we are spawn ideas.
a fully integrated advertising agency. employee owned — proudly independent.
our leadership
karen king
president & ceo

karen king
president & ceo
with spawn since: 1999
claim to fame:
Karen has a well-earned reputation for being fearless on the job and always game for outdoor adventure. This irrepressible spirit guides her as president of Spawn Ideas, where Karen is a true thought leader. She rose to the top of her discipline as a strategic planner and brand building for national clients like General Mills and Coca-Cola as well as regional marketers that include GCI (telecom) and the Alaska Railroad.
When not innovating for clients, Karen can be found traveling, skiing or hiking with her two Aussies, Juneau and Stormcloud.
loves it when our work: gets it right by personalizing a message to a consumer’s mode (planning, organizing, etc.). Messages such as these elevate the customer’s journey and shorten the distance between thinking (“I should join a gym”) and doing (joining that gym).
mike weed
vp, creative director

mike weed
vp, creative director
with spawn since: 2016 (technically 2015, but that’s another story)
claim to fame: Mike is a mentor, to his core. Over the span of his impressive career, Mike has taught young “wannabe advertising creative people.” Developing talent and passing along a bit of wisdom that inspires the next generation brings him a great deal of pride. Seeing former students go on to become some of the most awarded, successful people in the ad industry is the ultimate flattery for Mike.
loves it when our work: takes the form of a creative, well-told story that makes the audience laugh or cry, or inspires them to do something. Emotions drive behavior. The worst thing our work can do is make someone say, “So what.”
kathy norford
vp, media director

kathy norford
vp, media director
with spawn since: 1999 (Round 1) and 2007 (Round 2)
claim to fame: Kathy stepped up and challenged herself to compete in the rigorous Tri for the Cure triathlon after being diagnosed with breast cancer. This internal drive to succeed inspires her daily to solve client challenges and find solutions to what keeps clients up at night. Kathy’s brave outlook serves her well in her ongoing quest to reach audiences in unique ways.
Kathy resides in Denver and, when she’s not being a media maven, she’s an ace tennis player, a walking sports encyclopedia, and (surprise!) a big Broncos fan.
loves it when our work: is translated from a flowchart to a campaign that produces positive results for clients.
lisa king
evp, chief financial officer

lisa king
evp, chief financial officer
with spawn since: 1991
claim to fame: Lisa has given over 11 gallons of blood in her lifetime! Needless to say, giving is in her nature. She gives her all to the agency. Lisa has been keeping Spawn dialed in and moving forward for over two decades. She gives our clients her very best, being as vigilant with their money as she is with her own. And Lisa goes above and beyond to make employees happy, giving them the kind of care and personal attention you don’t typically find in today’s workplace.
When Lisa is not giving her all at work, she gives her time as a volunteer and travels the globe.
loves it when our work: exceeds client expectations and agency standards due to Spawn employee-owners being supported and happy.
april cook
director, project management

april cook
director, project management
with spawn since: 2002
claim to fame: April achieved McGoddess status in 2017. McDonald’s national culled their roster of 60 local agencies working with U.S. Co-ops to just nine, and Spawn Ideas was among the select group. April’s dedication, commitment and 15-year relationship with the Alaska owner/operators were major factors in retaining the business.
In addition to leading the project management team, April also leads two sons who love outdoor activities such as camping, fishing and getting dirty, as Alaskan boys do.
loves it when our work: rises above the expected, to the magical; when it’s based on a truth so compelling that it takes her breath away, makes a client emotional, or leaves someone momentarily speechless.
charles leshan
director, production

charles leshan
director, production
with spawn since: 2013
claim to fame: Charles truly exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit of Spawn employee-owners. He concepted, planned and helped pull together Spawn’s subsidiary Bore Tide One Source, Spawn’s in-house print/promotional procurement service. He brings a wealth of experience in print and collateral production, has a worldwide network of vending partners, and is an expert negotiator.
Charles considers marketing a “hobby” and feels fortunate to get paid to do something he loves. When not ruminating on paper samples, he enjoys spending time with his family, anything “baseball” related, and of course, combat fishing.
loves it when our work: makes our clients excited about how their story is being told; when a project feels like a true partnership between the client, the Spawn team and our outside vending partners – there is no better feeling professionally!
kaylee devine
director of strategy

kaylee devine
director of strategy
with Spawn since: 2011
claim to fame: Kaylee’s research, consumer insight, and strategy are the foundation of many successful campaigns. Her work as an account strategist has taken the agency in a powerful direction by harnessing the power of quantitative and qualitative data to discover powerful insights. By creating inspiring and relevant creative briefs, Kaylee translates insights into strategic ideas.
When not mining for insights, Kaylee can be founding hiking with her husband and two kids, baking, and enjoying a good guilty-pleasure reality TV show (or two).
loves it when our work: uncovers a human truth that, when shared back to customers, brings us all together.
a little bragging




what
we do
As an integrated agency, Spawn offers the services you expect from an ad shop — creative, strategy, media, and design — and we do it for every channel that matters in 2020.
But our approach to our work? It’s to go far beyond the expected, delivering fresh ideas, smart execution and superior outcomes for our clients.
Here’s what makes us different:
content studio
content to build conversations
At Spawn’s Content Studio, an advertising campaign isn’t a finish line—it’s just the beginning. We help clients build on the momentum of their campaigns and create real relationships by serving their audiences across the entire customer journey.
With our laser-focus on your brand and your campaign goals, we’re able to efficiently build assets for your website, e-mails, print materials, social channels and more to extend the value, reach, and ROI of your advertising.
engagement
people driven media
We know that creating meaningful connections between brands and people requires more than great products and ideas. It demands expertise in fast-changing digital innovations, addressability and measurement—often working alongside legacy media solutions.
Our team uses cutting edge technologies, research and transparent reporting to understand how unique audiences consume media, interact with your brand and make decisions to become your customers. Learnings are applied early and consistently to power optimization so that your valuable media dollars achieve more.
mode
understand audiences better
Our fresh perspective on audience segmentation and today’s disrupted customer journeys personalizes messages based on milestones and mode. Through mode, we tap into patterns of thought and behavior to help people get things done — creating advertising messages that are a perfect fit for audiences’ needs and reducing their time between thinking and doing.
bore tide one source
We couldn’t find the vendors our clients needed — so we created it. This Spawn subsidiary company offers quality, cost-effective sourcing options for marketing procurement and logistics. Bore Tide uses the power of a partners’ $150 million in buying power to generate best-in-class discounts for our clients on collateral, printing and promotional items.
hooligan
Our new innovation practice, Hooligan, brought design thinking to the far north. Hooligan integrates account planning, analytics and design to make marketing efforts a launchpad for our clients’ growth.
With Hooligan, we don’t just promote existing products and services; we help to create new and different ones through ethnographic research intent on giving audiences what they really want – not just what’s available.