THE owner of a new digital business says he chose to launch it in York rather than Leeds “to truly set ourselves apart from the agency smog”.

Elliot Jones, former co-owner of We Are Boutique and digital lead at both Carat North & MediaCom, has announced his new business venture, Zigzag Media Ltd, in York.

Zigzag offers a business-to-business structured service, rather than a traditional agency approach. The company has recently launched its website and boasts six staff members, with a plan to add more over the next 12 months.

The new business offers a fully integrated digital service from paid search, SEO and outreach to web development and content marketing - working with a number of companies already in retail, construction and property sectors.

Mr Jones said: “Zigzag is a new and exciting chapter in my career. I wanted to channel all the learnings from my previous roles into a structure that really met the needs of what today’s businesses are looking for.

“Companies aren’t looking for an ‘agency’ as such - they want an extension to their marketing department, someone who understands their business needs and can help them set out and achieve their business objectives - that’s where we at Zigzag will step in.”

Mr Jones’ previous roles span over a decade in digital marketing including co-owner of We Are Boutique, digital director at Carat North and head of digital at MediaCom (formerly Brilliant Media), Leeds.

Ryan Roodt is business partner to Mr Jones and is heading up the digital department. Mr Roodt’s history in paid search began at Summit Media, then Brilliant Media and more recently We Are Boutique, working across brands such as DFS, Play.com, eBuyer, and Virtual College.

He said: “I’m really pleased to be heading up the digital team at Zigzag. Our approach is simple - we aim to achieve a competitive return on investment for our clients. To achieve this, it is essential we employ knowledgeable staff across all accounts to ultimately deliver tangible results for our clients.”

Based in Micklegate, Zigzag has intentionally positioned itself away from the Leeds digital scene. Mr Jones said: “I’ve worked in Leeds for many years and felt that to truly set ourselves apart from the agency smog, York was a good fit for us. We’re looking to avoid the disruptions and noise that is associated with the cluttered stereotypical agency ecosystem.”

The newly launched website can be found at zigzag.digital