Own It

In this episode, we’re talking to Nina Stanley of MOD. Her Philadelphia-based agency does amazing work around brand storytelling, strategy and creative, but is rooted in the study of consumer behavior, neuroscience and the psychology behind what makes advertising work. That’s a long way from starting her professional career as a ballerina. We talked about that very unique career path and how its t...

Today, we’re talking to Sam Laubach and Meghan Martin from Here & Now Creative Co. The two are actually cousins, so they run a family business. They didn’t start out as collaborators, though. And I love their origin story. Meghan texted Sam one day and said, “Why don’t we just start our own agency?” YES!!!! They’re both designers, though each with a different approach to creative. Their firm speci...

Today, we’re talking to Lisa Slagle from WHEELIE! Her firm specializes in video-centric campaigns and rebrands, but they say their creative is for people who thrive outside. As you might expect, she deals with a lot of clients in the outdoor industry. She’s an avid outdoor enthusiast like me. And being in Colorado helps her with that endeavor. She skis, snowboards, hikes and also has the experienc...

Today, we’re talking to Carrie Kerpen of Likeable. Her agency was one of the early firms to lay claim on social media expertise and her business exploded with the trend. But she says that early and fast growth covered up a lot of problems she had to work through and learn from. Carrie tells us about the power of having a clear vision for your agency and why you should think about selling your agen...

Today, we’re talking to Stacy Durand of Smart Media Technologies. Stacy launched her own agency after years as the CEO of another.  Stacy comes from the media buying segment of the industry, which as you’ll hear, is very different in gender dynamics. That turned out to be quite empowering for her. Our conversation about what needs to change for more women to own agencies is not what you might expe...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  In this episode, we talk to Kate Black and Susan Betteridge from Pahnke.  I so enjoy hearing the stories of partnership and co-ownership, so having Kate and Susan on the podcast was exciting. And th...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  On this episode, we’re talking to Renee Miller of The Miller Group. She is a rare bird among advertising agency owners. She launched her agency in Southern California in 1990 – 33 years ago. Her age...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  In this episode we’re talking to Marissa Nance of Native Tongue. She spent nearly 30 years in the Omnicom family of agencies before taking the plunge into ownership just a few short years ago. But s...

Today, we are truly honored to learn from Carol Williams. She is perhaps most commonly known as the first African-American female creative director and vice-president in the advertising business. She accomplished that at Leo Burnett in Chicago in the early 1980s.  But she is more deeply known as a tireless pioneer and change agent, who has worked tirelessly to level the playing field in advertisin...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Marissa Shapiro from Martha. Her firm claims to develop brands from the inside out and does amazing branding work for its clients. We talk about her path to ownership, which...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Amanda Russell of Cream Studio. Her firm is based in Richmond, Virginia, and is a fantastic creative shop with specialties in 2D and 3D animation, illustration and design. Th...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today we’re talking to the dynamic duo of Salma Gottfried and Flor Leibeschoff of Beautiful Beast. Their agency started as a Hispanic-focused multicultural agency, but quickly grew into a dynamic cr...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Shannon LaBare of Purveyor Branding Co. She came up through the business as a graphic designer on the brand side of things. She spent time at Bolthouse Farms, then lead a cre...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  I’m Christy Hiler, owner of Cornett and today, we’re talking to Sue Kramer of Connecting Dots Guru. Sue is a filmmaker and screenwriter who proudly wears the title of creative disruptor. The first p...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Lianne Kim from Mamas & Co. She is a business coach for Mom entrepreneurs. A big part of her mission and her own business is setting priorities around family and being protec...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Jaime Ekman of the Stoltz Marketing Group. That agency was started by Ken Stoltz, Jaime’s father. So her path to ownership is a bit different than many agency owners. But it’...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  I’m Christy Hiler, owner of Cornett and today, we’re talking to Kate Wight of KW Content and Strong Brand Social. Katie’s journey to ownership is as unique as they come. She landed her first job bec...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Caitlin Masingill of Full Swing Public Relations. She hails from Boise, Idaho, and wanted to be a broadway actress before she found the wonderful world of agency life.  Now,...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Ashley Walters of Curiosity. She is another owner of a recent Ad Age Small Agency of the Year winner. Curiosity does such great work so I’m very excited to talk to her today....

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Haley Hunter of Party Land. Her firm was named the Small Agency of the Year in 2021 by Ad Age and all of us at Cornett love their work.  When Haley was in high school she was...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Elena Rivera-Cheek of Copy & Art. She came up through the copy side of that equation in the healthcare space thanks to a childhood expectation to become a doctor. But she fol...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Zihla Salinas of Conspiracy Theory. She is a self-proclaimed loud and disruptive personality who lets her full self shine. I love that so much and we talk about what that mea...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Laura Janness of Orchard. She is one of the agency owners that everyone I’ve talked to has said, “You need to have Laura on your show!” Well, today, we do! Laura looks to art...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Sophia Johnson of Alpha Business Images or ABI. Sophia calls herself a gatherer of people and is very focused on her family. But she extends that definition beyond her husban...

Hi and welcome to the OWN IT podcast, where we celebrate the growing number of (women and non-binary) ad agency owners and talk about buying out of the boys’ club of advertising, one agency at a time.  Today, we’re talking to Lauren Sweeney of Dotted Line. Her path to agency ownership is very different than most of us. She got started simply trying to help people grow their business. Her job befor...