A study in 2022 found that 39% of UK agencies employ no people from underrepresented ethnic groups. More recently, another study announced that only 7% of creatives come from working class backgrounds.
Less than 1% of agencies are founded by women.
So what are two mixed ethnicity, working class women doing starting a creative agency?
We’re aiming to bridge the gap between creative and performance teams via creating content that converts and training in-house teams to place this content in the best possible position for success; to shade in the grey area (see what we did there…)
So, who is behind Shaded?
Cassi Idun
Co-Founder Cassi is the creative genius behind Shaded and the reason why this started. She had successfully been running her own business, Friday the agency, for over two years working with a range of incredible clients like Proto-col, Studio10 and ThisWorks.
As a seasoned creative with over 10+ years in the creative industry, Cassi is a Brand and creative marketeer with a demonstrated history of building viral brands and scaling revenue within the beauty and wellness industries. Strong entrepreneurship professional skilled in Content Strategy, Social Marketing, Email and Paid Advertising, Brand Identity, Art Direction and Production.
In a nut-shell, unlocking revenue opportunities with creatives 🎨
Shivali Jasmine Bennion
Co-founder Shiv is all about numbers. She loves them the most when they are green and hates them when they turn red…
Her technical background across key channels means she can analyse whether the correct structures are being implemented, to make the most from your creatives.
She can also identify any key areas of opportunities in the P&L for more revenue or profit depending on the brand's goals, and has personally managed over $20M in marketing spend.
Whether it’s from an acquisition or retention perspective, Shiv’s creativity comes from marketing tactics, media planning and big pitcher thinking. Before joining Shaded as a Co-founder, she was MD of DTC Live, a community of over 4,000 brands, and Bolt Digital, a end-to-end marketing agency. She’s consulted on projects like training the team at The Inkey List, Absolute Collagen, Fang Collective and Naydya, alongside account managing for delilah cosmetics, Gatineau and Frances Prescott. Before joining agency side, she worked brand-side for over five years focussing on digital strategies for Sophia Webster, Wonderbrow and Noughty.
Whether it's being Head of DTC, consultant or senior account director, Shivali has helped multiple businesses grow three figures YoY; from brands achieving their first million to supporting multi-million dollar brands (and one brand over a billion at Jimmy Choo).