brave idea company

Too many brands play it safe. boatBurner believes 
brave ideas grow winning brands.

burn the boats

Our adopted forefather at boatBurner is Alexander the Great. His strategic leadership and legendary order to “burn the boats” when his army was overwhelmingly outnumbered was epic. His brave philosophy helped everyone visualize and commit to only one option: Win. 


Our purpose is to help our clients win. 

future thinking

The world doesn’t need more advertising. It needs
more creative thinkers to solve tomorrow’s problems. 

Cure

Branding

Argo

The Argo Anywhere Tiny Lodge

The Tile Shop

Rebrand & Package Design

J.W. Hulme

Brand Campaign

Argo

Brand Campaign

Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP

Crush it campaign.

Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP

Brand Refresh

Granite City Food & Brewery

Brand Campaign

LINX

Rebrand & Launch Strategy

Lifetouch

Digital Series  

Miss Mary's Morning Elixir

Brand Launch

Brave by Design

This is how we approach every challenge.

curious

fearless

committed

We’re not order takers. We are explorers of the unknown. We take our own deep dive to unearth insights that will position your brand differently so it stands out.

We’re comfortable with being uncomfortable. Too many brands play it safe. This comfort zone leads brands straight into the sea of sameness. To drive engagement we create ideas people talk about.

Our purpose is to help our clients win. With brave ideas. No matter the problem or opportunity, our focus is on the idea. Ideas are everything. 

curious

We’re not order takers. We are explorers of the unknown. We take our own deep dive to unearth insights that will position your brand differently so it stands out.

fearless

We’re comfortable with being uncomfortable. Too many brands play it safe. This comfort zone leads brands straight into the sea of sameness. To drive engagement we create ideas people talk about.

committed

Our purpose is to help our clients win. With brave ideas. No matter the problem or opportunity, our focus is on the idea. Ideas are everything. 

A BRAVE IDEA IGNITES THE SOUL OF A GROWING BRAND.

Brave ideas are strategically designed to be exciting, empowering and entertaining. They start conversations with consumers to build brand engagement, loyalty and advocacy. Brave ideas connect brands with culture. 

At boatBurner, we grow winning brands with a brave idea first, and flawlessly execute branding, advertising and the digital channel du jour second.

In that order. 

  • Analytics & Data Mining
  • Art Direction
  • Brand Strategy
  • Branded Content
  • Branding & Identity
  • Brave Ideas
  • Concept Development
  • Consulting
  • Copywriting
  • Design System
  • Environmental Design
  • Event Design
  • Exhibition Design
  • Experiential
  • Film/Video
  • Media Planning & Buying
  • Media Strategy
  • Naming
  • New Brand Development
  • New Product Development
  • Packaging
  • Radio
  • Research
  • Retail Design
  • Social Media & Content
  • Website Design

Chemistry wins.

With the right people in the boat, you win. Clients believe in us because our chemistry is genuine. They choose to work with us because they believe our team will help them succeed. Our collaborative approach allows everyone to respectfully push each other hard every day for only great.

That’s our bar. We will not under deliver. 

Teddy Hobbins
CEO/Partner

Teddy built his career on growing brands through comprehensive launch and relaunch initiatives for a range of companies, from automotive and retail giants to med-tech and CPG startups. His diverse industry background has only fueled his constant pursuit of solving business problems. Teddy knows there is no way to build a powerful and cohesive brand without an intimate understanding of the business, the marketplace and the customer.

Teddy is our brand strategist and account director, overseeing every step of the branding process. He works directly with clients to identify the best opportunities to market themselves and align their brand essence with culture. Prior to boatBurner, Teddy was in senior account management and leadership roles at Periscope, Carmichael Lynch and Fallon. 

Email Teddy

Chris Wareham
Creative Director/Partner

Prior to founding boatBurner, Chris was a creative director at Periscope in Minneapolis. His consistent talent at delivering strategically built creative platforms for a diverse roster of brands, and his deep commitment to his clients are what make him stand out.

During his 18-year career, Chris has crafted award-winning work for Great Clips, Buffalo Wild Wings, Rust-Oleum, Arctic Cat, TCF Bank, Papa Murphy’s Pizza, MasterCraft, Hormel Foods and United Way. His work has been honored in many prestigious industry awards, including Communication Arts, Radio Mercury Awards and AIGA.

Email Chris

Doug Mickschl
Creative Director/Partner

As one of the founders of boatBurner, Doug has lived boatBurner’s winning purpose for over 24 years in the ever-changing world of advertising. The driving force behind his successful creative career has been his brave ideas and desire and willingness to push creativity where others don’t go. 

Doug’s award-winning work spans a broad spectrum of clients like DreamWorks, Andersen Windows, Toro, Minnesota Twins, Bridgestone, Arctic Cat, MasterCraft and Buffalo Wild Wings. His work has been honored in many industry award shows, including The One Show, Communication Arts, AIGA and Effies.

Email Doug

Brandon Van Liere
Design Director/Partner

Dynamic. Intuitive. Imaginative. Brandon brings a wealth of design acumen to boatBurner as partner and design director. His brave perspective and simplistic approach complements his high visual standards for design and consistency. His client experience spans a broad range of companies, including DreamWorks, Arizona Diamondbacks, Best Buy, Target, Great Clips, Hormel, Sun Country Airlines, Miss Mary’s, Life Time Fitness and Formica.

Prior to boatBurner, Brandon was an associate design director at Periscope and BBDO in Minneapolis. He has received international acclaim from the design community, including Communication Arts, Luerzer’s Archive, Graphis and AIGA.

Email Brandon

OUR BRAND EXPERIENCES 

ARE BEST SHARED OVER A BEER. 

If you’re curious about what we’ve been up to for the last two decades, our past brand experiences will give you a good idea.

If you’re interested in one of our case studies, let us know. We’d be happy to share our clients’ success stories with you. 

PAST EXPERIENCES FROM PREVIOUS AGENCIES

News

Vendor Partner of the Year

boatBoat is embarking on our fourth year and would like to take a moment to thank our vendor partners. We are thankful to all the...

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The BRAVE. A new initiative from boatBurner.

boatBurner is getting behind and supporting brave individuals who face a difficult mountain in their life, but who fearlessly climb every day to conquer the...

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Expanding north of the border.

The amazing taste of Miss Mary’s Bloody Mary Mixxx has crossed the border and into Canada. boatBurner helped the Miss Mary’s team launch an all-new flavor — Miss...

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