Here’s an update to our update from last week. We just had a chat with Rahul Roy to get some clarification on a new wave of tips we’ve received this week regarding the state of Draftfcb’s Southern California operations. First and foremost, Roy, the nearly 10-year DFCB vet who was promoted three weeks ago to managing director of said region for the agency, tells us that the new, Venice, CA-based operation will now be known as Draftfcb LA.
The Irvine branch, meanwhile, will serve as a field office that will still house administration, creative and account folks among others. From what Roy tells us, his goal is that by no later than August 1, the Venice office will house 80 percent of SoCal staff and the Irvine office, 20, though there’s some flexibility for folks in the latter. Roy says that if they want to stay in Irvine, they can stay put but the idea is to be in the Venice office two days a week.
As far as the cuts last week in the West Coast, numbers weren’t disclosed, but despite what tipsters are telling us, Roy says the staff count in Southern California remains north of 30. During it’s Taco Bell heyday a few years ago, max staff count in Irvine was at 60 according to the exec. While we’re the on the subject, Roy says that Draftfcb LA currently has three “huge” creative projects in the works for its main client. We’re not sure if there will be a part III to this saga at the end of next week, but we’ll post if so.