With partnerships with brands such as Itaú, Mercado Livre, Sallve, AFROPUNK, Heineken and Magalu, ARTH shares details about the project @eolor
Arthur Anthunes, or ARTH, as he is better known, is from Santa Rita de Cássia, in the west of Bahia. Content creator, journalist, podcaster and entrepreneur, he is the founder, presenter and face of @eolor, which today is a platform for entertainment, news and digital content on the most varied segments, such as music, cinema, television and pop culture.
With award nominations and partnerships with several brands such as Itaú, Mercado Livre, Sallve, AFROPUNK, Heineken and Magalu, ARTH recently signed a contract with the Banca Digital agency.
In the following interview, ARTH tells us a little more about the beginning of his career in communications, the beginning of the @eolor project, among other topics.
How did you get started on social media?
It’s interesting because, despite all the difficulties, I studied my entire life to be an engineer. I come from a reality where opportunities are scarce and I never imagined it would be possible to work in communications or the internet. I never saw any examples around me. Everything changed in 2020 with the pandemic. I was graduating and had no job prospects. I think that like everyone else, I started using the internet more during the quarantine and started writing in an unpretentious way about things I like, music, movies, television, always highlighting black productions. Time went by and I realized that there was a space to talk about pop culture with this Afrocentric perspective. I am a black man and I saw many people identify with my musical texts about Beyoncé. And here, she occupies an interesting space. I started my career writing about Beyoncé, dissecting her albums on social media, sharing ideas and I expanded to other great black artists in the mainstream. A turning point was when I wrote a text on Twitter (X) about Elza Soares’ legacy and impact, and she saw it, followed me, shared it, thanked me and called me ‘my love’. It was very moving. Later, IZA started following me, Negra Li, Erika Hilton and so many others that I admire.
Today the @eolor profile is an entertainment platform. How did this project start?
After gaining an audience on Twitter, I also started creating on Instagram. I remember my first followers and my first posts. My initial idea was to create a humanized entertainment profile, like a magazine, highlighting black productions. I wanted a name that was short and strange, because in my head it would make people remember it more easily, and that’s when I came up with “eolor”, derived from Aeolus, the god of winds in Greek mythology. I’ve always loved those things. I had an idea that just as Aeolus’ wind carried things, my “eolor” would carry information. After that, I used some engineering knowledge to create my website myself. I did the layout, SEO strategy, domain, hosting, sections and, little by little, between mistakes, successes and some tutorials on YouTube, I started creating and sharing content. I did it all by myself and I’m proud of it because I learned a lot.
What are the main results you have achieved because of the platform?
@eolor has completely changed my life. If before, due to the difficulties of life, I couldn’t see myself as a communicator, now I can only see myself as that. There were achievements and results in different scenarios. From a professional point of view, I grew a lot, I won spaces, partnerships, and developed my brand from scratch. Today I can say that @eolor is one of the biggest entertainment profiles in Brazil. I have been elected one of the most influential black journalists on the internet, I have received nominations for awards, I have been invited to give lectures, but what makes me happiest is receiving messages from students, especially black students, or teenagers saying that they are inspired by my work and my trajectory. It is surprising and a true dream, when I see names like IZA, Hugo Gloss, Negra Li, Marina Sena, Duda Beat, Tatá Werneck and so many other famous people sharing and interacting with my work. When I see that companies want to work with me because they trust my writing, my script, my ethics and image, it is exciting. Ludmilla once sent me a DM inviting me to Numanice, and I cried so much with emotion. I have worked with Itaú, Mercado Livre, Sallve, AFROPUNK, Heineken, Magalu and many other brands that I admire. I think the main result is having this perception that I built my career with a lot of effort, basing my work on originality, representation, ethics, commitment and responsibility.
How do you see the relationship between your origins and your current work? What are the impacts?
This is such an important question because @eolor is an extension of who I am, of what I believe, which is why it has my face on the profile. Because in addition to humanizing and bringing me closer to those who follow me, it is also a reflection of what I believe and the difficulties I went through to get here. I am a black, gay, northeastern man. I know how difficult it is to wake up and not be sure if there will be food, because I lived through this with my family for a long time. I have lived in a mud house, a canvas shack, and I had to leave home at the age of 15 to get better education opportunities, working and dealing with the difficulties of the world from an early age. I have always seen education as the only tool capable of changing my trajectory, and that is what happened. Inevitably, even though I work in entertainment, these themes permeate my perception of the world. Blackness occupies a very important space in my work. From the beginning, I set out to create a platform with a careful eye on the black community, which is why today my audience is mostly black, because this sense of identification has happened and will always happen.
You recently signed a contract with Banca Digital. How was that process?
I signed a contract with Banca Digital in March of this year and the invitation came from Murilo Henare, who is the agency’s CEO. It was a dream come true and a very respectful and ethical process. Throughout the negotiation, I felt incredibly welcomed and a desire for growth on both sides. In this diffuse industry that is the internet, marked by numbers and the unbridled search for engagement, I felt that Banca Digital prioritized the quality of the content I offer and the safe and healthy environment I have built over the years. This gave me confidence. I am very grateful to Murilo because for the first time I felt that my work was in the hands of people aligned with the type of content I create. Always aware of what is trending and how this can be organically incorporated into production and connection with brands.
What are the main changes that occurred after signing with Banca Digital?
The main change was that I was able to focus on content production, leaving all the negotiations with brands and clients to Banca Digital. This helps a lot because it gives me space to think about growth strategies. More than that, Banca Digital offered me support in different scenarios, helping me with healthy journalism, communication and strategic positioning practices. I have never experienced this level of care and attention to agency clients in another company. I have complete confidence that the team is committed to applying best practices to ensure the success of projects.
What are the impacts of signing with an advertising agency?
I believe the main impact is credibility. A renowned and innovative agency like Banca Digital choosing me to be part of its casting is a huge deal, and in my opinion, it gives a good image to brands and companies. In addition, all the knowledge, project management and time saved are points of impact that I consider important.
What are the main challenges encountered with the @eolor profile?
The main challenge today is to grow in a healthy way, away from sensationalist publications or those that encourage gratuitous hate. It took me a long time to build a safe community and I intend to continue doing so even with all the algorithm variations, which is another challenge. We produce an average of ten pieces of content per day, with care taken with the text, layout, video creation, images, script and editing. This meticulousness around content creation is something that I consider fundamental and makes all the difference for my audience.
How do you see the relationship between content creation for the @eolor profile, the influencer market and the advertising market?
I believe that the advertising possibilities with @eolor are diverse. Firstly, because it is a humanized profile, I can share my points of view organically with my community. In addition, I cover everything that is highlighted on the internet in a broad way. This way, I have the flexibility to cover events, present products, share my impressions and tell interesting and positive stories. I can also publish static posts about the news of certain brands, keeping the content always relevant and interesting. I see a very promising future for the advertising market, because @eolor works as a large showcase, with enormous reach and high-quality deliveries.
What are the next steps?
Growth. The next steps will be focused on healthy growth and maintaining the quality that has helped me get to this point. In the future, we are thinking of hiring new professionals and expanding our presence on other networks. We are also planning other formats for interacting with the public, such as podcasts and long videos.
