MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 21, 2010 - Colle+McVoy has received recognition in the prestigious O’Toole Awards program, known as one of the toughest advertising industry competitions. The agency has been recognized as a finalist in the Mid-Sized Agency of the Year category and is a two-time finalist in the O’TooleBox Category.

Established in 1991, The O’Toole is one of the most competitive and highly regarded award programs in advertising. Its purpose is to recognize those agencies that consistently set and maintain the very highest standards. To win, an agency must submit a body of stellar work for several different clients. Only 20 finalists in four categories were selected this year and awards will be announced in New York City on Sept. 27.

Colle+McVoy is one of four finalists in the Mid-Sized Agency of the Year. To enter, advertising agencies from all over the world had to submit five pieces of work for five separate brands.

In the O’TooleBox category, Colle+McVoy has been honored as a finalist twice (only six finalists are selected), for the rebranding of Caribou Coffee, the world’s second-largest coffee retailer, and developing the People for Bikes program, a first-of-its kind new brand and movement to make our world a more bike-friendly place. The O’TooleBox honors excellence in creative and original thinking for a body of work, for a single campaign idea across multiple contact points.

"We are all about creating standout, effective work for our clients," said Mike Caguin, executive creative director, Colle+McVoy. "To be recognized by the O’Toole awards as one of the best, most creative agencies in the country is an absolute honor and reflection of our strong client partnerships."

Proceeds from the O’Toole Awards are donated to the 4A’s Foundation, Inc. A primary goal of the Foundation is to award scholarships to multicultural students of the advertising arts. More information can be found at www.aaaa.org and www.otooleawards.com.

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.

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"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.

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 7, 2010 - Today Colle+McVoy was named digital agency for Land O’Lakes Dairy Foods Division of Land O’Lakes, Inc. The agency will manage the consumer Web site, including strategy, creative, production and development.

"We are very impressed with Colle+McVoy’s interactive expertise and technical capabilities," said Thea Keamy, Vice President, Retail Cheese & Marketing Services, Land O’Lakes. "It was imperative that the team we selected resonated with our team, which was apparent with Colle+McVoy throughout the selection process."

Colle+McVoy will build and maintain landolakes.com, including the LAND O LAKES® Simple Rewards® Club, oversee search initiatives, and provide comprehensive Web analytics support.

"We are thrilled to expand our relationship with Land O’Lakes to the consumer foods business," said Christine Fruechte, president and CEO, Colle+McVoy. "We value our ongoing partnership and look forward to helping build deeper relationships with consumers online."

Becoming digital agency for the Dairy Foods business of Land O’Lakes is the next chapter in the agency’s transformative growth story. Colle+McVoy’s interactive billings have doubled since 2007 and now account for more than 40 percent of the agency’s revenue. The agency overall has experienced remarkable year-over-year growth in recent years and expects this momentum to continue in 2010.

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.