Dentsu Aegis launches digital agency run by diverse, young staff

Marketing and communications firm Dentsu Aegis Network has launched a digital agency that will be staffed by young employees from diverse backgrounds. The UK agency has been named fortysix after the number of human chromosomes and the number of days it took to create. It has been established in partnership with digital business Freeformers, that matches each of its commercial projects with mentoring for a young person. 

Dentsu Aegis Network has put its money where its mouth is in the diversity debate to launch fortysix, a digital agency that will be entirely staffed by young people from diverse backgrounds.

The agency, which will become a division of Dentsu Aegis in the UK from June, has been formed in partnership with Freeformers, a digital transformation business that mentors a young person for every commercial project it runs.

The diversity debate has raged for some time in the industry, equally the topic of marketing for good and the need to get younger talent (dare we say ‘millennial’) involved in the business at a higher level. While fortysix manages to take opportunity in three industry zeitgeists, it represents investment from Dentsu Aegis and is an action on diversity that many in the industry have been calling for.

Leading the agency will be a former Freeformers mentee Lewie Allen, who became a lead trainer and ambassador for the business, supported by a board of industry and non-industry experts and chaired by Dentsu Aegis Network UK and Ireland CEO Tracy De Groose. De Groose, who has been a leader in the debate around diversity in the industry, conceived the idea in collaboration with Freeformers.

De Groose, said: “Winning in the digital economy is about speed, bravery and innovation born from diverse perspectives and new ways of working. The power of fortysix is that it has these attributes in its DNA – it represents a new agency model created for the good of our clients, talent, the industry and society at large.”

According to Denstu Aegis the output of the agency will be carried out at speed. The name fortysix, was chosen because it is the number of human chromosomes, which Dentsu Aegis wants to reference the people-centred spirit of the agency. It also said the concept was created in 46 days.

Dentsu Aegis revealed the new agency at Advertising Week Europe in London today. For more content on the event, see our dedicated Advertising Week Europe hub.