EVB, the agency formerly known as Evolution Bureau, has greatly reduced the size of its second office in Boulder, Colorado and made a move to focus more exclusively on the operations of its Oakland headquarters after VaynerMedia won a pitch to assume creative AOR duties for former client Noosa Yogurt. Noosa had been the largest piece of business run by the Colorado office.
Agency founder and CEO Daniel Stein said, “Although we have reduced our operations and staff in Boulder, the office remains open and we are keeping a small staff there to service clients.”
“While we have a lot of heart for Boulder, most of our client opportunities are coming out of the Bay Area right now,” Stein added. “It makes sense for us to focus our efforts there and continue building out our Oakland office. I have so much admiration and respect for the crew that built EVB Boulder. They are an incredible crew and I wish everyone the best as they move on to other opportunities.”
Stein then confirmed that the primary reason for the change was the loss of the Noosa business, but declined to provide more details. We don’t know exactly how many people remain in the Boulder office, but sources tell us the number is in the single digits. Multiple agency leaders have departed since the news broke, including executive creative director Troy Burrows, who was promoted to lead the Colorado team in late 2015.
The agency was originally based in San Francisco but moved its headquarters to Oakland in 2014 and later opened a Boulder office to service various clients, chief among them Noosa.
The event precipitating this latest change was the 2015 departure of former partner/ECD Steve Babcock, who ended up going to VaynerMedia in New York as its very first chief creative officer. Months after leaving EVB, he helped his new employer pluck the Noosa account away earlier this year after a review that involved most of the major agencies in the Boulder area.
EVB made some fairly big changes in late 2015 following Babcock’s departure, including the promotion of Burrows and that of former account director Steve Barry, who became the office’s first managing director.
Bellevue, Colorado-based Noosa, which has grown its market share substantially in recent years, completed a $20 million expansion of its production plant before launching the review that saw its business go to VaynerMedia.