A great creative director does three things: 1. They inspire great work. 2. They sell great work. 3. They create great work themselves. Most of the creative directors I've worked for, possess only one or two--or sadly, none--of the above traits. Kevin has all three in spades. Three reasons you must work with him. Three reasons you don't want him working for someone else.

John Godsey

North American Chief Creative Officer at VMLY&R

My recommendation for Kevin will begin with the following haiku:

Swiss cheese, mountain Alps
Melting snow turns to cool streams
I’d like a Slider

For those of you less familiar with the legendary White Castle “slider”, it is a small delicious hamburger, formed in a square and served on a fresh similarly square bun (details at Wikipedia). More importantly, it is “What You Crave”.

“What You Crave” is a phrase that captured the relationship between that burger and the longing it created amongst its customer. It also encapsulated a brand essence that launched a regional brand into the national spotlight. It’s funny how words can have such an impact. Especially when created by a gifted writer. Kevin Teevens is such a writer and oh yeah, he’s the author of that line that helped make little old White Castle a threat to McDonald’s late night business. I bet you didn’t know that about Kevin.

Well, here’s a few other things you should know…Kevin is a tireless, relentless, passionate, strategic, helpful, challenging, thoughtful, bull-dogged, kind-hearted, perfectionist of an Ad guy. By putting his work first at work, he sets an example and a standard that he knows his clients and co-workers deserve.

When Kevin presents creative work you really want to be in the room. He plays actor, director, producer and critic all in the same meeting and each in a way that the audience (i.e., client) feels fulfilled. Kevin is one of the best presenters I've ever seen. I could go on, but it wouldn’t be in the spirit of the haiku. Instead I’ll end with a fact, that I’m proud to have worked with Kevin and have sharpened my own talents by working with him. For that I say thank you Mr. Teevens.

Jack Scheible

EVP, Global Director of Customer Experience MRM/McCann

Kevin sees potential – whether personal, professional, creative or otherwise. I'm so grateful he saw it in me. Kevin encourages everyone to be better, think bigger, and jump at the opportunity to propel progress.

Sam Sharp

Senior Manager, Automotive Sales Development and Strategy at Pandora

Tim Allen

Actor/Comedian

I have worked with many ad agencies, but not one had met my high expectations until I worked with Kevin Teevens at Team Detroit. Kevin took the time to listen and do the research in order to understand my customer's perspective. The result was exceptionally creative work with pin-point personal meaning to my customer base.

Stephen Eppinette

Director, V-22 Integrated Logistics Support at Bell Helicopter

The role of a creative leader is not to have all the ideas; it’s to create a culture where everybody can have ideas and feel they’re valued. Kevin Teevens is certainly someone that has a strong understanding of this. He understands the correlation between getting quality creative out of his team is related to how much his team feels valued. For someone in leadership, this is a real challenge. Teevens leads from the ground floor. He shows honest and sincere concern for everyone. That’s what makes him such a director, facilitator and most of all, mentor. There’s nothing he can’t do.

Andrew Smith

Design Lead, IBM

Over my 28 years as President of DeLonghi America Inc, I had hired several advertising agencies to help build the brand and raise consumer awareness. Kevin Teevens and his team developed an advertising campaign, packaging and other collateral materials that catapulted DeLonghi to a new level of awareness in the US market. Incremental business was definitely a result. Kevin was a delight to work with. Over and above his knowledge, creativity and work ethic, Kevin was a true professional. He blended all the work with great people skills and a good sense of humor. I recommend Kevin Teevens very highly.

Jim McCusker

Chief Operating Officer President-Retail Beverage Unit at Lavit, LLC

Kevin is an outstanding partner. He led a team in the development of breakthrough creative work that was strategically sound and new to the business and industry. He demonstrated partnership at its best.

Tom McLoughlin

Global Vice President, Gardens and Landscape Marketing, Scotts Miracle-Gro Company

He has a delightful ability to bring thoughtful perspective and levity to our craft when most needed. As someone who truly lifts others up for success, Kevin is a rarity. His point of view is unique and his passion for the business is evident in his tenacity and inquisitive spirit.

Heidi Hermann

Digital Associate Creative Director, Hudson Rouge

He's the ideal combination of a smart business brain and creative talent. Much of what I learned about inspiring and nurturing powerful creative ideas, I learned from Kevin.

Amy Muntz

EVP/Strategy at Allen & Gerritsen

…As a creative leader on my Shell team, I learned so much from him because he pushed me to be better: To stick my neck out for ideas I believed in, selling hard when I knew something was right for our clients.

Kate Gunning

VP Global Brand Development Director, J.P. Morgan

Kevin takes the time to mentor and cultivate relationships, so that the team works more cohesively and creates better solutions for clients. He is truly a pro, with a great combination of creativity, energy, and strategic thinking, and his dedication to making the right thing happen never wanes, even in the most difficult situations. Kevin’s positive, let’s roll-up-our-sleeves-can-do-attitude is the thing I like most about working with him. Highly recommended.

Susan Dare

VP, Management Supervisor, Hudson Rouge

He was able to connect with our clients on many levels and further establish/build our relationship, which created new opportunities for the agency. In addition to his deep knowledge, Kevin possessed a great energy unlike any I have encountered, making each day enjoyable at the office.

Courtney Woody

Brand Marketing Manager at FCA Fiat Chrysler

He showed me the value of studying award annuals. He taught me that it doesn't matter how long you've been in the business, you can always be a student of advertising. But I think the greatest testament to his guidance is that in the 10 months I worked at Team Detroit, Kevin never once asked me to stay late or work harder. Was it because I was some kind of advertising wunderkind? Not exactly. He never had to ask because he was always there working late. Working weekends. Working harder than anyone else in the agency. I took that advice to heart. Now, I'm not so humble that I'd say I owe all my success to Kevin. But he can take a good 95% of the credit.

Robbie Izar

Associate Creative Director, Havas

For the past five years, Kevin has been a partner, a mentor, a creative director, a strategy director and depending on who you ask, probably an account director at times too. Which is hard for me admit, given that I’m exactly that. What would I say about Mr. Teevens? He’s strategic. And it probably goes without saying but I'll say it: The man is highly dedicated to helping clients and the agency win together.

Brad Bobenmoyer

Vice President, Marketing - Young & Laramore

Kevin is the kind of creative director other creatives want to work for. Open-minded. Trusting. And enthusiastic. Kevin always brings out the best in his team. Kevin's craft speaks for itself. But beyond the work, Kevin was a great mentor and an even better friend. He was always available to help guide my career and hone my skills.

Nick Allen

Global Creative at Commonwealth/McCann

Kevin is a dynamic, insightful and highly talented creative leader. I have had the pleasure of working with Kevin for a number of years at Team Detroit and JWT. During this time, I have always admired and valued his ability to bring clarity and focus to challenging marketing and communication issues. This focus allows Kevin to develop compelling and innovative creative ideas that effectively address Client's marketing goals and objectives and help grow business. Kevin is also experienced and comfortable working across all communication channels which allows him to develop big, integrated creative ideas that can be brought to life from the national level all the way down to the retail floor. Kevin's work on the Shell account is a prime example of developing a big idea that was integrated across channels, regions and tiers. Kevin also forges strong, positive working relationships with his internal Agency teams and Clients. He is a very engaging and persuasive presenter and helped us pitch and win a number of key accounts including, most recently, Scotts Miracle-Gro and The Sports Authority. I highly recommend Kevin. He is a passionate, intelligent and very talented creative leader.

Dave Latta

Senior Director Marketing Communications J.M Smucker Company