Strands of Genius: Eaon Pritchard + Brands & Top Music Artists 2023–24
featuring: an interview with our guest editor and a research report
Welcome to the Bonus edition of Strands of Genius! On Fridays, we’ll be publishing interviews from our guest editors, and sharing a research report. Thanks for being along for the ride. Oh and by the way, you look great today :)
:: STEAL THIS THINKING | RESEARCH REPORT ::
Sponsorship deals with top music artists are experiencing significant growth, offering brands a vibrant platform to enhance their market presence and engage diverse audiences. As music artists continue to wield substantial influence and garner massive global followings, their ability to connect with fans makes them highly attractive partners for brands.
In this report, they explore endorsement deals and social followings for trending artists, brand endorsements by genre, brand opportunities, and so much more.
:: DIVE IN | THE INTERVIEW ::
EAON PRITCHARD, CSO AT BRAY & CO
>> Eaon Pritchard guest curated Strands on June 6th. Read it here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what keeps you busy. How did you end up doing what you’re doing today?
I kinda blundered into advertising, in fact until I was about 30 I'd never even done a real job. I went to Art School and used to DJ at parties there and then around 1988 when I was in my final year the whole balearic/acid club scene sprang up so I did that pretty much full time and DJ'd all over the place until about '96. During that time me and a couple of mates started a record label. Someone had to design the labels etc and it landed on me because I'd been at art school. I had to learn how to use a mac so that led to becoming a designer too. Then in about '99 my wife got a job in London so we moved there and I got into web design at the tail end of the bubble. A few years into that the ad 'blogosphere' and I met a bunch of planner types (including Faris) through that, discovered consumer psychology via Mark Earls and the Predictably Irrational book and I was off. I'd found my thing. Better late than never. In hindsight ta turning point was at the very early incarnation of Weapon7 in London. I learned a lot from Mark, Steven and Simon and we were a proper maverick agency. The kind of stuff you can do when there's only five or six of you. I got headhunted for BBDO in Melbourne and have been in Australia ever since. Ive done the rounds of Head of Strategy at the big agencies but never really got on with it if I'm honest, I'm not good at being told what to do or being handed down planning models to follow. These days I work with Bray and Co which is based in NY and California but I work totally remotely and just make a few trips out through the year. It's much more like the Weapon7 days, we do what we like.
What excites you most about what you do?
I'm generally quite nosy about stuff so its good to have to keep learning about new categories. It's all transferable to life so because I can get up to speed quickly with things I know nothing about I can apply that in other areas. I'm teaching myself quantum physics for fun.
What beliefs define your approach to work? How would you define your leadership style?
I've got a lens for looking at problems which is applied evolutionary psychology. It's such an elegant theory that pretty much explains everything about human behaviour. Once you know what factors are really motivating people then its easier to manage up and down. As the old saying goes, people have two reasons for anything they do. The good reason and the real reason.
What has been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on and why?
The funniest one was a road safety ad that I did for a government department here, which then got banned by another government department for being too popular. There was a song in it with a beeped swear word. All over the state the kids in schools were singing it in the playgrounds (using the f-word) and it got pulled because of complains by parents and teachers. Its effectiveness was its downfall.
We are big believers in diversity -- Not only because we believe in equality, but because we also think it’s better for business. How do you frame these kinds of conversations, both internally and with clients? Is there an emphasis on action, or are the conversations really more about communication?
Diversity is good and necessary. Unfortunately its management is neither. DEI needs serious reforming as its just become a make-work racket for a particular managerial class to maintain control over the socio-economic structures, rather than as genuine efforts to address social inequality.
Switching gears a bit, how do you find time to balance personal interests with your career? Do you believe work/life balance is possible? Anything you’ve implemented that you recommend that others try?
If you get the chance to work remotely in a different time zone then grab it. I can more or less please myself when I get stuff done and I'm not subject to the tyranny of pointless meetings that you get in an office environment. Even just eradicating commute time gives me more time to do stuff that I like. I just need to figure what it is I like.
What’s your media diet? Where do you find inspiration?
I try and avoid news as much as possible. It's poison. I do allow myself a bit of junk food on Twitter (I'll never call it X) but most of my media consumption is reading books, to be fair. I like psychology, philosophy, biographies and factual stuff. No input, no output.
What’s the best piece of advice/knowledge you’ve stolen, and who/where’d you steal it from?
'Don't stand on the outside looking in, stand on the outside looking further out.' - Bill Drummond
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Spend more time understanding the unspoken rules and power dynamics of your workplace. Observe how decisions are made, who influences them, and how people communicate and interact.
You can keep in touch with Eaon on LinkedIn.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie | your friends over at geniussteals.co
(still want more? @faris is still “tweeting” while @rosieyakob prefers instagram stories)