A NEW venture that aims to help businesses see into the minds of younger people has had its official launch.

Digipigz was launched as a ‘sub-brand’ of Poole public relations agency Liz Lean PR by Leila Willingham, daughter of the company’s founder.

It aims to reflect the views of 16-24 year-olds – who make up a population of seven million in the UK.

The brand has set up the Piggy Bank – a community of people in that age group who can provide feedback to clients. They are the “digital guinea pigs” that give the brand its name.

In return for their dedication to the community, members of the Piggy Bank are offered opportunities for experience in industry, beyond that which standard work placements and careers days can offer.

Leila Willingham said she had the idea for the business two years ago, when attending a digital marketing conference.

A speaker there had spoken of the importance of reaching younger consumers, but she felt the speaker did not understand their market.

“I thought, ‘Would I buy your product if that’s how you’re marketing it?’” said.

“That was a bridge that needed building and I suppose I decided to build it,” she told the launch at THIS Workspace in the Daily Echo building.

She added: “We’ve become a sounding board for our clients. We’re to help them with our group of really incredibly astute, driven, talented young people.

“I think there’s a lot of negative talk about ‘millennials’ and how they’ve done this or that. It would be good to highlight what good young people can do.”

Liz Willingham said: “We’ve talked about this project for the past two years. Others in the business community and creative sector have given it support from day one.

“We’re in our 20th anniversary year. This is a good way to extend our reach and bring in new concepts and services in addition to the ever-growing services we already offer.

“We’ve always encouraged young talent from day one. We’ve always had a young team and taken on work experience people.”

The new brand is working on a series of workshops to develop young people’s skills, as well as events for them to meet each other.

People aged 16-24 who are interested in signing up to join the Digipigz community can find out more by visiting lizleanpr.co.uk/digipigz/