How Independent Agency Solve Is Curing Insomnia One Client at a Time

Pictured in featured image (from left to right): Ryan Murray, president; Kathleen Tax Wille, chief creative officer; Corey Johnson, CEO/founder

Solve has recently joined the Worldwide Partners (WPI) global network of independent agencies. They’re a full-service agency offering strategy, creative, account, media and research from a small but mighty team of 40 in Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Worldwide Partners chatted with Solve’s leadership (pictured above) to learn more about their problem-solving purpose, why they’re indie and proud, and how they’re harnessing the Collective Might of their team and the Worldwide Partners network.

Curing Insomnia One Client at a Time

The independent agency is named Solve for a reason – their passion and purpose is to solve the problems that keep their clients up at night. “We hire people who could’ve been private investigators in another life,” said Solve CCO Kathleen Tax Wille. “People who can’t let an unanswered question lie because they’re just too curious, too tenacious, too stubborn.” 

The Solve team starts every project with frank conversations about what’s really keeping a brand from becoming what it could be. These dialogues happen both with clients and amongst their internal team. They’ve also come up with some creative ways to conduct these conversations and encourage participation from everyone. 

“Everyone hates brainstorms, right? So we rolled out the Thought Potato,” Kathleen explained. “It’s a cross-discipline, tech-based, two-hour burst designed so that even the most introverted of introverts feels comfortable throwing in ideas, while the extroverts are still able to get loud.” She shared that Thought Potato has energized their agency like never before, and is paying great dividends for their clients and the problems that keep them up at night.

The Power of Angsting Together 

Solve is unwavering in their belief that people, collaborating together, is the backbone of our industry. Sure, platforms, tools and technologies are essential for expanding what we do, but technology is nothing without people pushing it and testing it to see how far it can take us. 

“Some of the most remarkable ideas at Cannes last year relied on tech, but not one of them would have existed without the people who came up with the big, undeniable idea,” Solve president Ryan Murray said. “You just can’t replace the magical friction that comes from passionate people angsting together, crafting the heck out of an idea they know can be incredible.”

Solve crafted the heck out of an idea for Sunoco when a pop culture gift arrived during last year’s NCAA March Madness Tourney. With broadcasters like Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith repeatedly mispronouncing UConn basketball Star Adama Sanogo’s name as Sunoco, the Solve team knew they had to do something. But restrictive visa laws meant they couldn’t do an NIL deal. So they figured out a way to creatively game the system with “The Impossible NIL Deal.” And the clever campaign continues to rake in the awards (at time of publishing, the count is up to four Clios, two Effies, two Webbys, two The One Show finalists, and 3 Shorty finalists).

“This effort showcases the best of our shop – our ability to jump on a cultural moment, and make it happen in just three weeks,” Ryan said. “It’s the perfect blend of creativity and hustle, which is a sweet spot for us.”

Fuel for Creative Brains

Solve loves calling Minneapolis, MN, USA home because creativity has always flourished in every corner of the city. “It’s everything you love about a big city mixed with the liveability of a small one,” said Solve CEO/founder Corey Johnson.

Because artists can afford to live and create there, Minneapolis is a city where art thrives. From outstanding music venues, theatres, and museums, to a dining scene that national critics laud on the regular, to year-round outdoor activities, there are so many ways for the Solve team to refuel their creative brains.  

Rise of the Indies

Solve is fiercely proud of being independent. When they first opened their doors in 2011, smaller independents were still a novelty – many did great work but they didn’t have the pull to match strength with bigger shops. Today, the power is changing hands. “Every pitch we’re in is a David & Goliath situation,” Corey shared. “We’re competing against much bigger, holding-company-owned agencies. And we’ve shown we can take on any of them. And win.”

“Being indie means we’re the boss of us. That keeps us agile enough to crawl inside our clients’ brand, explore the nooks and crannies, and find the snags that need brilliant solves,” he added. “It also means our leaders stay close to every client, just the way we like it. So we pick our client partners carefully, looking beyond revenue to their level of ambition and belief in creativity.” 

Harnessing a Collective Might

It’s a rare thing to find small agencies collaborating in a full-service capacity every day on every project, and an impossible dynamic to achieve at larger network shops. But that’s what Solve does day in and day out. And they’re looking forward to expanding their Collective Might with their 90+ new global partners. 

“We love surrounding ourselves with people who have similar goals and challenges, can teach us what we don’t yet know, and find areas where we need or can provide other perspectives,” Corey shared. “No other partnership network can match the esteem offered by membership in Worldwide Partners.”

“Solve’s reputation for high-quality, creative and innovative work is outstanding,” said John Harris, President and CEO of Worldwide Partners. “We’re thrilled to add their expertise, presence in the local Minneapolis market, and spirit of collaboration to our global network of independent agencies.”