Doner and Colle McVoy merge agencies
Creative agencies Doner and Colle McVoy have merged to form DonerColle Partners. The move is intended to establish a new “center of creative gravity” in the American Midwest, signaling a trend of creative leadership and innovation expanding beyond traditional coastal markets.
- The parent company, Stagwell, is framing the move as a strategic alliance rather than a merger, allowing both Doner and Colle McVoy to maintain their individual agency identities, cultures, and client relationships. The phased integration of operations and teams is planned to roll out through 2026. - This partnership brings together over 500 employees across offices in Detroit, Minneapolis, and Chicago, creating a significant talent hub in the Midwest. The leadership structure combines experience from both agencies, with Colle McVoy's CEO, Jessica Henrichs, stepping in as CEO of the new entity and Doner's CEO, David DeMuth, becoming the executive chairman. - Doner, founded in 1937, brings a long history of creating iconic American advertising campaigns, including Timex's "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking" and Mazda's "Zoom Zoom". The agency provides deep expertise in strategy and integrated production for automotive, retail, and healthcare clients. - Colle McVoy, founded in 1935, was recently named Adweek's 2023 Midsize Agency of the Year, the first Minneapolis-based agency to win the honor in nearly 30 years. The agency is known for its strengths in media, design, and public relations for CPG, lifestyle, and QSR brands. - The combined client roster for DonerColle Partners is substantial and diverse, including major brands such as Stellantis, The UPS Store, Coca-Cola, 3M, La-Z-Boy, Dairy Queen, and Perdue Farms. - This move is part of a larger strategy by Stagwell, a challenger holding company founded in 2015, which has been actively acquiring a range of marketing and advertising agencies to build a global network that competes with legacy holding companies. Stagwell CEO Mark Penn has stated the combination will leverage AI and modern marketing techniques.
