Christy and Whit Hiler Full Episode Transcript:

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Hello, everyone. Welcome to Question Everything, a podcast all about learning from the successes and the failures of those who dared to, well, question everything. This podcast is part interview, part therapy, and part Price is Right. We even have our own game board stacked with questions that'll make even the most successful CMO sweat. I'm your host, Ashley Walters. CMO, and partner at Curiosity. On today's episode, I sit down with Christy Hiler and Whit Hiler, CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Cornette. Between the cocaine bear origin story and heartwarming relationship advice, today you'll learn the secret to 10-year client agency relationships and how you can buy Cornett’s best unsold ideas. So buckle up, y'all— this is gonna be a good one.

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Christy and Whit Hiler: Christy and Whit introduction

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Learn more about Cornett on their website

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00:00:56

Christy and Whit Hiler are the powerhouse duo driving huge growth for Cornett, the nationally acclaimed independent ad agency based in Lexington, Kentucky. Under Christy's leadership as CEO and owner, Cornett has claimed AdAge's Small Agency of the Year. Four times. And she was just named to Ad Age's Executive of the Year. She's also the force behind Own It, a movement dedicated to increasing women and non-binary ownership in advertising. Whit is Cornett's executive creative director. He's behind some of the agency's most talked about campaigns, including earning spot on Adweek's Creative 100 and being named the biggest weirdo in advertising. Christy and Whit, I am so happy to have you here. Welcome to Question Everything. Thanks for having us. Yeah. You made the trip. We're super pumped. It's a beautiful day. Love Cincinnati.

00:01:52

Thanks, man. I'm happy to help you. Love your agency. Beautiful spot. So nice. Thanks. What's going on? What's new? What's happening? What are you excited about? Anything coming up? Go for it. Um. I would say two things. One, we have been onboarding our new client at Nissen Foods, and that has been really fun, doing a ton of work there. There's like a bunch of opportunities. And we're just running around like chickens with our heads cut off to figure out how to like do it all. And it's awesome. You know, it's like rather be busy than not busy. I agree. Well, congratulations and good luck, it sounds like. On all the new business. Yeah. I was talking with a search consultant the other day, and I was like, I had to turn down an opportunity that I was really sad about.

00:02:44

And I was like, you know, we're just, we're just too busy right now to take anything new. And she said, 'Well, congratulations on that.' She's like, 'That's not the norm that I'm hearing right now.' So I love hearing that you guys are busy. The strength of our independence is important. Yeah. Love hearing that you all are busy. That's awesome. And winning. Go small agencies. Let's go. All right. So you guys know how this podcast works, right? I have a game board. It's stacked with 12 spicy questions. I love that I get you both here in the studio. I feel like you're on a lot of podcasts. You film your own podcast. One a week, I think I've been told. And so I think having you both here together is going to be a ton of fun.

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Christy and Whit Hiler: How Whit trademarked Cocaine Bear

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Learn more about Cornett on their website

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00:03:26

You game? Yeah, I'm game. All right, here we go. Who wants to go first? Okay, let's go four. We've got four kids. You do have four kids. Good, okay Whit you helped make cocaine bear a thing. You wrote this story, and you own the name I've heard, which is like talk about own it. I love that I want to know more about that so seriously, WTF What's going on? Tell us about this. Yeah. So I'm a partner in a souvenir brand. It's called Kentucky for Kentucky. It started off as like a side project. We tried to crowdfund a Super Bowl commercial for Kentucky. You were only like 3.3 million dollars short or something, yeah yeah we tried, but that was back when like Kickstarter was like you know, and then after that, we rebranded Kentucky without Kentucky's permission.

00:04:22

Unbridled Spirit was out, Kentucky Kicks Ass was in, and that was really fun. So we're this brand's kind of done a lot of weird and wacky stuff over the years and um we've always been really inspired by like Roadside America, and I would say also like The Greatest Showman, you know like the circus and roadside attractions and weird stuff. And so that, yeah, we knew about this story, uh you know, the Bluegrass Conspiracy which happened in Lexington. It was um like some drug dealers and back in the 80s, and this guy Andrew Thornton went down in a plane while, what do you call it? He had too much cocaine and money. Yeah. So his parachute. On the plane. Yeah. Smuggling drugs. And he was flying over Tennessee, and the plane went down.

00:05:21

He parachuted out. He died. His parachute didn't open, but the cocaine landed in the forest. And this black bear found it and ate the cocaine and died. And there was like a little like. You know, clipping from a New York Times article about it. Maybe a few other articles, Associated Press. But we got this bear. We named it Cocaine Bear. I didn’t write this story. Pablo Escobar. Yeah, we called him Cocaine Bear and Pablo Escobar. But Coleman Larkin, who's a senior copywriter at Cornette, which I've done a lot of weird and funny stuff with, he wrote this wild story. We put it out there, and it just became a legend. It grew, and it grew, and it grew, and you know, it's like on the front page of Reddit, like 10 times.

00:06:16

Joe Rogan's podcast, Sturgill Simpson, was talking about it, and Diplo was talking about it Diplo was talking about on a podcast. Just had all this press, and you know, nobody—everybody— was writing about it. Nobody was really like fact-checking the story or anything. So this legend grew. And then, yeah, eventually, they made that movie. I mean, I could go. I've got a lot of stories around this because we were actually in 2019, we trademarked the name Cocaine Bear. And we were already selling merchandise, shirts, and stuff. And trademarked the name for entertainment purposes. In 19? Is that what you said? In 2019. For entertainment purposes and then for goods. And we. We had an idea to do an animated series for Cocaine Bear. And then Universal announced they were making a movie, Cocaine Bear, with the working title Cocaine Bear.

00:07:16

And that killed our animated series. How? Like, how did they not have to go through you? You know, I think Rooster Teeth, like. They. Sell content to all the studios. I mean, I don't think anybody wants to piss off Universal. Did you need to collaborate with them or be a part of it at all? No, we license the name to them. Got some royalties— a little. A little bit. Yeah, a little bit. So, I mean, it's really cool to see something that, like, we created in Hype. And like, grew and grew to become like a movie directed by Elizabeth Banks. But the sad part of that story is that our dreams were crushed in the process. I think I would much rather. You know.

00:08:05

Be on season three of an animated series that's on HBO Max right now than you know. So. The timeline is interesting to me. I mean, it's a hard pivot to the cornet, but you bought cornet in 2020. Is that correct? So, like, right around this time, we had a lot— we always have a lot going on, yeah. Yeah. Did any of this, like, inspire you to own it? No. No. No, I mean, that was. That was just a whole other journey that was well underway. didn't really even have, definitely didn't have, anything to do with that. Nor did it really have anything to do with COVID and the timing of that. I had become President. Several years before that. And I think that was. Kind of an expected step within the agency.

00:09:05

More, I think people I don't know, we're far more comfortable with both— like me moving into President— and then also me buying it before I was. Yeah. Um, and actually, what I would say was more pivotal in both of those decisions was another part of Kentucky for Kentucky, though. And I would just say, 'Whit's career he has been on the creative 100 list, but a lot of the work through Kentucky for Kentucky really attracted— Um, one of both of our favorite agencies in this business, which is Wieden+Kennedy, and they came knocking for Whit. And this was 2015. Yeah, this was when I think everybody was expecting me to take over the agency. And I was getting more comfortable with it with that idea.

00:10:09

And then they came knocking, and that was probably the only agency that I would have entertained the idea at that point. Being just, I mean. I have always seen him as a creative genius, just the way his brain does not work like anybody else's, and it's like a beautiful mind in there. And that opportunity as a creative is just not one that I wanted to stand in the way of. We went out there. But I think in that process, we both felt— but Whit really felt like Thank you. Thank you. Let's go all in on Cornett instead. Any regrets? No. No. No. Never look back. No. Yeah. No. Would you? We love Lexington. I mean, I think it's, yeah, it's super rad. And I love that we're built.

00:11:07

Something in Lexington, you know, like what you all have built in Cincinnati or like Tombras and Knoxville. I mean, Cornett and Lexington. I think it's like. Like, let's do it here. Martin and Richmond. Yeah. Like, you know, it's I mean, there are you know, we're we're on an advertising island in Lexington and that has its own challenges. But I mean, I think Christy's network you know, like just we're networking more and more and going to those events and feeling a part of the community, and um yeah all right let's go back to the board that was good rambling rambling down history lane I love it all right let's go back to the board Let's go seven. All right, let's go seven. Christy, you have built a movement encouraging women to own it.

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Christy and Whit Hiler: When ownership stopped being a title and became part of Christy’s identity

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Learn more about Cornett on their website

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00:11:57

So take me back to the moment you decided to own Cornett. When did ownership stop being a title and start becoming a part of your identity? Oh, gosh. Well, I think I talked a little bit about when I decided to put all the chips in on cornet. But I like that second part. When did ownership stop being a title and start being an identity? I kind of feel like it. It is your identity from the beginning, like the moment you take ownership. You, I, I— I remember so clearly. Feeling the weight. It was very different from being President. The weight of the decisions. And especially in 2020, right? I mean, being responsible for, I mean we had we have you know.

00:13:04

Almost 60 people and their families, and no roadmap for how you navigate this successfully for them, for the businesses that we're responsible for, and we do feel. That weight of the responsibility. We are in it. With the brands that we partner with, with the people that are on those teams. For those brands, and you know, So it is a tremendous responsibility, and I did feel that almost instantly. Um and but I kind of love that, too. I don't know, like, because I think that. You have to be so choiceful and thoughtful. In every decision that you're making, because of that responsibility. And I don't feel like I'm by myself or like I can't figure out how to get to great decisions and the right decisions, because I feel supported.

00:14:05

I've got an incredible team at Cornett, but I also feel like I have an incredible community that I can turn to that understands the full weight. has carried it in similar ways or is willing to get in there and wrestle with, you know, whatever comes our way. Um, that's the identity I take is just the responsibility. I think I just read did you just hire a President? Well, okay. So we didn't hire her. Promoted? Yes. So actually, which is really, I love, I love this because Jessica was, she, Jessica Vincent is our president, and she and I were both at Cornett. And came to Cornett, I mean, about 25 years ago. She did. leave for a few years. Her husband was relocated to Florida. So she moved down there and worked at another agency.

00:15:15

But then came back. And when she came back, we connected. almost immediately and had been working for a few years to figure out like the right time to get her in and the right opportunity, and then it opened up and she was so pumped because at that. We had just evolved. In really great, like in ways that were meaningful to her. So when she came back, she wanted to come and join us and be a part of what we were doing. And I was, you know, just so eager to find the right spot for her. And so she came in, and Jessica's just, she is the most dedicated, like she is in the trenches with all of our clients and so into their business and just phenomenal like relationships.

00:16:07

It's awesome. Unbelievable. And. So as I moved from President to owner, uh, and really took more of the responsibility of looking up and out. Growth in my mind is only possible by keeping the relationships that we have as solid as possible. Like I'm not interested in. Adding and turning it while you turn your back on anybody who helped you get where you are— Um, Jessica and her incredible skill in being a great partner, she felt like the obvious choice to me to step in as President and just make sure that, as we grow and as we continue to evolve, those partnerships know that we are. Always going to remain loyal. And equally dedicated to them as we are to our growth. That's great. Congratulations.

00:17:14

So I'm guessing, for you, that means more time to focus on the vision and growth and things like that. Yeah. Yeah. And we work really well together too. So putting her in that position. It was an easy decision. That's great. I didn't think it was possible to love it as much as I love it now. You know, I just, I love the people. I love, love the people. I love where we're headed. I think it is more creative, more unique, just like I think it's endless. I remember my favorite. I've ever heard at Cannes, but maybe even anywhere, actually came from the president of Columbia who ran on the platform of creativity. And he said, 'You know, it's really the only unlimited resource.' Hmm. You know, like so many countries are.

00:18:18

Really fueled by limited resources, whether it's oil or, you know, like, but creativity is limitless, and it, but it is also so powerful. So I love, I love this. There's nothing in the world I would rather do because it's the combination of, like, the power of creativity, the fun, the natural nature of the work that we get to be a part of, but also just like, the genuinely impressive. People are so sharp, but also so good. Yeah. And connected like camaraderie. Yes. And it just feels like. Now, I don't know. It feels like so many people want success for each other in a way that I haven't seen in this business before. Yeah, I mean, I'm thinking about it on the way down here. Just the fact that, you know, you have this agency in Cincinnati.

00:19:20

And you're having this agency from Lexington, Kentucky come be on the show, you know, and give us a platform to talk about what we're doing. I mean, that's super cool. Yeah. I mean, you aren't going to see John Morgan from Morgan and Morgan and Morgan have that heavy hitter on his podcast, you know? Yeah. So it's cool. Yeah. All right, let's go back to the board. Two. Okay, so you recently rebranded the agency, which I would love to talk a little bit about. I have a beautiful cross-stitch logo up in my office. 

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Christy and Whit Hiler: What happens when you start treating your agency’s brand like a client’s

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Learn more about Cornett on their website

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Why should agencies treat their own brand like a client? And then why should clients care? Okay, I will definitely at least start. We have to treat our own-brand like a client because our people.

00:20:11

I think, for me, it was really just making sure that our brand represents who we are today. And. What's really cool about Cornett and I think my story, our story, is that we didn't start this agency— we bought the agency, and it's an agency that is, you know, over 40 years old, started in Lexington when I started there, you know, 25 years ago. Just a local. Ad agency. But really quickly had this vision that it could be anything we wanted it to be. Not just anything, I wanted it to be, but anything we, all of us, wanted it to be. And over the years, it really has evolved, as Whit said. He loves to study this. I love this business. We're like, we are just, we are students of.

00:21:11

this business. And I love it. But it's not just us. It's everyone at Cornett. I think that so much of what we have felt is like just this idea of constant growth, you know just like getting better and better. People ask us all the time, you know, what do you want to, you know, what do you guys want to be? What's your vision? Our vision is really pretty simple. We are so locked in on the work. We want to do the best. work. In this business, like for us, that is our motivator. We want—and which is why, you know, WIT is always, and everybody at the agency is always looking at the work in this business. And my job more now is: What do we need to do within the agency to get to that work?

00:22:12

And I love the balance. I love the balance of celebrating, as we were talking about right before we enter this room. I love to celebrate. All the great work that we have done and the things that we have set our minds on and accomplished. For ourselves, for the industry, I mean, just looking at what we have wanted to do, and see that, when you set your eyes on something like you can get it and early on— like I knew we could be something really great and we could do it. In Lexington, and give more people that opportunity to be a part of that, and not have to leave, you know. So, but I think the idea of Growth— just was a big piece of what we wanted to be able to communicate because we're always looking to get better as an agency.

00:23:09

But also better individually, you know, and so individual growth, but also the collective growth within the agency is just like a constant conversation we love to have. We love to look back every year and go, 'How much have we grown?' Like, I love looking back and almost being embarrassed by where we were and what we were doing, you know? And so I just always have, we have that mindset. The idea of growth, and that's where the natural element of our Venus flytrap and the plants, but also like thriving in environments that are really challenging, and getting super creative, and how you do that. But also. You know this. Most people know this about me and about us. Being female-owned, female-led, we're so proud of that.

00:24:13

Have such a passion for seeing more women in this industry know that they can do that, know that it is a possibility. And that they can step into that and be supported. You know, like we're planting a lot of roots. And we want to grow, we want to see our clients grow, but yeah, just like all the time, focused on. How do we do better work together as a team and get to the top in that way? That's what we're striving for. I love that. Were you part of the rebrand at all, I imagine? Yeah. Yeah. I love it. And, you know, it's funny. I've been at Cornett for 14 years. You know, we can look back on a lot of rebrands and, like, moments. Laugh at what we did and like, yeah, like.

00:25:05

which I think is really funny. The other thing I also think is funny with you know like agency stuff it just takes so long to get it done, you know because it's we have so much client work, and you know, so it's like, yeah. You want a new website next year? We should have started on that four years ago. Somewhere, my partner Jeff Warman is saying, 'Yes, I told you, Ashley.' It takes a long time. So I'm always like, 'We got to go.' I know. I know. So it's, 'Yeah, I was really happy to see that.' uh, in the wild and in use, and you know, we're always evolving our story, our offering, our positioning, and um, you know, getting better and better and clearer and clearer and more succinct.

00:25:53

But it's, I think there's also, you know, you've got a team, you know, that spends all that time on that rebrand and positioning and website and to see it come to life. And then that excitement, there's a lot of energy. I think it kind of gives a good kick of energy to the agency. So yeah, I'm super pumped on it. I'll tell one embarrassing story about curiosity. My team already knows what I'm going to say right now. But when I started the social media posts that went live. Pretty much the day I started was it was the right around Red's opening day. We're a big baseball town. And it was a picture of a grill out the agency was doing.

00:26:36

It was just like a bag of hot dog buns and like the saddest potluck lunch you've ever seen in your life. and I'm like, I'm like, okay, all right, so this is where we're starting. So we joke all the time because we put a lot of effort into our own brand, our story, and our social. But we often will go back to that photo and be like, 'All right, we've come a long way.' Yeah, totally. Proud of where we are today. Totally. Some of it is about the brand and the representation, you know, and as soon as I saw it at the whole team land, it was like. 'Yes.' That feels so right and so true. I loved your LinkedIn post about that. Yeah. But that's a piece of it.

00:27:21

I think the— equally important piece— is the positioning, right? Because as we talk about a lot of this new business, you know, that is opening up. Really being clear. On what value we bring, what our value proposition is, what business we are right and best suited for. Having clarity on that has been, I mean, honestly. So game-changing and saved us a lot of time. And helps us just like channel our energy into the right things and know that we can be successful. And it has. Proven to be successful, you know, like when you go after the right things. Again, setting your mind and your— it's like this amazing thing that my, that I have said so many times that the team just like knows that I'm going to say it.

00:28:18

Every year at, like, the end of the year wrap-ups or as we like charge into the next year like. It is amazing to me. The way and the amount of times. We have set our minds to something and just achieved it. Yeah. Couldn't agree more. It's like there's a manifest it. You put it on paper. You talk about it. You share it publicly. Everybody at the agency knows your aim. And then. Yeah. Funny enough, you can get there. I love that for you guys. All right. So I just want to get to know you guys a little bit more. We love to end the podcast with a little this or that. So you'll both will answer at the same time. Just the first thing that comes to mind. Ready?

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Christy and Whit Hiler: Closing remarks

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Learn more about Cornett on their website

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00:29:04

All right, here we go. A ski trip or a hiking trip? Hiking. Ski. Keeneland or Kentucky Derby? Keeneland. Keeneland. All right, we thought we'd get one of you. Okay, A &W or ALA1? A &W. A &W. Statement earrings or horse kicks statement earrings? Farm life or agency life? Oh. Whoa. Yeah, we don't have to pig. You don't have to pig. Yeah. Thank you guys so much for coming on the show. What's the best way for people to reach out to you? Me? LinkedIn. LinkedIn. I'm not as good at LinkedIn. The leadership team at Cornette always gives me a hard time. I need to like. Do more thought leadership and change my bio. Like you said, executive creative director. I'm now the.

00:29:51

chief creative officer but I haven't changed it on my Well there you go. Or my bio. That's kind of how I roll. That's amazing. But uh, yeah, email or we'll just we'll just have him call. I mean, I'm surprised that you got any information from him. Actually, I think I did put like it said—'enter your bio' and I read my bio, and then I was like, 'Let me get back to you on that' and then I never got back to you. All. And Christy was like, 'Yeah, you won't hear from it for a few weeks' and we're like, 'She's right.' Sorry about that. Or ever. I love it. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. This was a total blast. Yeah, thanks for having us. It's really fun. It's a great, great show.

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