initiate-it, a digital-first marketing agency headquartered in Richmond, Va., is now headed by a dynamic duo with the recent addition of Darren Foot as chief marketing officer and partner alongside founder and president Andrew Smith.

A well-known creative brand marketing professional, Foot has more than 20 years of experience working at prominent ad firms such as The Martin Agency in Richmond, Modernista! and Digitas in Boston, along with serving as a consultant and advisor to agencies of all sizes. Most recently, he was director of account management at The Variable, an award-winning marketing and advertising agency in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Over the years, Foot led and directed strategic, innovative advertising and digital initiatives for some of the world’s most recognized consumer and corporate brands including Oreo, Subway, Tic-Tac, Chevrolet, Bank of America, Harley-Davidson, British Airways and HUMMER, among others.

“Darren hails from southwest England and brings a breadth and depth of experience from both sides of the Atlantic,” said Andrew Smith. “We have known each other for many years, and I have great respect for his talents and accomplishments, especially in the digital space where initiate-it excels. I’m so pleased that this inspiring leader has come on board as a partner to help our clients prosper and launch a new era of growth at initiate-it.”

As a partner at initiate-it, Foot will focus on driving client business and agency growth in the digital marketing space. He is committed to elevating the agency’s unique digital performance and business leadership offering, along with infusing modern brand and creative strategies to help ignite current and future client business growth.

“Andrew and I started our careers working together at The Martin Agency and we hit it off immediately,” said Foot. “I enjoyed his smarts, creativity and utter integrity, and we always stayed in touch. We have complementary skillsets and share a common vision to provide our client partners with a more modern, scalable agency model that can turn on a dime and flex as needed, drawing on proven digital performance marketing, strategic leadership and creativity to drive business impact.”

Foot added that he and Smith have set an ambitious goal to accelerate the agency’s growth trajectory and to double revenue over the next two years. “I’m excited about partnering with Andrew and the talented team at initiate-it to make that happen,” Foot concluded.

In November 2019, initiate-it moved to a newly renovated 5,000 square-foot office that doubled the size of the former location and expanded the agency’s footprint for growth. The new space features an enlarged in-house studio fully equipped to handle production of photography as well as short- and long-form videos needed by many clients.

initiate-it’s client portfolio includes CapTech, Identity Guard, VCU Health and an international candy/confectionary brand. The agency has developed an expertise in creating digital and social media campaigns that make a significant business impact for national and international franchisors including Sandler, a sales, leadership, and management company with 250 offices worldwide, and HobbyTown, a national toy/game retailer with over 125 locations across the country.