Climate Change: Minneapolis Firm Sets Out To Transform Advertising World

Wolfmotell Changes Everything: New Name, New Space, New Genetic Makeup

MINNEAPOLIS – Wolfmotell is no more. The former digital agency has re-launched with a different name, a fresh identity, and a new genetic makeup. On the heels of its move into the former Carmichael Lynch building at 800 Hennepin Ave in Minneapolis, Wolfmotell is now Modern Climate. It’s a big step for the 11-year old shop that specializes in consumer-driven advertising. Its consumer-centric approach is polar opposite to the brand-centric approach in traditional advertising.

The agency proved its name by doing next-big things in the world of interactive – from mobile applications to Microsoft Surface experiences to augmented reality to Bluetooth proximity marketing programs. More and more it realized that this thinking should apply to the larger advertising world. The agency believes there are emotional motivators that drive all consumer preference. Therefore, Modern Climate identifies the most powerful of these motivators and builds a bridge from the consumer to the product, not vice versa.

“We believe consumers also have the ability to build and shape brands,” said Modern Climate President and CEO Geoff Bremner. “It’s the user-centered design so often seen in the interactive world taken to the larger universe. It’s the ecology of preference; it’s all about what the consumer wants, and what the consumer needs.”

Finding Modern Climate

Wolfmotell, the agency’s former name, was a combination of the founders’ names: Keith Wolf, John Moberg, and Jason Tell. Bremner explains that they wanted a new name that characterizes an understanding of what the agency’s clients and prospects need to reach their goals.

“We needed our name to say, ‘We create client strategies that thrive in change and globalization. We embrace the exponential advancements in technology that create new markets overnight,’” he said.

Modern Climate embodies the fact that in this day and age consumers are gaining more and more power over the reputation and position of brands. The agency’s new name represents this new, ever-evolving modern climate of business.

“Our agency has the skills to create preference for brands amongst all the market chaos today,” Bremner said. “We create ideas that are media agnostic because of our command of technology. We are not limited by a particular medium.”

A Space To Go With The Name

After spending several years at 5^th Street and First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, the agency’s new office will be at 8^th Street and Hennepin Avenue, the former home of long-time Twin Cities ad agency Carmichael Lynch. Modern Climate’s former location had become a hotbed for advertising shops during its tenure there, so it’s a notable move to migrate from that energy.

“We tend to zig when the industry zags,” Bremner quipped.

Staffers will have more space in which to perform their craft. The new suite will occupy the top two floors of the historic eight-floor building. It’s quite an upgrade from the agency’s 6,800-square foot former space. Completely gutted and remodeled, the 17,000-square foot space will provide plenty of room for the agency’s 50 employees, with room to grow.

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About Modern Climate

Founded in 1998 as Wolfmotell, Modern Climate is a consumer-centric advertising agency based in Minneapolis. Modern Climate believes using the existing momentum of market forces to maximize the revenue potential of the clients it serves. The agency helps its clients increase revenue faster by bonding the emotional needs of the consumer to the clients’ products and services. Modern Climate’s clients include Best Buy and St. Jude Medical. For more information, please visit www.modernclimate.com.