Johnell GipsonFor the most part, when you think of Atlanta’s creative scene, the music industry is the first thing that comes to mind. For decades, Atlanta has been known as a hub for artists, producers, and industry executives. However, when it comes to other creative industries such as media, fashion, and marketing, Atlanta is typically an afterthought. Six Degrees, an Atlanta-based full-service creative marketing agency, is ready to change that narrative.
For the last two years, Six Degrees has been putting their creative stamp on artist experiences, brand campaigns, and experiential activations in Atlanta and beyond. From hosting Gunna’s Drip or Drown 2 album-listening experience at the Georgia Aquarium to creating a pop-up ‘Hotlanta’s’ chicken wing restaurant to promote Future and Drake’s chart-topping single, “Life is Good,” founders Desmond “Dez” Attmore and Brian “BWright” Wright have been on a quest to challenge the status quo in creative marketing.
The two began their careers as brand managers and marketing executives for Mike Will Made-It’s Ear Drummer label imprint, developing artists such as Rae Sremmurd and handling the label’s promotional endeavors. In 2018, they branched out on their own, fueled by the desire to build a creative agency from the ground up.
In just two years, the 29-year-olds have worked with major brands such as YouTube Music, Google, Red Bull, Puma, Soundcloud, A24, Hendrick’s Gin, and more. But their expertise goes far beyond producing immersive experiences; they also specialize in branding, product design, influencer marketing, and content production. By relying on their expansive music industry Rolodex and maintaining strong ties to the creative community, Dez and BWright have established Six Degrees as a one-stop-shop for global brands and artists.
Perhaps even more compelling than their work is their story: They’re two Black Morehouse graduates transplanted from New York City that bet on themselves and forced their way into an industry that’s historically lacked equal representation. It’s only fitting that the duo have built their foundation in Atlanta, a city with a rich history of innovation and success for Black Americans. And while the journey to building a globally-recognized brand may be long and arduous, it’s where all the glory is. Dez and BWright are embracing the journey.
Hotlanta’s chicken wing pop-up
For those who aren’t familiar with your agency or what you guys do, how would you describe it in layman’s terms?
Dez: Six Degrees is a full-service creative agency founded by me and BWright. I think what it is, is that we’ve taken everything that we’ve learned from the past 10 years of our lives and all of our creative experiences and put them together to build this agency. So we focus a lot on branding and designing, which is something that BWright is really strong at, experiential activations, which means working with different brands and different artists to bring them closer to their consumers and doing it in a refreshing and unique way. I think we are also extremely strong in terms of content creation and just strategizing, whether that’s like an album rollout or just like a product drop, whatever that may be.
Where did the inspiration for the business come from?
Dez: Years ago when we were interning, we thought it would be cool to one day start our own creative agency, but we got busy with music management and music marketing. When we got to the tail end of that, we had conversations about going back to creating our own, what we were always good at. We were talking, and then we put our notice in, that we were going to focus on ourselves. Six Degrees was originally supposed to be a photo project for our client, Gunner Stahl, that was going to be turned into a zine. It was based on the “six degrees of separation,” where we’d wrap cameras and give them to different people in the industry, like Post Malone’s manager. We would get exclusive content back from them and dump it all into a photo magazine, showing how we’re all connected. But instead, we flipped the branding and used it for our business.
What does the phrase ‘six degrees of separation’ mean to you?
BWright: It’s the theory that through six or more connections to other people, we’re all connected. I think the name really embodies all of our experiences and everything we’ve done professionally. We’ve always been the ones that connect people and bring everyone together or know the right person to reach out to to get things done. We don’t do everything, but we’ve been able to wrap up a whole network of creatives and influencers and give a different perspective for marketing and selling products.
Many classic streetwear enthusiasts are familiar with the clothing line the two of you operated in the early 2010s, Kreemo. They may not know that you two were behind it, but that was a very influential brand that some big names were wearing at the time. Can you talk about how that brand kickstarted your creative careers?
BWright: I started Kreemo when we were still living in New York, then came down here for college. I met Dez during the first week of school, and he had his own clothing brand. We decided to blow Kreemo up down here, and just locked in. Came up with marketing strategies, sales processes, design, content. Pretty much all of the things we do for businesses now. We received a lot of exposure in a bunch of different markets overseas—Japan, South Africa, Denmark, different places. The recognition from different celebrities and artists made it a stepping stone into a lot of future work.
What connected the two of you when you first moved here and started at Morehouse?
Dez: Our first time connecting, I don’t even think we spoke. We stayed on the same floor in our dorm, but I remember seeing BWright would have on BAPE shirts and watches and figured he was from New York. I just think being from New York you have that go-getter mentality and [you] attract that, so we were quickly able to realize we had the same interests and decided to bring it together and create something.
So that’s what kicked down the door for you to get going, but how did that transition into you both working with Mike Will Made-It?
BWright: My homie Byron Wright, who used to work at BMI, he introduced me to Mike at Big KRIT and Curren$y’s Smoker’s Club tour. I had gone to drop off some clothes for Curren$y, and that’s when he introduced us. I had already heard of him from Rick Ross’ “Tupac Back” record, so he connected us. He needed someone that could make designs, do logos, and wanted to link up. I got his info and the rest is history; I got to work making his album covers, taking his photos, creating his logos, working on his videos. I was 20 when I met him, so I was still in school. He couldn’t really pay me at the time, but I nurtured the relationship and made it official when he got his label deal from Interscope.
Dez: The first artist that Mike signed was Two-9, so we were doing co-management for that. But then he signed Rae Sremmurd later down the line. They were already established, but they were working on this idea called SremmFest, a music festival. They were trying to do a festival, I was trying to do a festival, so it seemed like the perfect way to get experience. That was my first project with them. From there it evolved to day-to-day marketing management, hitting the road, that type of stuff.
What were the biggest lessons you learned during those times?
Dez: That period taught me a lot about the word “leverage.” When BWright started working with Mike Will and posting photos with Miley Cyrus, people saw that type of stuff and started answering our phone calls and emails. When I was controlling brand partnership deals for Sremm and handling their tour responsibilities, it gave me a chance to leverage other opportunities. I think for anybody that’s looking to do anything, if you can be attached to an official situation on top of what you’re already doing, that’s the way for you to kickstart where you want to go. You have to use your opportunities as leverage.
BWright: I learned that the most important thing with management and marketing is managing expectations. Have clear expectations with clients, just so you know you’re on the same page. You want to make sure that everything you’re doing is impactful, and that people know exactly what you’re doing; that creates visibility. People need to know what deliverables that you worked on, so you can put points on the board and build up your resume.
Do you have a most memorable moment from your time working in the music industry?
Dez: For me, it was The Weeknd’s Starboy tour. That was the best time I’ve ever had. I got to link up with Cash, who manages the Weeknd. Traveling city to city and watching the shows, watching the production, I learned so much. Even linking up with some of the top people in XO—whenever they did anything, they always involved me. I wasn’t tour managing, but they looked at me as a manager.
BWright: I would say the whole process of getting Rae Sremmurd established, leading into the release of their first album. It was so cool to work on the project when nobody knew about it. We got to the point where it’s done, and then we push a couple of records out. They explode, then we go further and push the album out, and it only goes up from there. Working on the music videos, the artwork; that was one of the best times for me.
When you decided to transition into the agency world, what was that first year like?
Dez: The first year was us trying to understand what we wanted to do. We were fortunate to have some big brothers that brought us some opportunities out of the gate with some big brands. It allowed us to make money and allowed us to build awareness and get a buzz. It was the same as it is right now; we’re trying to figure out who to work with, who we can call, just figuring out more to do. You have to work and experience more to understand where you lack.
What do you feel it is about your perspectives as young Black creatives that makes you unique from other agencies, especially when working on projects such as experiential activations with Atlanta United or Gunna’s album release event?
Dez: We’re one of the few agencies that’s actually living what we’re selling. Others study what they sell. We’re still young enough that we’re actually experiencing what we’re selling. We’re not cold emailing influencers to get them on board and work with us. We’re going to call our friends who are the influencers and getting them to show up and support.
BWright: I feel like a lot of agencies don’t really have a fanbase. Their fanbase is business to business, while we’re an agency that brings awareness to the regular consumer that there are agencies actually doing the events you like and selling campaigns for the everyday person. A lot of the time, these agencies are coming up with a lot of these cool concepts, but people are looking at the company they’re servicing, not knowing the ideas are coming from the agency. But that’s the difference—people are finding out the cool things that brands are doing through us. We are the culture.
Why is it so important for brands to work with an agency run by Black people?
Dez: You have to have Black agencies because everyone is selling Black culture. You can’t sell Black culture if you don’t have Black people as a part of the conversation when you’re curating your project. That’s why you see these campaigns with major brands get blown out—because they don’t have a person in the room that can speak on our behalf and represent us correctly. I also think that as the women’s empowerment movement continues, we don’t want to be weeded out. Most of the up-and-coming agencies we see now are women-owned because women get shit done. I want people to also look at us and say “Wow, those are two men that get shit done.” There’s no battle between men and women, but we do want to switch the narrative.
Why is it so necessary to have a creative agency headquartered in Atlanta?
Dez: It’s important because we’re creating a safe space for brands and artists to understand that you don’t have to enjoy Atlanta from the outside in. Everyone loves our culture from what they see on the internet, but brands aren’t necessarily coming here to spend dollars. We’re helping them understand how to navigate this market, tell their stories, and show up correctly. We’re showing them that you don’t have to bring in an outside agency to activate in Atlanta.
What’s next for you guys?
BWright: Just expanding our client base, and locking in key clients that will take us to the next level. We want to show our growth and our bandwidth for the longer term. We want to have a couple of clients that we take on a journey for a year or two, and show some hardcore results through our capabilities.
More Info
Web: sixxdgrs.com
Facebook: @sixxdgrs
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Twitter: @sixxdgrs