Great People: Introducing Adrian Bryers

Great State is nothing without the Great People who do the work.

We’re a motley crew of around 100 digital experts, split between London and Bristol, and everyone brings something unique to the table. To fit in at Great State you need to be a few things: passionate about what you do, open-minded and experimental but most importantly, to be one of us, just be yourself.

First up to the mark, Lead Strategist, Adrian Bryers…

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Adrian - one of the Lead Strategists at Great State. I attempt to dispense clarity around the needs of our client’s customers mostly using the subtle art of the PowerPoint chart. I can also be found wrangling marketing automation theory into practice for our clients and debating the finer points of measurement with anyone who will listen.

I have always been digitally minded, from my early studies in Computer Science to my early career in e-commerce. I moved between a number of agencies in the Greater Bristol area (even Swindon!) and gained experience across different industries including: automotive, FMCG, charity, B2B software and house builders. My time was split between building agency services and client planning - I started in digital media and ended up in digital strategy leadership.

I found myself leading larger and larger teams but I wanted to get back to the work; I find passion in working with client teams and focusing on those core challenges to make dreams come true.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment, I'm working on increasing the human connection in our Royal Navy CRM work; connecting user needs with curated content that reassures and resolves hesitancy. Along side this I am looking into a UK-wide view on privacy attitudes in Higher education - as campuses move to implement smart technology, how will students respond to greater data collection?

How do you know when you’ve produced something great?

There’s a tingle in the mind as the work is read through - for a planner/strategist this is often the finished report or slide deck. I also know I've done a good job when the client connects with the content and immediately ‘gets’ the purpose and point. The strength of a strategist lies with their ability to communicate their strategy.

What excites you about your work?

Often it’s the solving of a problem shared - I work very closely with all parts of a client group. Being able to collaborate, workshop around a problem or idea and then support the subsequent work stream is really pleasing. As a strategist I also get to push our agency perspectives - nudge us into a new understanding or point of view. It's not all Chat-GPT, but instead it's insights that could solve a common problem or an approach that would support meeting a client need.

What excites you?

I could be described as the King of Hobbies - I love to pick up a new skill/device/system quickly learn some of it then drop it and move on. Over the years I've tried out competitive BBQing, welding, 3D-printing, miniature painting, convertible car restoration, photography, beer making and whisky tasting.

I'm also an avid computer gamer, with time invested in both the PC master race and a collection of consoles. I had to move my arcade machine out of the house to stay married.

What attributes make a brand admirable to you?

To me, an admirable brand is one that is fully committed to its customers needs, protects the environment whilst pushing towards social equality and diversity goals.

What is the future of tech looking like to you?

We are hitting the buffers on a couple of norms over the last 50 years of tech - Moores Law is waning as the speed of computing power growth is no longer exponentially growing. Which means users (folk like you and I) have been insulated from the direct cost of tech expansion - Facebook and Google Search are free to use but with an indirect cost.

The next phase won't be about disruptor brands (Uber, Airbnb, Netflix), it will be about new underlying tech that will create disruption (LLM, True AI, actual 5G ubiquity). A more hopeful me looks to innovation in reusable and repairable tech, disrupting hardware consumerism and a leap forward in energy tech within the built environment.

Ask a question back. What do you want to know?

What would you actually use Chat-GPT for?

Want to chat strategy with Adrian? Get in touch.