Now Hiring: Art Director
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Now Hiring: Art Director

Position Summary

Colle+McVoy, named one of the Best Places to Work by Advertising Age and Outside, is seeking a junior to mid-level art director to do awesome stuff in an environment that is fueled by creating standout work. Responsibilities include coming up with and executing big campaign ideas (and little ones) across all mediums, as well as art directing partners: photographers, retouchers, illustrators, directors, animators, editors, print vendors, etc.

Responsibilities

  • Develop concepts, layouts and collaborate with copywriters and other creatives to produce a high caliber of refined work under deadlines
  • Art direct through final layouts; attend photo shoots, broadcast shoots and all aspects of post-production
  • Present ideas and work to team and/or senior creative personnel
  • Possess a spectrum of design skills, interactive design is a plus
  • Remain current on industry trends and technology

Qualifications/Traits

  • Bachelor’s degree in a related field and/or ad school credentials
  • Less than five years of experience, but with a killer book
  • Basic understanding of printing process, photography, illustration, typography, interactive
  • Competency in the Adobe Creative Suite of applications
  • Ability to gracefully handle multiple projects in a fast-paced environment

Send Resume

Colle+McVoy is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Celebrating the Unpredictability of the Digital Decade

Craig Pladson

Minnesotan marketers get interactive. This has never been more apparent than it was this past Wednesday at the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) Summit. The theme of the conference was “Celebrating the Digital Decade,” which served not only as a testament to the monumental changes we’ve experienced in digital, but also a celebration of MIMA being the oldest and biggest interactive marketing association in the country. MIMA has pioneered a local path that allows organizations to elevate their talent by offering premium programs that present high-quality speakers to share the digital love.

There were more than 60 speakers at this year’s MIMA Summit, who were organized into 10 different tracks for attendees to choose from: content and storytelling, digital decade, e-commerce and e-mail, marketing technologies, measurement, mobile and screens, the nonprofit perspective, social media, trends and user experience. Colle+McVoy sent a group of people from various disciplines in order to take in as much as we could from the 40 different sessions.

Outside the two keynote speakers (Avinash Kaushik + Chris Anderson), I spent most of the day attending sessions listed in the user experience track. With the hope of capturing the perspective of everyone who attended from Colle+McVoy, I solicited feedback by asking for two or three sentence descriptions of themes they identified throughout the day. The unpredictable nature of the Web and technology rose to the top. Avinash’s opening keynote talk set the tone, “Predicting what the Web will be in five years is impossible. What we learned six months ago is irrelevant today. Which is why we all continue to do this and why all of you are here. That’s what I love about my job.” Avinash closed by talking about how failure inherently follows the unpredictability of innovation. By failing fast, interactive marketers can swiftly adapt to the real-time changes in consumer behavior.

The idea of unpredictability carried over into the first session I attended, titled “The Future of UX” by Boon Sheridan. “You can’t put things in motion and predict the future of digital and technology because it changes so fast. Focus on the now. The reality is that we can’t solve for design problems that don’t exist today,” emphasized Sheridan. He continued, “Design for interruption. It’s impossible to perfectly guide someone through the digital ecosystem.” The idea of digital ecosystems has become a common phrase among UX professionals and digital strategists. Given the ecosystem’s unpredictability, Sheridan recommended starting all digital projects by storyboarding a few different use-case scenarios and then layering in the navigational and content gaps that exist. From there, teams can brainstorm possible solutions before initiating design concepts.

Edward Boches and David Armano also covered the unpredictability of innovation in their session “Group Therapy for Would-Be Innovators.” Boches argued there are three ways agencies can grow: 1) sell existing services, 2) develop new services for existing clients, 3) create new services for new clients. Innovation can fuel any of these growth strategies when the agency’s workforce is liberated to work on experiential projects. Due to the unpredictable nature of the Web and technology, the only way to keep up with the shifts in consumer behavior is to experiment. Learn by doing. And failing. Hearing these perspectives definitely solidified my perspective on how Colle+McVoy has started to formally harness innovation across the agency. My role may serve as a catalyst to identify opportunities for innovation, but it’s the makeup of the agency that allows us to produce ideas such as Squawq, Super Chatter and SXSW Talks.

My final session of the day, “Rethinking User Research and Usability Testing for the Social Web,” offered one final reminder of the unpredictability of the Web and consumer behavior. “We don’t know how to find out about things we don’t know about. People don’t act in the real world as we want them to in usability tests. People don’t live in a world doing one task with one device out of context,” explained Dana Chisnell. She said, “The Web has always been social, but it’s now more social than ever. The Web enables a powerful platform for human-to-human interaction facilitated by technology.” Because of this, Chisnell expressed the importance of rethinking how we gather people’s feedback as we create digital experiences. With the Web being an enabler of human-to-human interaction, understanding people’s online relationships is more important than ever. We need to stop looking for the things we know about in usability testing and challenge ourselves to find the things we don’t know about.

MIMA was right. The imperfection and unpredictability of the past, present and future of interactive marketing should be celebrated. It should be celebrated because our community has demonstrated an unmatched passion and interest in learning, failing and obsessing over how we can get smarter and better at what we do. There’s a reason people like Avinash Kaushik and Chris Anderson are coming to Minnesota. It’s because we’re humble enough to be obviously curious and we have some of the top brands and agencies in the country producing some of the best interactive work on the planet.


Nestlé Purina: This Could be the Year Case Study
nestl purina , animal , cat , dog , case studies , influencer marketing , print ad
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Nestlé Purina: This Could be the Year Case Study

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Solution

The This Could Be The Year campaign demonstrates that Pro Plan is the brand that understands the competitive nature of breeders and delivers the pride of achievement they crave. The campaign celebrates and encourages the competitive spirit of breeders through sports-like journalistic photography and bold headlines. Now in its third year, This Could Be the Year has received extremely positive feedback. Much of the buzz centers on how the campaign’s breakthrough creative beautifully captures the essence of what makes the sport of showing dogs so popular with breeders and consumers alike.

Challenge

Purina® Pro Plan® is a super-premium dog food brand that has quietly dominated the highly influential breeder audience for years. But recently, other pet food manufacturers, recognizing an opportunity, have started to challenge Pro Plan’s dominance. They cast Pro Plan as a big brand made with sub-par ingredients and fillers. Pro Plan needed to fight back, but the brand wouldn’t win by playing the war of ingredients waged by the competition. We needed to create emotional affinity for Pro Plan among breeders to overcome rational attacks from niche brand offerings.

About Us
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About Us

We are the enemies of the ordinary.
The adversaries of the usual.
The opposite of average.

Why? Because we believe complex business challenges can be transformed into rewarding opportunities through standout work. We’ve assembled a team of 200 passionate individuals who take great pride in building big ideas that lead to better results.

Meet our senior leadership team »

Job Opportunities
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Job Opportunities

Have You Been Making Big Ideas Count?

This business is, by its very nature, collaborative. But in an organization as integrated as Colle+McVoy, collaboration takes on a new meaning. Most projects and campaigns here will involve people from numerous disciplines, often performing tasks outside their normal roles, thinking in ways they haven’t had to think in previous jobs, and engaging our clients at an earlier stage than most agencies would find comfortable. If you’re up for the challenges and the opportunities, please get in touch.

Check out our current openings »

Explore Minnesota Tourism: More To Explore Case Study
explore minnesota tourism , minnesota , tourism , case studies , celebrity , music , bands , recreation , identity
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Explore Minnesota Tourism: More To Explore Case Study

Video: More to Explore TV Video

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Solution

We set our sights on the travelers who are more optimistic (cautiously optimistic, but optimistic nonetheless) and ready to experience life. They are curious to discover what makes a destination exceptional. Thus, the More to Explore campaign was born. Just as Minnesota is a state worth exploring, we set out to create a commercial worth exploring. Throughout the spot, visual surprises are sprinkled in to delight and, most of all, support the idea that there really is More To Explore in Minnesota. The biggest surprise of all was saved for the end of the spot when Joe Mauer, Minnesota’s favorite son (and MVP), made his singing debut. The result is a seamless, exuberant tribute to all that Minnesota has to offer. The television spot has become Explore Minnesota’s most buzzworthy initiative ever.

Challenge

When it comes to promoting state tourism, Minnesota is routinely outspent by its neighbors at a ratio of up to 3 to 1. With the travel economy still in recovery and the state in a major budget-cutting mode, it was imperative for us to do more with less, while breaking through the mass of tourism advertising.

Erbert & Gerbert’s: Rebranding Case Study
erbert & gerbert’s , retail , restaurant , package design , award winning , effie , food
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Erbert & Gerbert’s: Rebranding Case Study

Erbert & Gerbert Rebranding

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Solution

In order to reinvigorate Erbert & Gerbert’s, we went back their very humble, albeit quirky, beginning. At the core of the brand are imaginative bedtime stories a father told his 7-year-old and 9-year-old children, Erbert and Gerbert Herbert. Just as the children make fun discoveries throughout their adventures, we wanted people to have as much fun discovering the E&G brand. Our big idea was embodied in our campaign’s theme line: Subs Worth Discovering. We made sure every touchpoint was worth discovering — from a redesign of the store experience to a simple, easy-to-use, print-on-demand system, which allowed franchisees to customize campaigns at the local level and the company to track use and results. Finally, we created an innovative, integrated advertising campaign that generated positive sales and earned global media coverage for the chain. Not only did the work earned a shelf full of awards, including a Gold EFFIE, but it was also featured on CNN, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the CBS Early Show and VH1. But our proudest moment was being named Vendor of the Year by the franchisee network.

Challenge

Erbert & Gerbert’s, a quirky sub chain in the Midwest, is outspent by competitors such as Jimmy John’s, Potbelly and marketing behemoth Subway. Not only was it being outspent 130 to 1 by its competitors, it also had an outdated image that hadn’t been refreshed in 20 years. To build the business in a highly competitive environment, it would have to focus on what made its store experience unique and connect with those who valued it.

ESPN: Bassmasters
espn , fishing , sports , print ad
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ESPN: Bassmasters

TMF ESPN Bassmaster

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In the world of Bassmaster on ESPN, every catch is big. With each strike, there’s excitement and drama. And what’s on the other end of the line could mean the difference between winning and losing a tournament. To bring this idea to life, we created a visually stunning campaign for both the Bassmaster Classic and Bassmaster Elite Series, highlighting many of the top anglers in the sport.

C+M Wins Big At The Show
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C+M Wins Big At The Show

Agency awarded gold, silver, bronze and merit awards

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 17, 2008 - Colle+McVoy won 50 awards at The Show, the annual advertising industry awards sponsored by the Advertising Federation of Minnesota. The agency won two gold awards, five silver honors, 23 bronze and 20 merit awards.

"The Show represents the best advertising in Minnesota and we’re proud to be a part of this exceptionally creative community," said Christine Fruechte, president and CEO, Colle+McVoy.

Colle+McVoy received awards for creative work for Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, Erbert & Gerbert’s, Rhymesayers Entertainment, Minnesota State Lottery and more.

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

C+M Launches First-Ever Television Spot For Caribou Coffee
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C+M Launches First-Ever Television Spot For Caribou Coffee

New campaign focuses on uniquely reformulated, gourmet chocolate drinks

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 12, 2009 - Gourmet chocolate deserves to be revered, which is why Caribou Coffee, the second-largest gourmet coffeehouse operator in the world, is launching its first-ever television campaign to promote the decadence and deliciousness of its new reformulated chocolate drinks.

"This is the first of several significant and exciting product introductions at Caribou Coffee and we’re the first coffeehouse operator to reformulate all of our mochas and chocolate beverages using real, all-natural chocolate," said Caribou Coffee Senior Vice President of Marketing Alfredo Martel. "We wanted to use a high-awareness vehicle like television to be certain that consumers knew what a big deal this is for the brand and what a wonderful impact it will have on their daily chocolate drink order."

Breaking today (Nov. 12), the 30-second spot titled "Get Real: Chocolate" features a couple of pretentious male and female marionettes having a shallow conversation in a mall when a scrumptious-looking Caribou Coffee mocha drink stops them in mid-sentence. They are unhappy to learn they can’t drink Caribou Coffee because they are "not real."

"The marionettes are a fun, lighthearted way to drive home the point that Caribou Coffee uses real ingredients," said Eric Husband, group creative director, Colle+McVoy. "But it goes beyond ingredients. Walk into any Caribou Coffee and there’s this very real, genuine vibe, it’s what separates them from competitors. We wanted to convey this authenticity of the Caribou Coffee brand."

The spot will run for six weeks on cable stations in Caribou Coffee’s six primary markets across the United States, as well as online via CaribouCoffee.com and YouTube.com. The campaign also features a 15-second announcer-read radio spot that supports Caribou Coffee’s Happy Mondays in-store promotion with a $2 mocha offer. Online banner ads running in eight markets (without television support) challenge people to play a game to "find the real chocolate" under three rotating cups. If they win, they receive a coupon for a $1 off a beverage from Caribou Coffee.

Beginning Nov. 12, Caribou Coffee guests can have their mochas, chocolate lattes, hot chocolates, specialty beverages and cold beverages made with either white, milk or dark Guittard chocolate at all Caribou Coffee locations nationwide. Caribou Coffee team members will steam real pieces of the premium chocolate into milk to make the handcrafted hot beverages such as mochas, chocolate lattes and hot chocolates. This reformulation marks a major difference from other coffeehouse operators because almost all coffeehouses, including the major coffeehouse chains, use reconstituted chocolate syrup or processed powder to create their hot and cold chocolate beverages. The white, milk and dark Guittard chocolate are all-natural, kosher and gluten-free, and none contain more than six ingredients.

C+M Wins Acclaimed Internet Honor
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C+M Wins Acclaimed Internet Honor

Yearbook Yourself from Colle+McVoy on Vimeo.

YearbookYourself.com wins Webby People’s Voice Award

MINNEAPOLIS, May 5, 2009 - The Colle+McVoy-produced Web site www.YearbookYourself.com won the coveted People’s Voice Award today in the viral marketing category of the 13th Annual Webby Awards. Hailed as the "Internet’s highest honor" by the New York Times, the Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet.

"We are absolutely thrilled to win this award, especially in such a competitive category of one of the toughest award shows out there," said Mike Caguin, executive creative director, Colle+McVoy. "Creating an idea that goes viral is one of the biggest challenges in marketing. This award recognizes the hard work of many people, as well as the forward thinking of our client partner, Taubman Centers."

YearbookYourself.com was one of only five finalists in the viral marketing category and was voted the people’s favorite after fans voted online. More than a half a million votes were cast in the Webby People’s Voice Awards, the largest turnout in Webby history. The cross-section of winners hailing from 14 countries will be honored alongside Webby Awards Winners at an event hosted by Seth Meyers in New York City on June 8. A full list of winners can be found at www.webbyawards.com.

When it launched last fall, www.YearbookYourself.com became an instant hit and a pop culture phenomenon featured on countless Web sites and blogs, as well as on the CBS Early Show. More than 15 million visitors uploaded photos to the site to see themselves with classic hairdos and in vintage outfits spanning five decades. Once "yearbooked," people sent their pictures to friends and posted them to blogs and social networking sites, including Facebook and MySpace. The fun was wildly infectious, inspiring Taubman Centers to launch the next generation of YearbookYourself.com late this summer.

"All of this year’s winners embrace the Internet as the medium where they can take risks, experiment and share new ideas," said David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. "Their vision and creativity, like those of all of our winners, have helped make the Internet a richer, more exciting and more vibrant experience."

About The Webby Awards

Hailed as the "Internet’s highest honor" by the New York Times, the Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile Web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received over 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Silverlight, The Creative Group, .ORG, Getty Images, The Barbarian Group, Digital Kitchen, Variety, Wired, IDG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2advanced.Net, KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.

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.