Elevation, headed by co-founders Aaron Dotson (left) and Frank Gilliam, has bought another local company. Photos courtesy of Elevation.
With its latest deal, a Richmond ad firm is looking to scale up its digital abilities.
Elevation, an agency headquartered at 9 W. Main St., acquired locally based digital marketing firm Scalability Project on Jan. 1. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Scalability founder Shade Wilson and one other employee have joined Elevation, bringing Elevation’s total number of employees to 24.
The Scalability Project brand, created in 2011, will no longer be used.
Aaron Dotson, Elevation’s principal and co-founder, said the addition of Scalability bolsters the firm’s digital marketing functions that include website development, lead generation and building content targeted at a client’s potential customers.
“We’ve always had in-house digital capabilities, but the growth in the digital space for all clients continues to be substantial,” Dotson said. “As we move more into lead generation and content development for clients and managing full-scale digital spaces, we were looking for a way to push our services forward.”
Shade Wilson
Dotson would not discuss the terms of the deal or how Elevation financed it, but he did say Elevation initiated the talks about an acquisition.
Wilson has been named director of digital strategy for Elevation.
“We had been working with Shade (Wilson) as a strategic partner for a while,” Dotson said. “We had some tremendous growth in 2014, and digital continues to be an important part of what we do for our clients.”
Elevation’s clients include Allegis Global Solutions, Duke’s Mayonnaise, MeadWestvaco, McKesson, Tridium, Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods, Virginia 529, Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Virginia Credit Union.
“We’ve grown from being a Richmond-based company to being a regional company with national and international clients,” Dotson said.
Elevation co-founder and principal Frank Gilliam said it was too soon to say if Scalability Project’s clients would continue working with the company under the Elevation banner.
This isn’t Elevation’s first acquisition since it launched in 2001. In 2011, the firm acquired Fultz + Associates to strengthen its production skills.
And about a year and a half ago, Elevation opened an office in Austin, Texas.
“We can continue to be aggressive with our growth and look for companies that are looking to grow as well,” Dotson said. “We’ll continue looking at opportunities both inside and outside Richmond.”
Elevation was the eighth-largest ad agency in the Richmond market as of last year, according to the most recent BizSense rankings.
Elevation, headed by co-founders Aaron Dotson (left) and Frank Gilliam, has bought another local company. Photos courtesy of Elevation.
With its latest deal, a Richmond ad firm is looking to scale up its digital abilities.
Elevation, an agency headquartered at 9 W. Main St., acquired locally based digital marketing firm Scalability Project on Jan. 1. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Scalability founder Shade Wilson and one other employee have joined Elevation, bringing Elevation’s total number of employees to 24.
The Scalability Project brand, created in 2011, will no longer be used.
Aaron Dotson, Elevation’s principal and co-founder, said the addition of Scalability bolsters the firm’s digital marketing functions that include website development, lead generation and building content targeted at a client’s potential customers.
“We’ve always had in-house digital capabilities, but the growth in the digital space for all clients continues to be substantial,” Dotson said. “As we move more into lead generation and content development for clients and managing full-scale digital spaces, we were looking for a way to push our services forward.”
Shade Wilson
Dotson would not discuss the terms of the deal or how Elevation financed it, but he did say Elevation initiated the talks about an acquisition.
Wilson has been named director of digital strategy for Elevation.
“We had been working with Shade (Wilson) as a strategic partner for a while,” Dotson said. “We had some tremendous growth in 2014, and digital continues to be an important part of what we do for our clients.”
Elevation’s clients include Allegis Global Solutions, Duke’s Mayonnaise, MeadWestvaco, McKesson, Tridium, Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods, Virginia 529, Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Virginia Credit Union.
“We’ve grown from being a Richmond-based company to being a regional company with national and international clients,” Dotson said.
Elevation co-founder and principal Frank Gilliam said it was too soon to say if Scalability Project’s clients would continue working with the company under the Elevation banner.
This isn’t Elevation’s first acquisition since it launched in 2001. In 2011, the firm acquired Fultz + Associates to strengthen its production skills.
And about a year and a half ago, Elevation opened an office in Austin, Texas.
“We can continue to be aggressive with our growth and look for companies that are looking to grow as well,” Dotson said. “We’ll continue looking at opportunities both inside and outside Richmond.”
Elevation was the eighth-largest ad agency in the Richmond market as of last year, according to the most recent BizSense rankings.
Congrats Shade! Way to catch your dream and not just chase it!