Member Article

Global Digital Agency Dept Celebrates Manchester Growth

It’s shaping up to be an exciting year of growth for the Manchester arm of international digital agency, Dept. The agency is recruiting over 30 digital specialists to join its UK team as a result of new clients, tech partners and service expansions.

Following competitive pitches, Dept has recently welcomed new clients including: the UK’s first purpose-driven arena, Co-Op Live; the professional body for architects, RIBA; leading motor dealership Harwoods, and digital tech company Asana. With projects ranging from creating immersive multimedia content hubs, to enterprise technology implementations, and digital transformation consultancy, Dept is looking to grow its team across multiple disciplines.

“The rapid migration to digital, expedited by the pandemic, has changed the way consumers and brands interact forever. Our physical and digital lives are merging, and how brands interact with customers throughout their journey is evolving to reflect that. What started as contingency plans have evolved into permanent fixtures, and Dept’s full-service offering is perfectly placed to help global organisations to accelerate this digital transformation,” said Brian Robinson, UK Managing Director at Dept.

Digital agencies are underpinning this journey to digital maturity.

“Collaborating with the world’s best technology players is imperative for us to keep pace with innovation in execution, and we’re excited to have recently forged a strong European-wide partnership with Optimizely (formerly Episerver),” said Robinson.

Optimizely is a leader in digital experience platforms and optimisation technologies, working with 9,000 brands globally, including Nike, Microsoft, eBay, Peloton, Sonos, KLM and Uber. Dept plans to become a leading Optimizely partner in Europe, with the UK becoming Dept’s centre of excellence for Optimzely’s suite of platforms.

Currently a Gold Optimizely Partner, Dept plans to achieve Platinum status by the end of the year.

“Dept is committed to investing in growing our teams, innovating with the platform, and providing our clients with future-ready solutions to accelerate their digital business,” stated Robinson.

There are currently over 30 active roles available in Dept’s Manchester team, open to candidates with various degrees of experience across development, consultancy, e-commerce, data, UX and design. As part of the agency’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy, Dept is also looking at alternative ways to tackle the skills shortage, by reducing the barriers to entry and creating a level playing field for creative talent.

“We recently launched a summer internship programme specialising in Motion Design to help train the next generation of digital artists,” says Adam Bee, Dept’s UK Head of Design. “It’s a paid opportunity open to ambitious people looking to kickstart a creative career through hands-on experience and mentorship. We didn’t ask for any previous industry experience or qualifications, just an eagerness to learn, and we were overwhelmed by the passion and raw talent that was submitted. Our two new Motion Design interns are set to start later this month.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Dept .