line of work requires our attention and extreme dedication.

We work unsteady hours. We travel for client meetings, conferences and shoots. According to CareerCast, a job in advertising ranks among the most demanding. Account Supervisor Jenny Stoltenow said she was reminded of this on her first day back from maternity leave. “One of my male counterparts said, ‘I can’t imagine being a mom in advertising.’ Two different people sent me stories about how agency jobs are in the Top 10 Most Stressful, followed by a study on how motherhood is the ‘toughest job in the country.’ That sets the tone for struggling in this job and having a family.”

Stacy Janicki, Director of Account Management and mother of three, had her first child at 24. “I was a young, ambitious account executive, and I quickly had to trade out happy hours for last-minute dashes to day care. I found myself overcompensating (taking work home, volunteering for extra projects) to make sure my peers and managers knew that I was still hungry and willing to pull my weight. I’d pick my kids up from day care and head back to work, kids in tow. I’m thankful that they have positive memories of this. Ad agencies are like amusement parks for young children: silly people making jokes and drawing pictures for you, scooters lying about, candy dishes everywhere, ping pong tables, jumbo TV screens, soda machines. What’s not to love?”

Stacy is one to point out that mothers in advertising become adept at squeezing everything in, although it means being unconventional. “The kids of ad moms usually have late bedtimes,” she says, “because if you’re getting home a little later, you want to maximize your face time with them.” Jenny puts it this way: “My need to sleep is losing out in the ‘have it all’ world. But I don’t want my son to grow up reflecting about how his mom was always looking at her iPhone when he was being fed a bottle or sending ‘one last email’ while he was learning to crawl, so when he’s awake and we are at home, my attention is on him 100 percent. After he goes to bed, that is when I finish projects.”

Lisa Holzemer, Senior Interactive Producer, is the newest mom at work. “So far I feel a wide range of emotions,” she admits. “Sadness to leave the baby [at day care], happiness to be solving work problems again, guilt, jealousy, elation. Everyone says it will get better. I’m waiting for that.” She feels she’s able to stick it out until then because she and her husband share their responsibilities. “We’ve always operated in a way that if something bothers you (e.g., dirty dishes or messy rooms), clean them yourself. I get to the things that bug me and so does Adam, but we let the other stuff sit until the weekend. Or the following week,” she adds with a smile.

The more I asked, the more I heard women say they relied on their spouses heavily. “I drop Beck off in the morning and Adam picks him up in the evening so I have the window to stay late if I need to,” Lisa told me. Stacy guesses she’s cooked 98 percent of the dinners, but she hasn’t vacuumed a floor in the 13 years of her marriage. Christine says she enjoys doing the laundry, gardening, cleaning, but isn't allowed to cook dinner or touch the lawn mower. She treasures the one-on-one time with her son, while her husband catches up on work or a game of golf with the guys; she calls this co-parenting.

That’s how I see it, too. As women become powerful contributors to their family’s financial status, there is a shift to a more egalitarian division of family chores - or, as in my case, a situation where some men are choosing to take the primary role in child-rearing so that the women they're married to can focus on their careers. Motherhood is becoming parenthood.

Earlier this month, Time ran a cover story, “Chore Wars,” citing new data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that proved men and women are evenly sharing workloads, both paid and unpaid.

“I notice how far things have come when I see how my dad looks up to my husband,” Christine told me. “My dad never changed a diaper, cooked us dinner, helped us with math or took us clothes shopping.” My own father, a pediatrician, changed the first diaper of his life when his visit to Minnesota coincided with one of my business trips. He told me about it proudly, with humor and enchantment at having done a thing like that for my baby.

Moments like that make it clear to me that both women and men are gaining so much from their new social expectations. By forming a true partnership with men – by selecting spouses they can collaborate with – women can go as far as they want in their careers. Even a career as time intensive as advertising.

Meanwhile, men are actually getting to experience their families. In the old advertising boy’s club, as on Mad Men, guys worked all the time, stopping occasionally to look at their children through the bottom of a martini glass. It’s not like that for John Neerland, Associate Creative Director. “I handle all day care pickups and drop-offs,” he says. “I also help out with meals and bedtime. My wife is on call four to five days a month, so I cover the child care during her shifts. Sure, it’s a balancing act, but it's worth it. I feel really fortunate that loving my family and loving my work doesn't have to be an either/or.”

Working together, women and men can both play a pivotal and better-balanced role in their own lives. And that's the kind of equality I’m after.


Nina Orezzoli
Senior Art Director
Colle+McVoy


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About Summer Hours on the Solstice

Dan Mandle

Whether we see them as an early start to the weekend or as a jumping-off point for well-earned, longer-term vacation, we love our summer hours at Colle+McVoy!

This year, the program is back again by popular demand, even being mentioned by the Star Tribune in their selection of Colle+McVoy as one of the Top 100 Workplaces in Minnesota.

With summer in mind during last week’s rooftop carnival-cum-quarterly-meeting, our CFO urged us to take advantage of the extra time to get out of the office and explore a little bit more of the state we all call home. Disclosure: As a member of the Explore Minnesota team, I will unabashedly take any and all opportunities to proselytize about how diverse (and great!) the options are for vacations right here in Minnesota! I absolutely LOVE that there are more of us at the office who feel the same way!

I also love working for a creative advertising agency whose leadership implores us to get out of the office and use our vacation time. Only 38 percent of Americans actually take all their vacation days, according to this article in CNNMoney. That figure could surely be increased with a leadership group as supportive as ours.

In any event, my coworkers will all be asking themselves similar questions as Friday afternoons approach:
Are our loose ends tied up for the week?
Have we called our clients and wished them well for the weekend?
Did we do our timesheets?
If so, we’re free to depart for distant shores. The caveat again being that I really, truly hope those shores are located in-state. An early start to backyard tasks and household chores is also fair game.

So what do Colle+McVoyers actually plan to do with their summer hours? We took an internal poll recently to find some answers. Our own Sean Cooley helped make sense of the numbers.

Here’s to the #solstice. Happy summer!


C+M "Moneystache" For New Monopoly Lottery Scratch Game
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C+M "Moneystache" For New Monopoly Lottery Scratch Game

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 18, 2009 - A new campaign by Colle+McVoy for the Minnesota State Lottery uses the "moneystache," the curious and funny white handlebar mustache made famous by the iconic Mr. Monopoly, and other inspirational game elements to intrigue players to pick up the new Mega MONOPOLY scratch game.

Breaking today, the campaign features the slogan "Grow your moneystache" and humorously inspires people to imagine playing the game and winning in a fun way, just like in the game Monopoly. Components include a 30-second television spot; two 30-second radio spots; a public relations program, and numerous out-of-home components, such as 3-D "red hotel" bus shelters and mustache mirror clings in bars and restaurants. It can be viewed at www.collemcvoy.com/monopoly/.

"We wanted to connect the Monopoly brand with scratch games, so it’s all about the fun of playing and maybe even getting rich," said Dave Keepper, group creative director, Colle+McVoy. "The moneystache lets people imagine themselves as Mr. Monopoly with his trademark mustache."

The television and radio spots run statewide and the OOH components appear in the Twin Cities area. A public relations program supports the launch with media relations and a Free Parking event, when hundreds of free parking spots are available for one night in the Twin Cities.

"This campaign really brings the fun and exciting nature of the scratch game to life by reminding people of the entertaining and well-loved components of the Monopoly game," said John Mellein, director for marketing, Minnesota State Lottery.

The $10 Mega MONOPOLY scratch game, which lands in stores Aug. 18, offers players the chance to win up to $200,000 and a variety of second chance prizes on LuckyMN.com to extend the thrill of winning.

New C+M Lottery Campaign Makes The Fun Last Longer
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New C+M Lottery Campaign Makes The Fun Last Longer

Minnesota State Lottery launches new longer-playing game during record-breaking period for Lottery sales

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 1, 2008 - To launch a new longer-playing game for the Minnesota State Lottery (MSL), Colle+McVoy created three television spots that humorously draw out the fun of playing.

The 30-second spots attract attention to the excitement of the new Print-N-Play game by taking a lighthearted look at game players as they experience the thrill of winning. Viewers see three different characters express their jubilant emotions in super slow motion, while a classical music score, reminiscent of triumphant film scores from the likes of Rocky and Chariots of Fire, builds on the excitement in an overly dramatic way. The tagline "Make The Excitement Last Longer" drives home the message.

"Everyone knows what it feels like to win, and they can imagine what it’s like to win big," said Dave Keepper, Colle+McVoy group creative director. "The spots focus on the thrill of this emotion and then drag it out to encourage people to play the longer game."

The campaign, including the 2 Guys, Coach and Librarian spots, launched statewide on the heels of the announcement that Lottery ticket sales in Minnesota reached a record amount for fiscal year 2007.

"Our goal is to design games that our customers really want to play," said John Mellein, director for marketing, Minnesota State Lottery. "Our campaigns always do a great job of building awareness and stimulating trial for our new games."

The commercials were filmed with a camera that is most often used for television sports coverage. Since the camera shoots 1,500 frames per second, the spots are actually about a second long, but shown in super slow motion for affect.

Print-N-Play tickets are printed off the Lottery terminal at Lottery retailers - just like Powerball, but can be played and won instantly - just like scratch tickets. Players can choose from a variety of Print-N-Play games with familiar play styles like Bingo and Crosswords, or choose Print-N-Play games that provide challenging new play styles. Directions on how to play each game are included on each Print-N-Play ticket.

Innovative Integrated Experience Goes Back In Time For Back To School
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Innovative Integrated Experience Goes Back In Time For Back To School

Taubman Centers Yearbook Yourself campaign launches during back-to-school retail period

MINNEAPOLIS, August 6, 2008 - To drive more teens and their parents into its malls for back-to-school shopping, Taubman Centers is taking them back in time. The national mall owner and operator partnered with Colle+McVoy to create an innovative online and in-center experience that allows teens to see what they might have looked like when their parents were in school, all while catching up on current back-to-school fashions.

The campaign features a new Web site, www.YearbookYourself.com, which launched this week and allows visitors to upload their photos and morph their faces onto yearbook photos spanning five decades. They can easily move from the 1950s through the 1990s and see themselves with the hair and fashion styles of the times while listening to music inspired by that era. Simultaneously, they can learn about the fashion styles and trends of the eras and which stores, found at Taubman Centers, carry today’s hottest back-to-school fashion and styles.

"We wanted to offer teens and their parents a fun and unique online experience that allows them to interact with our brand and talk about our stores," said David Goldberg, Taubman, vice president, marketing and sponsorship. "The back-to-school shopping season is one of the most important times of the year for our retailers, so it was our goal to show how they are forward thinking when it comes to current trends and fashions."

The site also features "homeroom" pages that allow visitors to save their favorite yearbook photo to a page and then invite friends to post their photos as well. Once invited friends post their photos, a virtual yearbook page is created. Shared links allow friends to view each others’ homeroom pages. They can also save, print, email or post their yearbook photo creation to a webpage or social network site.

"Teens can have a lot of fun with the site and technology, as well as connect in ways that are intuitive to them," said Mike Fetrow, executive creative director, Colle+McVoy. "But it was essential for the site to also highlight current back-to-school trends and Taubman retailers to encourage teens and their parents to visit a store they might not otherwise visit while shopping for school."

The site will support 20 Taubman centers nationwide through September by linking to center-specific retailers and their corresponding mall profile pages. Nine of the Taubman centers will also feature Yearbook Yourself In-center Experiences. These walk-through, gallery-like exhibits display vintage products. The experience ends with an 8’ x 7’ 3-D yearbook highlighting teen photos from the 1950s up through today, juxtaposed with images of vintage products and the current products and fashions found at Taubman retailers. A DVD loop will also show highlights from the online experience.

About Taubman Centers
Taubman Centers (NYSE: TCO), is a real estate investment trust engaged in the development and management of regional and super regional shopping centers. Taubman’s 24 U.S. owned and/or managed properties, the most productive in the industry, serve major markets from coast to coast. The company’s Taubman Asia subsidiary is developing retail projects in Macao, China and Incheon, South Korea. Taubman Centers is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. For more information about Taubman, visit www.taubman.com.

C+M Sweeps "The Show"
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C+M Sweeps "The Show"

Capturing Best of Show, gold, silver, bronze and merit awards

MINNEAPOLIS (October 20, 2007) - Colle+McVoy earned top honors last night for its work for Wisconsin-based Erbert & Gerbert’s Subs, during The Show, the annual advertising industry awards sponsored by the Advertising Federation of Minnesota. In addition to Best of Show, Colle+McVoy was given 21 gold awards, 24 silver honors, 16 bronze and eight merit honors.

"The Best of Show work is a great example of the creative approach that we look for to help our clients activate their brands," said executive creative director Mike Fetrow. "This work is the type of work that Colle+McVoy is quickly becoming known for."

Among the creative work awarded: the August Schell Brewing Company out of home and multimedia campaign; the New Holland Tractor Company’s print and photography; the Minnesota Twins scratch banner tickets; Red Wing Shoe Company print, Nestlé Purina photography, Cenex television and more.

"We are humbled and proud to be recognized by our peers" said Christine Fruechte, president of Colle+McVoy. "This is not only a rewarding night for us and our clients, but it is also a tribute to the tremendous creative talent in Minneapolis."

The Show is a widely recognized standard of excellence in the advertising industry. The awards honor the year’s best work in advertising, design, interactive and student work.