The Yebo team in 2020 outside its Scott’s Addition office. (BizSense file)
Three years after breathing new life into the business with a name change and rebrand, one of Richmond’s longer running ad agencies is calling an end to a 35-year run.
Yebo, formerly Barber Martin Agency, is closing at the end of this month. The company, founded in 1988 by Bob Barber and Bill Martin, made the announcement over the weekend on its social media channels. Its last day of business will be June 30.
Current owner and CEO Robyn Zacharias, who has led the agency since 2006, said the decision to close follows a combination of COVID-driven client losses, budget cuts among current clients and a reluctance from prospective clients to pull the trigger on campaigns in light of the economy.
Robyn Zacharias
“Certainly COVID impacted the business. Some of the clients that we had during COVID stopped advertising altogether and didn’t come back,” Zacharias said. “Other clients did come back, but then the economy has had an impact on budgets. And in terms of new businesses, delays in decisions – ‘We’re going to wait six months, eight months’ – so we certainly felt the impact of that.
“We’ve had a really good run. We’ve been doing this for 30 years; we’ve had a lot of great impact, a lot of great clients and impacted a lot of employees and their lives. But the business is challenging,” she said. “It’s a challenging time, and we thought it would be time at this point to go out on top and make that decision sooner rather than later.”
The closure comes six years after the agency moved to Scott’s Addition from its longtime home at Boulders Office Park, and three years since it changed its name to Yebo (pronounced “Yay-bow”), an informal affirmative response derived from the Zulu language that translates as “Yes” or “I agree.” It’s a familiar term in southern Africa, reflecting Zacharias’ Zimbabwean roots.
The name marked a new chapter for the agency, which had evolved from a primarily retail-focused shop to a broader client base with brands such as Virginia Lottery, Microsoft and Walt Disney Co.
Starting at Barber Martin as an administrative assistant in 1996, Zacharias was named president 10 years later and took over ownership of the business when its former namesakes retired. Having spent 27 years with the agency, she described the decision to close as a sad one to make.
“It’s certainly a very sad day. I’ve been in this business with Yebo/Barber Martin for almost 30 years. I’ve spent my adult career with this agency and running this company, and it’s been tremendous in so many ways and a ton of fun,” Zacharias said.
She said the agency is assisting its 14 employees, putting feelers out for new employment. The agency at its biggest totaled 70 employees but typically averaged around 40.
Zacharias said clients also are being referred to other agencies. Long-term clients over the years have included Cato Fashions, which it started working with in 1989, 24-year clients Adolf Jewelers and Chesterfield Auto Parts, and 16-year client Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth.
The agency created a logo and branding for the Scott’s Addition neighborhood.
Other clients have included Lustre by Adolf, Reservoir Distillery and Courthouse Creek Cider. The agency also designed the Scott’s Addition logo and brand identity system for the Scott’s Addition Boulevard Association.
Zacharias said she considers Yebo’s calling-card effort to be its “Everyday Wins” campaign for Virginia Lottery, released in 2021. She said the campaign branded the scratcher-game category as a whole instead of promoting individual games.
“We took the scratcher category and gave it an entire brand and promoted all the games with one campaign,” she said.
Yebo’s closure frees up the 10,000-square-foot office it leases at 1408 Roseneath Road. Zacharias said she didn’t know of any plans for the space after the agency moves out. The building is owned by local developers Birck Turnbull and Charles Bice.
Zacharias in 2017 with longtime COO Greg Simos in the agency’s office. (BizSense file photo)
Zacharias, 51, said she doesn’t know what her next move will be. She plans to take some time off first.
“I haven’t taken much time off in 30 years, and I’d just like to take a few months,” she said.
“Advertising is not for the faint of heart. It’s a great business and it’s a tough business all at the same time,” she said. “To have had such a run for 30 years with such success has made me incredibly proud, and the quality of work this agency’s produced and the talent that we’ve had has been remarkable.”
Zacharias expressed appreciation to all of Yebo’s employees, giving special shoutouts to Greg Simos, the agency’s COO for 24 years, Creative Director Ron Villacarillo and agency founders Barber and Martin.
“We’ve really impacted a lot of lives, and we have had a lot of incredible talent in our employees here,” she said. “I think we’ve given a really great training ground for the careers they have today, and I’m really proud of that.”
Note: This story has been revised to remove descriptions of the Virginia Lottery campaign and its outcomes that a lottery spokesperson said were inaccurate.
The Yebo team in 2020 outside its Scott’s Addition office. (BizSense file)
Three years after breathing new life into the business with a name change and rebrand, one of Richmond’s longer running ad agencies is calling an end to a 35-year run.
Yebo, formerly Barber Martin Agency, is closing at the end of this month. The company, founded in 1988 by Bob Barber and Bill Martin, made the announcement over the weekend on its social media channels. Its last day of business will be June 30.
Current owner and CEO Robyn Zacharias, who has led the agency since 2006, said the decision to close follows a combination of COVID-driven client losses, budget cuts among current clients and a reluctance from prospective clients to pull the trigger on campaigns in light of the economy.
Robyn Zacharias
“Certainly COVID impacted the business. Some of the clients that we had during COVID stopped advertising altogether and didn’t come back,” Zacharias said. “Other clients did come back, but then the economy has had an impact on budgets. And in terms of new businesses, delays in decisions – ‘We’re going to wait six months, eight months’ – so we certainly felt the impact of that.
“We’ve had a really good run. We’ve been doing this for 30 years; we’ve had a lot of great impact, a lot of great clients and impacted a lot of employees and their lives. But the business is challenging,” she said. “It’s a challenging time, and we thought it would be time at this point to go out on top and make that decision sooner rather than later.”
The closure comes six years after the agency moved to Scott’s Addition from its longtime home at Boulders Office Park, and three years since it changed its name to Yebo (pronounced “Yay-bow”), an informal affirmative response derived from the Zulu language that translates as “Yes” or “I agree.” It’s a familiar term in southern Africa, reflecting Zacharias’ Zimbabwean roots.
The name marked a new chapter for the agency, which had evolved from a primarily retail-focused shop to a broader client base with brands such as Virginia Lottery, Microsoft and Walt Disney Co.
Starting at Barber Martin as an administrative assistant in 1996, Zacharias was named president 10 years later and took over ownership of the business when its former namesakes retired. Having spent 27 years with the agency, she described the decision to close as a sad one to make.
“It’s certainly a very sad day. I’ve been in this business with Yebo/Barber Martin for almost 30 years. I’ve spent my adult career with this agency and running this company, and it’s been tremendous in so many ways and a ton of fun,” Zacharias said.
She said the agency is assisting its 14 employees, putting feelers out for new employment. The agency at its biggest totaled 70 employees but typically averaged around 40.
Zacharias said clients also are being referred to other agencies. Long-term clients over the years have included Cato Fashions, which it started working with in 1989, 24-year clients Adolf Jewelers and Chesterfield Auto Parts, and 16-year client Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth.
The agency created a logo and branding for the Scott’s Addition neighborhood.
Other clients have included Lustre by Adolf, Reservoir Distillery and Courthouse Creek Cider. The agency also designed the Scott’s Addition logo and brand identity system for the Scott’s Addition Boulevard Association.
Zacharias said she considers Yebo’s calling-card effort to be its “Everyday Wins” campaign for Virginia Lottery, released in 2021. She said the campaign branded the scratcher-game category as a whole instead of promoting individual games.
“We took the scratcher category and gave it an entire brand and promoted all the games with one campaign,” she said.
Yebo’s closure frees up the 10,000-square-foot office it leases at 1408 Roseneath Road. Zacharias said she didn’t know of any plans for the space after the agency moves out. The building is owned by local developers Birck Turnbull and Charles Bice.
Zacharias in 2017 with longtime COO Greg Simos in the agency’s office. (BizSense file photo)
Zacharias, 51, said she doesn’t know what her next move will be. She plans to take some time off first.
“I haven’t taken much time off in 30 years, and I’d just like to take a few months,” she said.
“Advertising is not for the faint of heart. It’s a great business and it’s a tough business all at the same time,” she said. “To have had such a run for 30 years with such success has made me incredibly proud, and the quality of work this agency’s produced and the talent that we’ve had has been remarkable.”
Zacharias expressed appreciation to all of Yebo’s employees, giving special shoutouts to Greg Simos, the agency’s COO for 24 years, Creative Director Ron Villacarillo and agency founders Barber and Martin.
“We’ve really impacted a lot of lives, and we have had a lot of incredible talent in our employees here,” she said. “I think we’ve given a really great training ground for the careers they have today, and I’m really proud of that.”
Note: This story has been revised to remove descriptions of the Virginia Lottery campaign and its outcomes that a lottery spokesperson said were inaccurate.
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