Owen Brown

About Owen Brown

Owen is an award-winning director and creative director who\'s worked with Barack Obama, Jay-Z, Bob Moses, Google, Apple, Ed Sheeran, A R I Z O N A, SOFI TUKKER, Rema, ZHU, Stella Artois, Sofar Sounds, Ford, Delta, Crypto.com, Domino Records, Visa, Bud Light and Amnesty International. He’s worked in-house at top creative agencies like Anomaly, as well as in internal creative agencies at WME, SiriusXM and Budweiser. He’s won 20+ awards for his work at the Webby Awards, Clio Awards, SXSW and more. All of his wins are for projects that he directed, creative directed and produced, all at the same time. At SXSW, he\'s been a nominee for best music video, grand prize winner, film festival jury member and in 2024, official speaker.He recently built the biggest piece of land art in Arizona history while directing a music video for A R I Z O N A, a major band with over a billion Spotify streams. To bring it to life, he forged a partnership with the Navajo Nation government. It\'s the first time a major piece of land art has ever been created for a music video. In 2024, he won three Clio Awards for that A R I Z O N A project, becoming one of the year\'s biggest winners. He received two gold Clios and beat music videos by artists like Kendrick Lamar to win the top directing award of the year. The project also won two Webby Awards, including for Best Art Direction on the Internet, and was selected to be screened at TED2024, the flagship Ted Talk event. He’s the founder of CTRL5, a first-of-its-kind creative agency for artists. He started it to use his background working for Barack Obama\'s 2008 campaign, and creative agencies like Anomaly, to help artists create powerful visual worlds across their album rollout campaigns. He first helps artists develop a creative foundation and then creates content at an award-winning level around it, from album art to music videos.Instagram:@owenbrownycEmail him: o•••@owen-brown.comSee his work:

Experience

1. Founder & Creative Director

   Ctrl5

   Jan 2018 — Present · NY, US

   CTRL5 is a first-of-its-kind creative agency for artists. We work with musicians the same way creative agencies have traditionally worked with brands. We first develop a visual identity and then use it to make award-winning content, leveraging the same ideation and design processes found at places like Anomaly. Simply put, I took the agency of record model that brands have used to develop their most creative campaigns and applied it to album release campaigns for the first time. We start by helping artists develop a creative foundation, then build a world around it through music videos, album art, social media and beyond. We don’t just develop the creative, but also the strategy, marketing and partnerships. We\'ve worked with artists like Bob Moses, ZHU, Rema, SOFI TUKKER and A R I Z O N A, as well as labels like Warner Music, Epic Records and Domino Records. Through that process, I\'ve won 20+ awards at the Webby Awards, Clios and SXSW. Plus, I\'ve given every artist we\'ve worked with for the past five years their most successful music video of all time. At CTRL5, I work as a director and creative director for major artists, as well as brands. I\'ve directed commercials centered around music for companies like Delta and Stella Artois. Plus, I\'ve served as the creative director on campaigns that I\'ve developed for clients like Visa, Ford and Jameson.

Education

• The George Washington University

  B.A., Major: Political Science, Minor: English Lit, Journalism

  2007 — 2011

• Columbia University

  Master's of Science, Journalism