Minneapolis advertising agency Colle+McVoy has spun out a new stand-alone design firm called 10 Thousand Design.
Ed Bennett, founder and executive design director of 10 Thousand Design, said it wants to pursue national clients and work on larger-scale assignments that had been difficult to attract as part of an ad agency.
"We've had great success within the agency, but as we started looking at it, it became increasingly hard to position ourselves beyond an ad agency with design capabilities," said Bennett, who has worked at Colle+McVoy for almost 16 years.
Colle+McVoy has a history of recognizable design work, such as the relaunch of Caribou Coffee, which included the redesign of its logo and look of its cups, and a modernization of the century-old Grain Belt beer brand. It also helps with in-store marketing for Target.
The spinoff is similar to what the agency did in 2005, when it decided to create its sister PR firm Exponent to try to appeal to companies that specifically wanted public relations expertise.
"A lot of agencies have great designers," Bennett said. "A lot of design firms position themselves that they can do advertising too."
What Bennett hopes will differentiate 10 Thousand is its strict design focus and expertise.
The firm will operate as a partner of Colle+McVoy and provide design support. It will share space in the company's downtown office and also share some clients. But 10 Thousand will also have the opportunity to do its own work as well.
