“Welcome to a new hybrid generation of global citizens and consumers: Connected, Opinionated, informed. They are frustrated and hopeful. They have the power to make or break brands & institutions.”
These are the intentional and purposeful words that re-launched Beatfreeks as a creative youth insight and engagement agency in early 2022.
Rewind to 2013 when it all began. Anisa Morridadi started Poetry Jam out of a desire to offer young people the space to share their voices and stories. Soon after, Beatfreeks was born and became an organisation rooted in giving young people their share of power. An Arts team helped to provide space for the captivating and diverse stories, poems and conversations that young people shared; and a Consulting team understood how to present those messages as creative insights to brands, organisations and institutions that were hungry for relevance.
In January 2022, fueled by the impact that had been generated by Beatfreeks over the last decade, Founder, Anisa Morridadi, set out a new direction for the future. That resulted in the creation of two distinct organisations to allow the space for both the Arts and the Consulting elements of the business to each thrive in their own right.
We Don’t Settle (formerly Beatfreeks Arts) is now a standalone independent non-profit organisation, driving a fairer, more inclusive heritage and arts sector for young people. Beatfreeks (trading as Beatfreeks Consulting Ltd) is a creative insight and engagement agency, specialising in working with young and diverse audiences. You can read more about that here.
On separating from its sister company in January, Beatfreeks began on a journey of growth and transformation. Having found its identity as an agency, and holding a firm belief that the future needs to be powered by young people, Beatfreeks is on a mission to work with organisations and brands that want to stay relentlessly relevant. That’s no easy task against a social and economic backdrop that has presented young people with arguably some of the most challenging living and working conditions in recent human history.
Beatfreeks is already working to influence the future with some incredible clients – Google, TikTok, and Coca-Cola to name just a few. However, to fully unleash the potential of the business, Anisa recognised that the journey ahead needed a specific set of skills. Skills that could navigate an ambitious growth plan and lead the organisation to be revered as the agency of choice for brands and organisations who want to engage with young people. So the search began for a leader that could take Beatfreeks to new heights as an agency.
Jen Swain was appointed as Managing Director following a short spell working with Beatfreeks as a business consultant to help bring some of the future planning to life. Bournemouth-based Jen is bringing over a decade of digital and creative agency experience to Beatfreeks, having led the growth path and operations for one of the best independent global software agencies in the UK. Jen is joining Beatfreeks to drive impact for clients and young people alike; ensuring Beatfreeks is true to its vision and championing young people as co-creators of the future.
“I am beyond honoured to be joining the incredibly talented Beatfreeks team. This work is so important because younger generations are creating the future right now – rewriting rules and speaking up for what they want and need. I believe that their hopeful frustration, if it’s heard and acted on, could lead to seriously impactful change in the world. And getting young people’s voices heard and helping organisations to understand and act on that insight is where Beatfreeks excels.”
Jen Swain, Managing Director – Beatfreeks
Amy Clamp, current General Manager, will be stepping into a hugely exciting Commercial Director role, putting an important focus on reaching more brands and organisations, elevating the Beatfreeks brand and speaking to clients who want to #bravethefuture with us as a trusted insight partner.
As Founder, Anisa will still play an active role in Beatfreeks and We Don’t Settle, utilising her superpowers to further the two organisations as Executive Chair on their respective Boards. She will continue in her other non-exec Board roles for the likes of Clore Leadership, whilst also investing more time into her other ventures as well as continuing with her coaching and speaking engagements. You can find out more about that here.
In the beginning, there was Poetry Jam. Now there is We Don’t Settle the arts organisation and Beatfreeks the agency. This is a story that has been almost a decade in the making. It’s a story that feels like it has a new beginning for Beatfreeks in some ways. But the story will act as a constant reminder of the starting point, and that we must celebrate young people in our hearts and heads as we go on to write the next chapter.
To find out how Beatfreeks can help connect your organisation with the largest generation in human history, get in touch now.