Sources familiar with the matter confirm that San Francisco agency Venables Bell & Partners had to let go of 11 staffers across departments late last week. Why? Well, mainly because its client, eBay, has decided to cut spending on brand advertising this year. From what we’re hearing from spies, eBay’s decision had more to do with ROI concerns than it did with VB&P’s actual work for the brand, which includes the recent “Pony” holiday effort below.
You can check out VB&P’s first work for eBay after taking on lead creative agency duties for “the world’s largest online marketplace” here. We’ve been told that following the cuts, which spies affected some senior-level staffers as well, staff count at VB&P is approximately 200. The agency, of course, works with other notable clients including Audi and Intel.