Doner has launched a new collaborative creative space in Downtown Detroit called D-313.
“Metro Detroit has been Doner’s world headquarters for over 80 years, but we have yet to maximize the groundswell of untapped creative potential beating inside of our own city,” Doner CEO David DeMuth said in a statement. “Having dedicated space downtown brings us closer to the resilient, fiery creative spirit of Detroit, where we can continue to enrich our work, attract more diverse talent and deepen the impact we are creating for our clients and our community.”
Located at 1456 Woodward Ave., D-313 will serve as a hub for Doner’s Experience Kitchen and a collaborative space for the agency’s partnerships with local schools and universities, including the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and MSU MediaLab. Doner has already hosted clients including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Cox Communications and the UPS Store in the space.
“Traditional offices are designed for tasks, not inspiration, so everything about D-313 is designed with collaboration and innovation in mind,” Doner Global CCO Eric Weisberg added. “From gigabit internet to modular furniture, the space is built to flex and adapt in ways that allow us to optimize creativity. In minutes, it can transform from a living room, to a classroom, to a formal meeting space.”
The opening of this new space could potentially serve as a precursor to Doner moving its operations downtown.
As DeMuth put it, “It’s a toe in the water to see if we want to move the whole company down there when our lease is up next in 2020.”
The agency welcomed 11 new creatives to its Detroit office last May in the wake of winning AOR duties for Beaumont Health and lead creative and strategic duties for Coca-Cola’s fairlife milk brand in late 2016. In July, Doner hired Jon “Krev” Krevolin from R/GA New York as executive vice president, executive creative director. The following month, longtime-client Serta launched a review in which Doner declined to participate.