NH Business Notebook: Manchester advertising agency circles back to its roots – NH Business Review

Mackenzie Fraser’s biography on EVR Advertising’s website shares some whimsical tidbits: “Reader of books, lover of lakes, taco enthusiast, Maxxinista.”

Soon, the senior vice president can add this to her tagline: “agency owner.”

Over the past couple of years, EVR chief Jeff Eisenberg has been transitioning out of the Millyard company he bought in 2010 after leaving the Manchester Monarchs, the hockey team he oversaw as president for most of its first decade. (The team ceased operations in 2019.)

EVR’s focus includes senior living communities, health care and regional businesses that are either based in New Hampshire or do business here, such as longtime client Irving Oil.

Fraser and fellow senior vice president Pete Ricci plan to take over ownership of the company next year when Eisenberg retires. The change will mean the 25-employee company will once again have a woman owner: EVR was founded as Vital & Ryze Advertising in 1990 by Terry Vital.

“Less than 1% of the agencies in the country are owned by women,” said Fraser, a UNH graduate who joined the company in 2017 after working in sports marketing for Saint Anselm College and the Manchester Monarchs.

At UNH, she had a double major — business administration: management, and sports studies — and played softball on the club team.

Fraser appreciates why there might be a dearth of ad agencies owned by women but is determined to change views about women owning advertising agencies.

“The pace of the work and the environment apparently isn’t conducive to women running them,” Fraser said during a recent interview at the company’s offices at 155 Dow St. “But that’s one thing that I’m really proud of, being able to do that and take that statistic upward because there’s no reason women can’t do it.”

Fraser, 34, lives on the West Side of Manchester with her husband and their 2-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. She appreciates that she is a prime example for Stay Work Play, the nonprofit that advocates to attract and retain young people in New Hampshire.

“We have a lot of women working here, and a lot of women who are either moms or soon-to-be moms,” she said. “And I think just my position is setting an example for them. You can do it. You can do the career thing and be a mom and balance it all, and it’s very possible.”

The Lake George, New York, native grew up working in the family’s business, Cleverdale Country Store, working the register as soon as she was old enough to stand on a stool.

While she appreciates the entrepreneurship skills she learned from her parents and grandparents, she chose not to take over the business when the family decided to sell it, preferring to pursue a long-term goal of owning her own business.

Mackenzie Fraser will become co-owner of EVR Advertising next year. (Photo by Jodie Andruskevich)

That’s the kind of mindset Eisenberg was looking for when the company had an opening a year after Fraser first inquired about a job. She has been recommended by a former Monarchs colleague.

The first time Eisenberg met Fraser, she told him she wanted to own her own ad agency. (She confesses she tailored that slightly to match the opportunity: She wanted to own her own company but had not settled on what kind.)

Eisenberg listened closely, but he kept his thoughts to himself. What did this 27-year-old with a few years of marketing experience know about running an ad agency?

“I didn’t say everything I was thinking,” Eisnenberg recalled. “I now have come to learn that she’s a very directed, purposeful person who conducts her life that way.”

A year later when EVR had an opening, Eisenberg offered Fraser a position as an account executive. He quickly pegged her as the kind of person “who runs to the fire” and is not afraid to take on new challenges.

Pete Ricci, who oversees the creative side of the business, said they would learn hiring Fraser was a momentous decision. “Finding Mackenzie was the key piece that we were missing,” he said.

Ricci had already been with EVR three years when Eisenberg bought the company. “It was great transition of how he protected what made us special,” Ricci said. “But he took it to the next level.”

Eisenberg had a different style than previous owner, Ricci said, moving the company to a more prominent space in the building at 155 Dow St. on a higher floor and creating a transparent vibe in the office about the company’s business.

“Terry (Vital) was a native of the Boston agency scene. It was more like ‘Mad Men’ than it is today. But she was brilliant and was very protective of the secret sauce,” Ricci said.

Eisenberg also proved to be a father figure in the company.

“(We have) the opportunity to take it on our own away from ‘Dad,’ to make this place what we want to be — continuing to do great work, continuing the traditions that were set here foundationally years and years ago,” Ricci said, noting recent developments in the industry as the rise of artificial intelligence and changes in email marketing.

“The business changed so much. Nobody pays agencies to dream about a pocket folder design for a week anymore,” he said. “Now the pace is even a little bit faster, and we have to prove results. It’s not just ‘My idea is brilliant,’ and buy into that. We have to have data to back it up.”

While the work can be fast-paced, creating a workplace culture that promotes work-life balance is high on Fraser’s list of priorities, especially for women.

“Having an environment that allows them to do that to balance it all and be happy and successful at work and at home is important,” Fraser said.