BLOOMINGTON, MN: As it seeks to become an even larger force on the Twin Cities communications landscape, Colle & McVoy Marketing Communications is on the hunt for PR and ad agencies.
BLOOMINGTON, MN: As it seeks to become an even larger force on the
Twin Cities communications landscape, Colle & McVoy Marketing
Communications is on the hunt for PR and ad agencies.
CEO Jim Bergeson is looking for ’good strategic fits’ in areas such as
investor relations, public affairs and events marketing. Rolle boasted
revenues of roughly dollars 28 million last year, with dollars 7 million
of it coming from PR operations.
If Colle carries through with its plans to buy other agencies, it could
find itself butting heads more frequently with Shandwick, whose flagship
Minneapolis office is the largest in the Shandwick network (more than
dollars 16 million in billings last year). ’Colle & McVoy is as good as
any PR shop in this town,’ said Maccabee Group head Paul Maccabee. A
local business publication recently ranked Colle’s PR operation third in
the Minneapolis area, behind longtime number-one Shandwick and local PR
player Padilla Speer Beardsley.
Coincidentally, Colle and Shandwick are located in the same suburban
office park. ’Job applicants go back and forth,’ Maccabee joked, before
adding, ’They’re going up against a formidable and very aggressive
competitor.’
Bergeson doesn’t rule out growing his PR operation to the extent where
it challenges Shandwick’s supremacy. He won’t discuss how big a war
chest his parent company is providing for acquisitions, but confirmed it
has encouraged him to buy. ’They seem very anxious to invest in us,’ he
said.
Given that there are more independent PR firms than ad agencies in
Minneapolis, Bergeson hinted that Colle will do more shopping on the PR
side. ’If it makes strategic sense, we’re willing to talk,’ he said,
adding that his next purchase will likely be in the loyalty marketing
area.
