Minneapolis-based agency donates 50% of profits to use 'business as a force of good'

The pandemic's early days cost Krista Carroll most of her business and forced layoffs at Latitude, the Minneapolis-based strategic creative agency where she's chief executive.

Carroll founded Latitude to be a "business as a force for good," she said. But she had to pull back on a critical part of that mission: donating 50% of profits to helping underserved communities around the world dealing with poverty, access to health care and education as well as human trafficking.

"It was quickly gathering and figuring out, OK, if we're not profitable for a while, do we still keep moving forward?" Carroll recalled thinking then. "Or is our reason for being no longer relevant?"

After some soul-searching, Carroll has spent the past four years rebuilding Latitude. The agency, which Carroll launched in 2009 and owns 100% of, has donated more than $8.5 million to international and domestic causes.

Latitude has grown to 30 staff members, up from 20, including three recent key hires: Allison Checco, executive director of accounts; Eric Husband, executive creative director; and Aaron O'Keefe, group account leader.

"There's a lot of skepticism out there, about generosity being a liability for a company," Carroll said of feedback from business mentors. "What I've learned in the last 15 years is that we wouldn't be where we are as Latitude if we weren't generous and generous in a really bold way with our 50% model."

Recent Latitude highlights, in addition to working with brands like golf footwear and apparel brand FootJoy and video doorbell maker Ring, include:

• creating a high-profile pop-up shop in Miami for longtime client Adidas. The bespoke shop, designed and completed in just two weeks, celebrated soccer great Lionel Messi joining that city's Major League Soccer team. Latitude also has an office in Portland, Ore., Adidas' North American headquarters.
• producing a six-episode TikTok dating show for Brooklyn Center-based Caribou Coffee. It featured Gen Z singles in a speed-date-style setting as part of a campaign to introduce new energy and shaken fruit drinks aimed at young consumers. The campaign exceeded forecasts for the launch of the drinks by "almost two times," according to Erin Newkirk, Caribou's chief brand and marketing officer, and helped drive store traffic during a critical period.
• further partnering with Caribou to position it for growth next year and beyond. The coffee chain, which has 800 shops worldwide, is setting out to double its footprint with outposts in Florida, Michigan and Ohio as well as the 10 countries where it currently has stores.

"Once we heard about Latitude's incredible give-back program, we knew that it was for Caribou," Newkirk said. "Caribou's purpose is about creating day-making experiences that spark chain reactions of good. And what better way to spark a chain reaction of good than working with a partner who believes what we believe, which is to give back whenever possible?"

Through a new Gratitude by Latitude program, the agency is giving back locally. Latitude had its summer interns design Daydreamer sweatshirts, with half of the sales for those going to support art programs in Minneapolis, Carroll said.

Carroll's determination to combine business and charitable giving at Latitude goes back some 15 years, when she and her husband, Jeremy, were living in New York City with their two small children. Needing "to see life through a different lens," they traveled to Haiti's poorest areas, where they delivered clean water and visited schools and programs that fed residents.

"We met kids who were the same age as ours but living in these situations that were totally incomprehensible to us," Carroll said. "And we wanted to make a difference."

Three weeks after their return, they quit their jobs and started Latitude at the kitchen table. Her husband had been selling commercial printing services to agencies in New York and figured some clients would come with them. They moved back to Minnesota, initially to her parents' basement, to lower their cost of living as the agency started.

Carroll's first career was an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. She did not work outside of the home in New York but learned the print and production industries through supporting her husband's work.

"He was 100% commission, so it was like, whatever I can do to help," Carroll said. "I don't like sitting still."

To build Latitude into a full-service agency, Carroll hired subject-matter experts and added brand, strategy, creative, experiential and other services. While starting a business amid the Great Recession was "scary," the prospect of it not flourishing was less dire than what they had seen in Haiti, she said.

"We can figure something else out," she said.

The beginning of the pandemic, however, proved "really devastating," Carroll said. Most client work then was in retail event activations and in-store merchandising, and 90% of current and forecasted business went away within a few days. Latitude continued some charitable giving, having put money into a donor-advised fund for that purpose.

"During those layoffs, I was like, full transparency, maybe I shouldn't have given so much away, even though we were a healthy company," Carroll said. "But I decided that I truly believe that 'business as a force for good' is a worthy cause, and one that is worth digging really deep for. Even though it's been a really steep climb, I still like the purpose of why we exist. Still gets me out of bed in the morning."

Todd Nelson is a freelance writer in Lake Elmo. His email is todd_nelson@mac.com.