What Mocean Learned in 20 Years of Entertainment Marketing

There's no question that the agency world is in flux, yet there is ample opportunity for shops of all stripes to carve out niches that lead to success. For its part, entertainment marketing has evolved and changed rapidly. The early days of key art and trailers have transformed into more expansive campaigns with broader scope, refined scale and sophistication. And, as one may expect, the field is crowded and highly competitive. Yet, award-winning agency Mocean has managed to endure—in a project-based world—and thrive for 20 years by making adjustments, all while keeping true to its core. Adweek caught up with Mocean CFO Roshone Harmon and president Michael McIntyre to talk about how the agency has navigated so much change, yet remained a potent force in Los Angeles and beyond. Over the past 20 years, what has changed most? What has remained the same?Roshone Harmon: What's changed most is the number of competitors. There were very few traditional [movie] trailer companies, and now there's one on practically every corner. What hasn't changed is the expectation of excellent creative, because that's always on the top of the list. Michael McIntyre: What has changed most is how we communicate with audiences for entertainment—and how it's two-way. For the first half of my tenure in the business, we created stories and content that was pushed out, and that was it. What's stayed the same is we're just as excited [about the kind of work we do]. Out of your 20 years there, what projects stand out? What are you most proud of?McIntyre: That's a hard question, but what put our company on the map was the work we did for the film 8 Mile. We were a boutique entertainment marketing company with about a dozen of us. A former boss of ours moved to Universal and kept telling us we'd get some work. We figured we'd get something small. He asked me to watch this film called 8 Mile, and I was blown away by the film's potential. We worked on some of the marketing for that film—and the only thing I wish we had then was social media. Harmon: Anything with Brad Pitt. If you were starting an agency like Mocean from scratch today, based on what you learned over the past 20 years, what would you do differently? What would be the same?Harmon: The focus, without question, would be on social media and what that means for more traditional marketing. Our industry [still relies on] trailers and long-form and getting a message across in two minutes. Now, it's about capturing someone's attention in 30 seconds. McIntyre: I would start by bringing more diverse voices into the agency. It's a huge topic now in the agency world. I look back and, despite hiring some amazing talent of color, the industry didn't do enough to recognize that those voices would help our business but our clients' as well. It's a huge, missed opportunity that I would love to [change]. What was it like navigating the past year?Harmon: Everything became more intimate, even though we were separate and at home. The lack of in-person [forced us] to focus and hone in on what was going on. Plus, I saw our clients much more since we had to change our communication method. I'm proud of the way we managed the pivot to interact with and serve our clients. McIntyre: Advertising and entertainment have become so cutthroat and transactional. The pandemic and working from home forced us to slow down and focus on what matters both for clients, but particularly for our staff. One of the reasons I wanted to run a company was more for the personal connection, caring about people and helping them get the best work they can out of themselves. What excites you most about the next 20 years of Mocean?McIntyre: One of the things that the pandemic has caused to happen is a quicker convergence between traditional brands and entertainment. That's opened up a world of opportunities that Mocean—and undoubtedly other companies—have been seeking. Working on more long-lasting projects that span longer windows is exciting. Harmon: [The industry] talked about more equity and representation, and how to make this industry more diverse. I'd love to be able to say that Mocean is so diverse that it's not even a topic of conversation anymore.

The Future of Agencies

Mocean's Leaders Reflect on the Lessons Learned Over 20 Years in Entertainment Marketing

The agency celebrates two decades of constant change

Doug Zanger

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Doug Zanger