How a Cultural Shift at MTV Created KUAMP, Advertisers’ Answer to Relevancy

If you don’t know how to pronounce KUAMP, then don’t worry – what’s important is the acronym’s meaning: “Keep Up And Make Progress.” It’s the call to action that underpins everything KUAMP does. 

Led by Antonio McDonald – who also goes by the moniker ‘Tronic’ when working as a director – the New York-based full-service agency and creative production studio hybrid is making a name for itself by using what Antonio refers to as the ‘core principles of progress’ – change and urgency – to create notable work for clients such as HP, Google, Nike and Microsoft.

For KUAMP, tapping into the cultural zeitgeist has been key since its inception in 2002, and seemingly second-nature for Antonio, who founded the company before playing an instrumental role in launching the careers of Kanye West, 50 Cent, and other household names while leading branded content at MTV.

When it comes to advertising, KUAMP’s fully integrated solution across mediums has lent itself to helping brands keen to tap into popular culture and the now, most recently seen in the studio’s work for HP – ‘First Day’ – which puts a fresh spin on what we expect from technology advertising. Antonio’s working knowledge of the Gen Z and Millennial demographics has helped clients reach this desired group through commercials, music, and most recently, PSAs. 

For F Cancer's 2019 colon cancer awareness campaign, 'Keep Joy Alive,' KUAMP recruited Grammy-winning music producer, Swizz Beatz, along with artists Jadakiss and Styles P to fuel awareness of the disease by citing the high risk of Black men and women being diagnosed with it "due to genetics, stigma, lack of healthcare coverage, and lack of trust in the healthcare system.” 

In the digital space, KUAMP has adopted a multi-disciplinary approach – using its unique voice and ability to connect with target audiences to spearhead the digital presence of brands such as the NBRHD Network, and create digital series like 'Future Legends of Rucker Park' with the National Basketball Player's Association (NBPA). Antonio has also used his MTV pedigree and expertise honed from creating original content with Vevo to secure KUAMP's standing as a branded entertainment specialist. 

LBB sits down with Antonio “Tronic” McDonald, founder and chief creative officer at KUAMP, to learn how the studio is helping brands stay culturally relevant, where the advertising world gets it wrong with talent, and how KUAMP is putting clients first when it comes to ‘fun, energetic, and exciting’ production. 

Antonio previously spent nearly a decade spearheading branded content at MTV; an early adopter of the format, and a key player in building the network's groundbreaking brand in the 90s and early noughties. 

KUAMP itself first began shortly before a group of MTV staffers assembled to work on Kanye West's 'Through the Wire' video – working late nights to bring it to life. ("Don't worry, they were cool with it," adds Antonio.) “We started because we felt no other place was offering what we would offer: cultural relevancy. We were a group of young people at MTV in these awesome positions across design, news, production, and promos.” 

To this day, the key to KUAMP’s formula is its ability to tap into what’s ‘culturally relevant’ – but what does that look like in today’s multi-cultural landscape? 

According to Antonio, it’s a case of adapting to what’s happening, learning, and not just focusing on the ‘relevancy’ aspect. “It’s more about the technical aspects,” he says. “Look at TikTok. I’m not necessarily on it every day, but someone on our team is an expert. They understand what it’s about. We’re spitballing and generating ideas together. It takes more than one person to build cultural relevancy.” 

The studio’s multi-platform approach is a core strength, adds Antonio who says: “We can create anything for anywhere.” Plus, they can do it quickly, compared to what Antonio points out as slower methods of content creation. “The agency world can move at a snail's pace – rightfully so when they're dealing with huge amounts of checkpoints and you want to make sure you're ticking all the boxes – so it makes sense. But with us, we can do one-off projects, as well as campaigns, and can be nimble and agile. We can move a lot faster,” says Antonio. 

Epitomising the studio’s approach to cultural responsiveness and the zeitgeist is its recent work with HP, for the launch of its Probook 600. 

Antonio tells LBB the brief was simple. “They just wanted to be able to connect with a diverse audience and create a human moment for the laptop,” Antonio tells LBB. “They let us run with it... With amazing collaboration of course. We came up with the idea, to show a relatable guy preparing and onboarding at his new job, and then we were able to go into production; I directed it and we produced it, did all the post work, the visual effects. And then it went out into the world.” 

 

Above all else, for Antonio, the key to creative work is in properly understanding the nuances of a client’s vision. So what does that look like? “Taking the brief and asking how it fits into the ecosystem of their world; having those conversations, and then crafting amazing stories,” says Antonio. 

For the HP spot, KUAMP added a touch of the unexpected – something he tells LBB is intertwined with the studio’s approach to engaging audiences. We see the young man on his first day at a new job drop his laptop on the ground – an unexpected move for a tech ad: “Yes it’s about the product, but it’s really about his day.” 

Unexpected moments are a common thread weaving through KUAMP’s portfolio, suggests Antonio. For Moms of Black Boys – a non-profit organisation providing support and information for mothers of Black boys and men – the studio created a short film ‘Tyler Gordon is Still a King’ telling the story of a young artist Tyler, who we see painting a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. “We see this young man painting in full profile, and then it takes a turn. The audience realises he’s telling the story of his disability, his obstacles, and we learn of what he’s overcome to be where he is now,” says Antonio. 

“PSAs are a difficult genre to get right,” says Antonio, who co-created, produced, and directed F Cancer’s 2019 campaign ‘Keep Joy Alive’ to raise awareness of colon cancer. The film brings together Grammy Award-winning producer, Swizz Beatz, Jadakiss, and Styles P – members of the hip-hop group, The LOX – who lost their close friend and fellow Ruff Ryders collaborator, producer Jay Jackson, to the illness two years previously. 

The key to a successful PSA, according to Antonio, is in making sure it’s highly considerate without being ‘preachy.’ As he tells LBB: “I don’t think we need to do it in a mundane way. Really, the way we talk about preventive illnesses should change – work like this contributes to this shift. It’s rewarding for us and for healthcare.” 

It’s clear that KUAMP is about taking productions further than traditional modes. According to Antonio, KUAMP excels at work that goes beyond the traditional modes of production, and hone in on 'people, organisations, and services – not just products.' He cites a recent project – in collaboration with the National Basketball Player's Association – in which the studio led the creative and production for the organisation's 'Future Legends' digital series, which he also directed under his moniker, 'Tronic.' The series highlighted the legacy of Rucker Park, the famed basketball court located in Harlem, New York, where aspiring pros and league MVPs have equal footing.

Antonio’s 20 years of experience has given him a bird’s-eye view of the industry’s evolution, as he tells LBB: “When I first started out, everything was about the 30-second ad. But that’s now changed. People are consuming their content, and their ads, in a different way now.” 

In this new age, Antonio and his team are equipped to meet brands' increasing demand for mini-series, digital content, or documentary-style branded content. In many ways, it's a full circle moment, as KUAMP now finds itself being approached to do work that was once met with skepticism.

While he admits that advertising's boundaries are wider now – thanks, in part, to the influence of the digital landscape and platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok introducing fresh ideas and talent – Antonio cautions this still might not be the case within agency walls. “One of the biggest things I found with the advertising agency world, in general, is that everything was so insulated, and they were always finding the same person talent-wise. I was surprised – you’re a creative entity, but you can’t think outside the box? But it’s an amazing industry! I see why they’d want to keep it boxed off, but now, things are starting to change.” 

He suggests ‘culture’ has perhaps become an unhelpful word. “It can make people think ‘Oh, well, culture is my friends, culture is what I do and what I like, right?’ But I don't think it really is. I think culture is really what's around you.” 

And the key to KUAMP’s work? “It has to have energy,” says Antonio. “Whatever it is, we should be entertaining as well as informative.”