Land O'Lakes Taps Olson

BOSTON Independent shop Olson in Minneapolis said it has been hired by Land O'Lakes for corporate image and brand identity work, becoming the first agency to specifically handle such chores for the client.

Spending for Olson was undisclosed. Overall, Land O'Lakes spent $25 million last year in major measured media, per Nielsen. Spending was $18 million through the first half of 2009.

IPG's Campbell Mithun, also in Minneapolis, serves as the client's lead consumer agency.

Campbell Mithun will continue to handle product work, while Olson crafts multimedia efforts to help position the company as a whole.

Kevin DiLorenzo, president of Olson, said upcoming creative would attempt to redefine what it means to be a co-operative in the modern world.

Olson's assignment is essentially an expansion of project work. The shop has already completed some corporate communications assignments. It's developed a tagline, "Growing together," and launched a client Web site, landolakesinc.com.

Land O'Lakes is a farmer-owned food co-op with approximately $12 billion in annual sales, making it one of the largest such operations in the nation. The client is best known for its dairy products.