A new website, MinneADpolis, will try to get clients and prospective employees buzzing about the famously creative city again.
From The New York Times:
“Honestly, you get sick of seeing all the work handed to New York and the coasts,” said Keith Wolf, partner and chief creative officer at Modern Climate, the new name as of Monday for the digital agency previously known as Wolfmotell.
The Web site will include samples of campaigns produced by Minneapolis agencies, video clips of employees discussing why they like the market, information on events and careers and even a virtual tour of the town that can be taken with personalized avatars called advatars, which can be dressed in skinny jeans, flannel shirts and other signature outfits of the creative class.
There’s a catch, however: the site will only feature agencies that are members of the AAAA:
The agencies taking part in the initiative are divided over letting shops that do not belong to the Four A’s participate. The membership requirement means that several Minneapolis agencies with reputations for well-regarded work — among them, Mono, Olson and Zeus Jones — are sidelined.
I hope both the 4A’s and the non-4A’s agencies up there will be helped by this effort. Most local business publications don’t do a very good job of covering the advertising and marketing scene. Agencies need to band together when they can to demonstrate their value to the greater community.