Would I lie to you is a rolling roundup of news, rumors and resources for, by and about the Minneapolis-St. Paul advertising and marketing community. Updates are posted daily as information becomes available and passes the Agency Babylon is-it-good-enough-to-post test.

Posted October 15:

  • The Creative Group, an employment placement company serving the marketing and advertising sectors nationwide, is touting a jobs recovery in the creative sector. An October 1 news release asserts that slightly more than one-third of hiring execs  plan to add staff in the coming 12 months. Another 55 percent say they’ll hold staffing at current levels. The two numbers combined suggest an end to the jobs freefall in the sector. The strongest job categories that can expect a resurgence are interactive and design. Research and writing positions are lower on the must-hire list.
  • Redcats USA, a home shopping retailer with 11 brands including Sportsman’s Guide, is searching for an SVP of e-commerce.

Posted October 14:

  • At a time when media planning and buying is more powerful than ever in advertising, Campbell Mithun has decided to get both feet back in the game. Or maybe it’s that they’ve decided to put both feet on the same body. On October 12, the Twin Cities’ (still) largest traditional ad agency announced that it had merged its media department with its Compass Point Media Group. Key players in that unit: Dick Hurrelbrink as president, Earl Herzog as executive vice president director of media operations, and John Rash remaining as senior vice president and director of media analysis.
  • More Twitter resources for job search, advertising and marketing specific: @MNHeadHunter, @thejobsguy and @TalentZooJobs.
  • Deluxe Corporation is offering numerous discounts to individuals and businesses via Twitter only, from business cards and holiday cards to checks. If you’re not on Twitter, here is your cheater link: @deluxecorp. (Hope they don’t unfollow me for this.)
  • Agency and marketing recruiter Donna Menzies is heading a search for an art director with strong conceptual skills and supervisory experience.

Posted October 12:

  • OLSON promoted Jeff Berg to creative director from associate CD, according to a report from Minnesota Public Relations blog.
  • Joe Duffy, legendary Twin Cities brand and design guru and founder of Duffy & Partners is guest blogger today on the Fast Company blog. Read his post, “Demystifying Design: An Argument for Simplicity”.
  • The UnSummit in Minneapolis on Saturday is said to have been an unqualified hit. Like its for-fee MIMA Summit counterpart early the same week, this for-free all-day session was sold out. A dusting of snow and coating of ice kept at least a few attendees away, and even resulted in broken bones for blogger and Twitter presence @KayLoire. Well wishes to her as she recovers in a cast.
  • Twitter continues to be a valuable, if unconventional, source of job postings. There remains a spirit of community sharing (and maybe just a little one-upmanship) among individual members showing the love to their tweeps for rumored and real openings. Yet there are also fast-growing Twitter resources solely devoted to available jobs. Among them are @HRjobsMPLS, @hashjobs and @ZuluJobsMN. Keep in mind that these some of them post jobs from all over the country while others regionalize their listings.

Have news, rumors or resources to share? Submit them via the comments section, by e-mail or on Twitter to @AgencyBabylon.