How Entropico are Merging Brands with Entertainment
Entropico’s founders Erin Moy and Harry Hunter are friends from high school who parlayed their sharehouse spare room side project into a global creative company with 30+ full-time staff.
Now, their clients include Google, Samsung, and Adidas, they have offices in Sydney and LA, and rest Webbys, Spikes, AWARD pencils, and a Cannes Lion on their office mantel.
Entropico has a fresh and diverse lineup of commercial film directors and photographers on its roster. Their debut feature film – ONEFOUR: Against All Odds – is currently beaming into living rooms across the globe on Netflix.
LBB> As founders of Entropico, how would you describe the unique creative vision and approach that sets your company apart in the advertising and entertainment industry?
Erin> Our work takes many forms – from traditional advertising executions like TVCs and billboards, to experiential projects that harness new virtual production technologies and make viewers ask, ‘how did they shoot that?’ and stripped-back documentary work – but we are always trying to create pieces that fit our ethos of offbeat, energetic and relevant.
Harry> The signal to noise ratio is high for everyone at the moment, screens, ads, platforms, images, audio and video coming at you all the time. We want to help tell stories that push through this deluge and connect with viewers – for brands or as entertainment. The fundamentals are the same: good narratives, intriguing aesthetics and a distinct point of view.
LBB> Entropico moves between advertising and entertainment. Can you share some examples of projects where you successfully merged these two worlds and their impact on connecting audiences to brands?
Erin> You should always have entertainment front and centre when creating advertising work. Still, a project that blends the two verticals in a more traditional sense is YouTube Game On – a two-hour livestream experience we created for YouTube to celebrate the diversity of their rich gaming culture. It got more than 8 million weekly streams and 38,000+ comments per minute in live chat (with 95% positive sentiment). And picked up a couple of Webby awards, too.
Harry> Audiences more than ever want you to value them. If you happen to get their attention, don’t squander the opportunity. Give them something they might love (that gets the message across, too). Our work with Square Australia that aired in 2023 blended doco, TVC and improv comedy modes to hold the viewers’ attention across socials, TV, billboards and a long-form online component. The campaign allowed the audience to dig further into the world of Square if they wanted to.
LBB> With offices in Sydney and Los Angeles and a global network of freelancers, how do you maintain a cohesive, creative culture and collaborate effectively across different locations?
Harry> We often return to this idea of “great work in a great workplace”. That doesn’t just mean having a friendly office (although we do love our Sydney HQ and our just opened new LA office), it means creating and working together in respectful, honest and powerful ways. Whether in a pitch, a high-pressure production environment or moving mountains in post – the environment shapes the work that comes out of it. Better environments equal better work.
Erin> We’re children of the internet generation, so remote collaboration comes naturally. (The pandemic offered a fertile training ground for that, too). Our two offices are very connected, culturally and creatively, and also in a practical sense. Most of our US projects are picked up by the Sydney office for post-production as our AU HQ is where our edit, animation and sound teams are.
LBB> How do you ensure smooth operations and effective project management within Entropico's multidisciplinary teams?
Erin> Growing our full-time lineup of 30+ multidisciplinary creative and technical teams and a dream team of specialised freelancers we collaborate with often has led to smoother operations and better work. Our familiarities and shorthands lead to better processes, more space for experimentation under one roof, and pushing the boundaries regarding craft and new technologies. We have some A+ EPs and account directors who know how to work in step with the clients to ensure what we are producing is effective.
Harry> We are also fierce believers in the transformational power of technology. The power of new workflows and processes are essential for our teams to work more brilliantly and go further. Whether it’s a new way to absorb invoices for the finance team, or a real-time 3D live composite on set, it doesn't matter. Innovation pushes creativity, no matter where you work at Entropico.
LBB> Entropico's work harnesses new technologies and pushes creative boundaries. Could you share some examples of how you've utilised innovative technology to enhance storytelling and create impactful experiences for audiences?
Harry> What excites us is the moment of connection with a viewer – an unexpected emotion, a comment, or a driving action. The tools and technologies are in service of that, and as long as they serve the storytelling rather than crowding or hiding it, we’re open to experimenting with most new tech.
Erin> We got our start in music videos, which have very lean budgets, so we have always leaned into new technology and crafty production practices to stretch our resources – whether simple ideas executed really slickly or leaning on tech like Unreal Engine. We often break the traditional workflow rule books, too.
LBB> How do you foster strong relationships and effective collaboration with your clients and agency partners to deliver exceptional results?
Erin> Strong communication, a great sense of humour, and problem-solving in mind at every turn.
Harry> Trust, humanity and excitement. We want our partners' trust so that we can have the privilege of doing work together, and we want to trust our partners to hold us accountable and be the most knowledgeable guardians of the brand. We want to help the people that we work with make great work. And we want to do it all with a tone of excitement because creating things is bloody fun, and anyone who tells you otherwise is in the wrong industry.
LBB> Entropico works across various creative disciplines, including film, photography, branding, design, experiential, and post-production. How do you ensure that your team maintains high expertise and craft across these different areas?
Erin> We have specialists in different disciplines, rather than jacks-of-all-trades, and the artists on our film and photography rosters all have a unique voice and way of executing, so while each project looks different and may come from a different medium, it’s all executed slickly.
Harry> It's relatively simple for us: a great team of key specialists with a great connection to their craft, working together to make work more significant than any single input.
LBB> Can you share any upcoming or recent projects you're particularly proud of or excited about? What were the challenges and rewards of working on those projects?
Erin> We recently released our debut feature on Netflix: ONEFOUR: Against All Odds. It got to #2 on Netflix and received amazing press and a minutes-long standing ovation at SXSW last year, so that’s definitely one we are proud of. The film was four years in the making and marks the beginning of a new arm of our business: Originals, where we will be focused on developing and producing long-form content. So stay tuned for more where that came from.
LBB> Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for Entropico in terms of growth, industry impact, and pushing the boundaries of creativity in the advertising and entertainment space?
Harry> As the boundaries continue to blur between ads and entertainment, we are poised to push into bigger screens and new territories. Shaped by our Australian creative ethos and imbued with our LA team’s boundless optimism, the future looks bright. We look forward to further challenging what is possible at the edge of technological development while crafting narratives that enthral viewers and capture attention.
Erin> We’ve always been focused on finding and fostering exciting and diverse voices in entertainment and advertising and shaking up those industries for the better. Our creative roster of directors and photographers doesn’t look like many others, and we’ve always tried to challenge the status quo of who gets to make advertising work. We’re also just about to officially announce the launch of our Originals Arm – something we have been developing for the last few years.
