CEO
DIGITAL DETROIT MEDIA, DETROIT
EMPLOYEES: 6
REVENUE: $2.5M
Akil Alvin, CEO of Digital Detroit Media, emerged from the Martin Luther King Apartments — located in a Detroit neighborhood known for its violence — because he said he gave himself “permission to dream.” Now, he’s working to give others permission to reach their goals.
Alvin’s life story started at the age of 7, when he initiated a marketing program for a library in his neighborhood. The effort caught the attention of the WWE, and professional wrestlers were brought in to support the program when WrestleMania came to Detroit in 2007.
“I saw friends who dreamed of just making it to (age) 13, 16, 18, or 25,” Alvin says. “I gave myself permission to dream past that. I wasn’t the smartest, the fastest, or most creative, but my work ethic drives me.”
At 10 years old, he started working for the UniverSoul Circus and did so until he was 18. While a 10th grader at the Detroit School of Performing Arts, he learned video production and did work for the Detroit City Council.
A teacher advised him to start Digital Detroit Media (DDM) rather than going to college, so he hired the teacher as his first employee and was off to the races.
Under Alvin’s leadership, Digital Detroit Media has grown into an award-winning global agency trusted by some of the world’s most recognizable brands, institutions, and destinations. DDM’s portfolio includes work for The Walt Disney Co., Ford Motor Co., Coca-Cola, Bank of America, the country of Botswana, De Beers, and many others.
His company has won Emmy Awards, Telly Awards, and additional national recognition for creative excellence and impact.
In 2019, DDM was one of 10 millennial-led companies nationwide to be honored by the National Minority Supplier Development Council. Alvin was recognized as an Emerging Young Entrepreneur, and landed a one-year advisory partnership with Warner Media.
DDM embarked on a full-circle and historic moment in 2021 as the first ad agency in the country to sign an exclusive, multimillion-dollar agreement for a municipality — handling high-level messaging and rebranding for the City of Detroit.
In 2022, Alvin was named one of Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30 honorees as one of North America’s top 30 advertising executives. The Black Marketers Association named him one of the most admired CEOs in the world. In November 2022, he was a keynote speaker during the inaugural Week of Entrepreneurship in Botswana, where he announced the global expansion of DDM and established the first international division in Africa, DDM Botswana.
“I am in awe of the things that have happened,” he says. “I want to give back to the next generation and give other people permission to dream.”
To do so, Alvin founded the Culture Academy, a 501(c)(3) organization that provides transformative experiences and programming for young creatives of color while shifting the culture’s narrative and trajectory by being the spark that ignites “ah-ha” moments in their lives — allowing them to follow their dreams as they grow up, not when they grow up.
“I wanted to bring all of my corporate clients into the neighborhoods to show the kids that there are viable careers in art and design,” Alvin says.
— Tim Keenan
