Toronto-based production company Shaftesbury and media and research company Youth Culture are launching a new youth-focused agency, honing in on the YouTube space.

Shift2 will create, manage and market digital content, with an emphasis on the Google-owned platform, for brands.

The agency will work alongside Smokebomb Entertainment, Shaftesbury’s transmedia arm, to create content such as reality, how-to and scripted programs. The new agency, which will be based out of Toronto and L.A., has already garnered a number of clients, including media co Vervegirl (which is owned by Youth Culture), Kimberly-Clark and shopper marketing agency Geometry Global.

The new shop will be headed by Kaaren Whitney-Vernon, CEO, who formerly served as president and CEO of Youth Culture.

This isn’t the first agency to launch specifically to create YouTube content. Back in March, L.A.-based Contagious was billed as the first full-service agency to focus exclusively on the platform, working with brands such as Turkish Airlines, NBC Sports and Dreamworks.

More to come. 

Pictured: Christina Jennings, chairman & CEO, Shaftesbury; Whitney-Vernon  and Jay Bennett, VP digital CD, Smokebomb Entertainment.