Voltage keeps cranking up marketing power

LOUISVILLE — Eric Fowles’ latest mission has taken him — or at least his company’s reach — overseas.

Buoyed by the Webby award his team at Voltage Advertising & Design won for redesigning Reebok’s e-commerce website, Fowles’ company landed two major European clients: Swedish sporting-goods company Fjallraven and German bootmaker Hanwag.

Fowles always has been a man on a mission — whether it’s the two years he served as a Mormon missionary in Paraguay, his role as father of six children, or his time behind the wheel of The Beast, a white 15-passenger van he uses as a recruiting tool to bring young new talent into his growing five-year-old business based in Louisville.

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That sense of purpose has helped him propel Voltage to No. 5 on the Boulder County Business Report’s Mercury 100 list of fastest-growing private companies based in Boulder and Broomfield counties that report annual revenue of less than $2 million. Voltage reported a 175 percent increase in revenue from $400,000 in 2010 to $1.1 million in 2012.

Fowles credits doing “honest, straightforward business” for that growth. “We just keep our noses to the grindstone, do the best work we can, build the best team we can and keep everyone engaged,” he said. “We’re getting in front of a lot of big clients now.”

The list is long: Major accounts such as Centura Health and Smashburger, local players such as Xcel Energy, Boulder-based Cloud 9 Living and The Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs, and even a few quirky clients such as Big Chill, manufacturers of retro appliances.

Fowles also has added a video producer to enhance Voltage’s rebranding muscle and launched TypeFreak.com to market his growing list of award-winning fonts. His team also is building an app for Kong dog products.

Fowles, 39, graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, with a degree in graphic arts and a clearly defined set of values.

“My faith absolutely has an influence on our business,” he said, “the way we treat people, clients, and the office environment. I hope our agency is different in the fact that family is very important, and even though we do have tough deadlines, we believe a proper balance is needed to be creative and keep a positive work environment. As long as people are meeting their deadlines we’re really laid back about time off, etc.”

And then there’s the honesty.

“Sometimes you make a mistake, and you have to ‘fess up to it. People respect you for that, and they’ll come back and do business with you again.”