We’re Collective Measures.
Our Story
2020
Collective Measures is born
2019
We secure our 16th Best Places to Work award.
2018
Fur-ternity leave dominates the national news cycle as we pass 80 employees.
2017
We win 11 industry awards in a single year–including Google’s award for the Most Innovative Shopping Campaign in North America.
2015
Donna Robinson is promoted to CEO as we pass 50 employees and expand our office space. Again.
2014
Nina Hale sells the agency she founded, to us, the employees—now 35 strong—establishing 100% employee ownership through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
2012
We grow to 20 employees, outgrow our warehouse space, and move into Fifth Street Towers. Herman, the agency’s unofficial office mascot, joins the company.
2010
We get our first official office space – a warehouse north of downtown Minneapolis.
2008
We more than double in size and hit the 5-employee mark.
2007
Nina Hale hires her first employee and we, Nina Hale, the agency, are born.
2005
Nina Hale sets up shop as a one-woman search marketing consultancy.
Our Culture
We are a collective.
Employee Outings
We’re employee-owned, so when we do employee outings, we go all out. Day trips to the State Fair. Quarterly team offsites. In-office mini golf tournaments. Long lunches at local breweries. And we make sure everyone knows the first rule of fight club.
Community Involvement
We live here. And, like you, we’re proud to give back to our community. Whether it’s hosting drives for Simpson Housing, gathering donations for Second Harvest Heartland, or making 500+ sandwiches for the Sandwich Project, we’re always looking for ways to help out.
Career Growth and Mentorship
We believe if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward. That’s why we make sure there are countless ways for our employees to learn, to grow, and to move up. It starts with weekly all-staff shared education meetings and includes one-on-one development planning, annual goal-setting, quarterly goal check-ins, and a constantly updated list of training possibilities.
#CommitToChange
We’ve joined other agencies and pledged to do more to address the issue of systemic racism facing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in our industry. Since we made our initial commitment to change, we have taken measures to become an agency that is more reflective of our community, we have learned a lot about ourselves, our blind spots, and we are continuing to take meaningful steps toward our commitments.
We’re committed to doing better.
Looking at the progress we’ve made towards our commitments, we recognize we have a long way to go. But we’ve done a lot of listening and learning and while the data doesn’t reflect the kind of meaningful change we’re working towards, we’re continuing to improve our agency and remain committed to doing better.
Our Team
Executive Team
Leadership Team
Heather Rist Murphy
Vice President, Performance Content + Social Media
Mike Baranowski
Vice President, Analytics + Data Engineering
Mark Nigon
Vice President, Media
Katie Otto
Vice President, Human Resources + People Operations
Joel Swaney
Director, SEO
Sarah Petit
Director, Client Development + Delivery
Join Our Team
Merit
Adweek Performance Marketing Awards
Brand Campaign of the Year – Deluxe Small Business Revolution (Season 5)
CampaignUS Media Awards
Gold, Best Data-Driven Media Plan – Land O’Lakes
The US Search Awards
Finalist, Best Use of Search / B2B (PPC) – New England BioLabs
The US Search Awards
Finalist, Best Use of Data (PPC) – Land O’Lakes
Content Marketing Awards
Finalist, Best Use of Multichannel Social Media in Content Marketing – Land O’Lakes
Google Premier Partner Awards
Finalist, Premier Partner of the Year in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – Minnesota Public Radio
The Drum Awards for Digital Industries
Highly Commended, Best Use of Pinterest – The Tile Shop
Workplaces + Agency
Star Tribune Top Workplaces
Voted a top 150 best places to work (#11)
INC 5000
List of Fastest Growing Private Companies in America (#4,871)
Deltek Workbook
Marketing Agency Most Valuable Projects Award
Individual
Twin Cities Business Notable Leaders in Finance
Luke Schlegel – EVP, Operations + Analytics
AdFed MN
32 under 32: Grant Kramme
AdFed MN
32 under 32: Clara Kohrs
Forbes Agency Council
Content contributor and member: Donna Robinson
Merit
AdFed’s The Show
Gold, Integrated Advertising Campaign – Regional / National B2B
MediaPost OMMA Awards
Finalist, Excellence in CPG Category – Land O’Lakes
Workplaces + Agency
Star Tribune Top Workplaces
Voted a top 150 workplace
Individual
Forbes Agency Council
Content contributor and member: Donna Robinson
Merit
AdFed’s The Show
Finalist, Online/Interactive Branded Content + Entertainment with Deluxe Corporation + Fasthorse (awarded silver)
AdFed’s The Show
Finalist, Integrated Advertising Campaign – Regional/National B2B Campaign with Deluxe Corporation + Fasthorse (awarded bronze)
Search Engine Land
The Landy Awards: Finalist, Best B2B Search Marketing Initiative (SEO) – Deluxe Inkhead
Media Post / OMMA
Finalist, Best in Pharma/Health and Wellness Campaign
US Search Awards
Shortlisted, Best Integrated Media Campaign
Workplaces + Agency
Star Tribune
Top 150 Workplaces: Rank #12
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
Best Places to Work: Rank #9 (Medium-Sized Category)
Inc. Magazine
5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies: Rank #4,852
Individual
AdFed MN
32 under 32: Lauren Beerling & Abby McNabb
Forbes Agency Council
Content contributor and member: Donna Robinson
Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal MVP Award
Honoree: Terri Hart
Department of Defense, Employer Support of the Guard (ESGR)
The Patriot Award: Donna Robinson
Merit
Search Engine Land
The Landy Awards: Finalist, Best B2C SEM Initiative – Enterprise (TRX)
The Drum Search Awards
Nominated for Best PPC Campaign (TRX)
US Search Awards
Shortlisted BEST PPC Campaign (TRX)
Workplaces + Agency
Star Tribune
Top 150 Workplaces: Rank #41
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
Best Places to Work: Rank #9 (Medium-Sized Category)
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
Fast 50 (fastest-growing companies): Rank #48
Inc. Magazine
5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies: Rank #4,988
Individual
AdFed MN
32 under 32: Sarah Petit
Forbes Agency Council
Content contributor and member, Donna Robinson, 2018
Merit
Search Engine Land
The Landy Awards: Finalist, Best Retail Search Marketing Initiative (SEO)
Search Engine Land
The Landy Awards: Finalist, Best Overall SEM Initiative (Small Business)
Google
Google Premier Partner Awards: North America winner: Shopping Innovation Award for Room & Board
Content Marketing Institute
Content Marketing Awards: Finalist, Best Content Marketing Program in Retail (Room & Board)
Workplaces + Agency
Inc. Magazine
Best Workplaces: Honorable Mention (did not make top 150)
Inc. Magazine
5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies: Rank #3,549 Honor Roll (placed on list five consecutive years)
Star Tribune
Top 150 Workplaces: Rank #38
Individual
Forbes
Forbes Agency Council: Content contributor and member, Nina Hale
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
Women in Business: Donna Robinson
Department of Defense, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), the Patriot Award
an individual award for Donna Robinson
Digiday
Content Marketing Awards 2017: Award jury member, Donna Robinson
AdFed MN
32 under 32: 2017, Barrett Goetz
Merit
Content Marketing Institute
Content Marketing Awards: Best Content Strategy with BCBS of MN Winner
Workplaces + Agency
Inc. Magazine
Best Workplaces: Top 50
Inc. Magazine
5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies: Rank #2,974
Star Tribune
Top 150 Workplaces: Rank #39
Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal
Best Places to Work: Rank #9 (Medium-Sized Category)
Minnesota Business Magazine
100 Best Companies to Work For: Top 100 (no rank-just alphabetical list)
Individual
Digiday
Creative Media Awards 2016: Award jury member, Donna Robinson
Forbes
Forbes Agency Council: Content contributor and member, Nina Hale
AdFed MN
32 under 32: Allison McMenimen
Minnesota Business Magazine
The (Real) Power 50: Nina Hale
Merit
Kenshoo
Infinity Awards: Capella University
Workplaces + Agency
Inc. Magazine
5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies: Rank #3,426
Minnesota Business Magazine
100 Best Companies to Work For: Top 100 (no rank-just alphabetical list)
Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal
Fast 50 (fastest-growing companies): Rank #35
Individual
Search Engine Land
The Landy Awards: Nomination, Search Marketer of the Year, Tami McBrady
AdFed MN
32 under 32: Katherine Pennell
Workplaces + Agency
Inc. Magazine
5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies: Rank #2,405
Merit
Business Marketing Association
B2B Award of Excellence: Large SEM Spend Category, for Stratasys PPC campaign
Workplaces + Agency
Inc. Magazine
5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies: Rank #2,244
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal
Best Places to Work: Rank #17 (Small Category)
Minnesota Business Magazine
100 Best Companies to Work For: Rank Top 100 (no rank-just alphabetical list)
Individual
AdFed
32 under 32: Lizzy Wilkins (Individual)
Merit
OMMA
SEO Finalist: Land O’Lakes campaign
Workplaces + Agency
Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal
Best Places to Work: Rank #17 (Small Category)
Minnesota Business Magazine
100 Best Companies to Work For: Top 100 (no rank-just alphabetical list)
Individual
Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal
Women in Business: Nina Hale (Individual)
Workplaces + Agency
Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal
Best Places to Work: Rank #7 (Small Category)
Our Clients
The Latest
Collective Measures + Deluxe Win Adweek’s Brand Campaign of the Year
In its inaugural year, Adweek’s Performance Marketing Awards honored Collective Measures and client Deluxe, as the Brand Campaign of the Year winners for work on the season 5 campaign of Deluxe’s hit series, Small Business Revolution.
Forbes Agency Council: 11 Smart Ways To Adapt Marketing Campaigns This Holiday Season
As a member of the exclusive Forbes Agency Council, Collective Measures CEO Donna Robinson shares her expert opinion on the top digital trends. Read her latest feature below.
Forbes Agency Council: Is Your Content Truly Effective? Here Are 13 Ways To Make Sure
As a member of the exclusive Forbes Agency Council, Collective Measures CEO Donna Robinson shares her expert opinion on the top digital trends. Read her latest feature below.