Anthony Demetrius on The Relationship Between Brands and Society
HOW HE DOES IT, SEASON II, EPISODE 6
The topic he was presenting: the world of fashion, and the audience he was going to be presenting to: his parents.
Photography, Tai Hirayama
Words, Beck Salgado
VIEW GALLERY
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
From tight deadlines to juggling various projects for the sole purpose of maintaining the relationship between brands and society, The Public Relations industry continues to arouse the curiosity of many because of its ever-evolving nature and fast-moving need for adaptability.
Igee Okafor and Marcus Richardson discuss all the intrigue with H&M's Fashion/Celebrity publicist, Anthony Demetrius. Anthony breaks down the business of working in a press office while adapting to innovations in addition to industry challenges such as controlling stress and measuring success.
Having worked in the European and American PR landscape for the last few years, Anthony prides himself on educating brands to best support their wants, needs, priorities and culture.
A 19-year-old Anthony Demetrius nervously ran through his presentation one last time before giving it. The topic he was presenting: the world of fashion, and the audience he was going to be presenting to: his parents. This is how Demetrius, the child of two Jamaican immigrants started his path into fashion.
diversity means anyone that is different from you and I, so it’s not even just about the color of my skin
His parents were not convinced that fashion was a feasible career path to go down. Rather than capitulating, Demetrius instead wowed his parents with a presentation that convinced them to let him stay at NYU to finish his studies and go into fashion. “When you are an immigrant child you can only become a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer. You can’t do anything else,” Demetrius said when he recalled the pressures he felt from his parents.
Now on a never ending pursuit to prove his parents wrong, Demetrius is currently the fashion and celebrity publicist for H&M — a job he said his parents still don’t understand.
Simply being able to pursue the career he wanted isn’t the only place where being an immigrant child has affected Demetrius. He explained that even after making a career for himself and tasting some kind of success, he still feels a form of imposter syndrome.
“You are always going to be in these spaces where you meet people that are seemingly better than you…that can kind of make me feel like an imposter in a sense,” said Demetrius.
He also admitted that feeling so paired with the natural stress of his industry can cause him to feel overwhelmed at times, but to combat this, Demetrius uses perspective.
“I’m not a doctor, I’m not trying to cure cancer. I’m trying to get people to buy stuff, and that’s incredibly important, but I think it’s really good to have that perspective,” Demetrius also mentioned that he uses meditation to combat stress, “If I’m on a really tight deadline or I know it’s going to be a long day, I at least try to take that five minutes to meditate and just breathe.”
As for what can cause that stress, Demetrius said that seeing first-hand how much the industry has changed because of social media means he has had to adapt numerous times in his career.
He explained that social media has in some ways made it easier to market, but in other ways it has created almost too many paths to reaching an audience and it can be hard to decipher which one is best.
It’s all about authenticity, it’s important that these brands aren’t just being performative.
Demetrius also echoed what others in his industry are expressing, saying that with social media, there is an increased demand for authenticity from consumers.
“It’s all about authenticity. It’s important that these brands aren’t just being performative. It’s really easy to just put out a statement saying ‘we’re sorry’ but it’s important to show what actions you are taking to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Demetrius.
Following the murder of George Floyd last summer, Demetrius spoke about how that created a shift in attention to diversity within his industry and others.
“I don’t see enough diversity, especially for black men, but then again there aren't enough people of color in any industry,” said Demetrius.
He continued further to explain that in his experience when companies have a more diverse set of employees, especially in consumer spaces, that tends to be a very valuable asset.
“To me diversity means anyone that is different from you and I, so it’s not even just about the color of my skin,” Demetrius said, “It includes body size, financial status, disabilities and all of those things are put under that diversity umbrella for me.”
I don’t see enough diversity, especially for black men, but then again there aren't enough people of color in any industry.
THE BOND OFFICIAL PODCAST
ABOUT | How He DOES IT
The ‘How He Does It’ podcast establishes a relationship with its listeners by holding uninhibited interviews with various voices of male culture - from fashion, to lifestyle, the arts and more. Hosted by BOND OFFICIAL founder, Igee Okafor and Marcus Richardson, all episodes give listeners an inside look into the psyche of today's thought leaders highlighting all of what it takes to be on the up and up.
