Coventry University alumni celebrating success of thriving cultural marketing agency that now has global clients…
A specialist influencer marketing agency started by Coventry University students now counts Disney and Netflix among its clients. VAMP, which is the first agency to solely focus on the representation and development of black digital talent in the UK, has recently worked on major film campaigns for Disney, including Black Panther and The Little Mermaid.
The company was founded by Christina Okorocha, Ruby Aryiku and Rumbi Mupindu after they saw a huge gap in the market for authentic black female voices in the entertainment and Influencer industries.
Ruby and Rumbi met while they were studying Media Communications and Culture, while Christina, who studied Business, met Ruby through friends and began working together at Coventry University’s African Caribbean Society (ACS).
It was during summer placements when Christina and Ruby, who were both working in the same building with Google and Universal Pictures respectively, had the idea of forming the agency. They were prompted to look into the concept after regularly fielding questions related to youth and black culture.
In 2016, their final year, Christina, Ruby and Rumbi started a business offering their marketing services out to other entrepreneurial students and taking on their friend and former Coventry student Mariam Musa, a successful Youtube makeup influencer, as their first client.
In 2017, VAMP was officially born and today its impressive client roster includes global giants such as Disney, Netflix and Arsenal football club, as well as grassroots and community-driven initiatives.
Christina: “I think it was all about the people at Coventry University. You’re told when you’re younger that when you go to university that you’ll meet friends for life and also you might meet your business partners. Coventry University provided that because of the location of the city centre campus which also allowed us to meet more people.
“It wasn’t just about the education but the resources. Mariam was able to use equipment from her course when filming her content and then of course we had access to the library and if we needed extra support on PR we could go and find the right book to help us.
“We built our business by identifying gaps in the market and leveraging our industry knowledge. Coventry University provided the perfect environment to develop these skills.”
The agency has grown into a global enterprise with a strong presence in the UK and ambitions to expand into the US and Africa in 2025. To find out more about studying Media and Communications at Coventry University like Ruby and Rumbi, visit the uni website here.
