D.PE Agency Continues To Win Clients by Putting Diversity First.

HarperCollins, Now Playing Toronto, Wray And Nephew Rums, CIBC Square And The Onyx Experience Are All Added To The Client Roster

Last year, D.PE (Diverse, Progressive, Experiences) Agency founded by creative director and curator Ashley McKenzie-Barnes launched with a mandate of putting diversity and authentic storytelling at the forefront of all the agency's projects. By building diverse creative teams that reflect more POC hires and talent, D.PE Agency creates content that intentionally achieves inclusive and more widely representative content. After a successful 2021, the company is experiencing an increase in their client roster and attributes the growth to attracting progressive clients that are willing to push the boundaries of representation and forward-thinking.

“Modern-day advertising is not just about the inclusion of diverse voices but putting those voices front and center,” says Ashley McKenzie-Barnes, founder of D.PE. Agency. “Consumers know authentic representation when they see it and that’s what we continue to do. Tell the real story, with real people and celebrate it.”

Here are a few unique clients being brought on board:

• Clients are jumping on board. D.PE Agency started the year off strong by designing the book cover for Al Sharpton’s latest book, Righteous Troublemakers: Untold Stories of the Social Justice Movement in America published by HarperCollins. The creative depicts the widespread social justice movement from the early civil rights era to current social and political affairs.
• Destination Toronto selected D.PE Agency after a competitive RFP process as their creative and marketing AOR for their newly activated event and culture platform, Now Playing Toronto. D.PE has hired a team of diverse and talented voices to provide authentic community appeal within the cultural event sector. D.PE has been assigned to develop the brand creative and guidelines, a website refresh, a cultural outreach program, social media content, digital marketing strategies and paid media.
• Hired alongside We Are Social agency for Campari’s Wray and Nephew’s 2022 activations and programming to celebrate real Jamaican culture through local music and cultural education. A series of Wray and Nephew events will take place this summer.
• CIBC Square continues to highlight local visual artists, this time through a D.PE curatorial project that puts forward over twenty of Canada’s top artists. McKenzie-Barnes curated the 81 Bay Food Hall and surrounding areas with artists like Rajni Perera, Winnie Troung, Jordan Bennett, Nep Sidhu, Matt Barnes among others.
• D.PE Agency was selected to bring to life an art experience created to celebrate the contributions of Black artists in Rock Music for the Onyx Experience. The installation will be created to bring a one-of-a-kind visual experience to each performance. Musicians include Fefe Dobson, The OBGMS and Sate.

McKenzie-Barnes will continue to attract new clients as brands recognize the importance of diverse leadership within the advertising industry.