Girlilla turns 10. A decade of girl power: how the Nashville advertising agency turned a simple idea into a major force in the marketing industry
What started as a simple idea in Nashville in 2007 has blossomed into one of the nation’s most successful and award-winning advertising agencies. And Girlilla wants to make it happen again with a second decade of doing what they do best: turn simple ideas into real brands. “Our vision and ethos is being a woman owned, independent, advertising agency,” said Ashley Moore, creative director, Girlilla. “It’s kind of this big big thing. It’s not that every girl out there will have her own Girlilla, but that we can show that that woman-owned agency can be an independent, award winning agency that does what we do best, which is take an idea and turn it into a campaign, work with brands to turn an idea into a real marketing campaign, and really help brands come alive for their consumers.” For the last decade, Girlilla has been expanding into more and more areas of the industry. The agency boasts clients such as the Nashville Predators, Nissan, Bridgestone, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the American Cancer Society. They work with brands large and small, including big companies like Coca Cola, small and local ones such as Metro Schools, Vanderbilt University and others. They have turned an idea into a brand, like Girlilla Girlade, and turned an idea into a new website, like Girlilla.com. Girlilla also has the distinction of being the only woman-owned, woman-headed agency in Nashville, as well as one of the first woman-owned, woman-headed agencies in the United States. A recent study by the American Association of Advertising Agencies showed that only 3 percent of agencies in the nation were headed by women. What started out as an idea more than 10 years ago has taken on new meaning to the Girlilla team. “As our brand has grown so has our culture, and with that culture has come a shift in our team,” Babbitt said. “It’s really amazing how that has happened. The entire group of people has grown tremendously together. It’s been great to see that happen. It’s not just one person going forward on these things; we’re all in this together.” That culture of working together came about simply because they have always believed in doing business this way. “We are still the little girl in the corner that you have to shake and say hey!” Babbitt said. “We’re still the same way.” This is an important message for the agency. Babbitt says when you’re talking to clients, it’s imperative that you know what’s going on in the office. It’s important to make sure you’re still doing business the way you have been doing business and not reinventing the wheel just because you’re being more progressive. “When you’re out there on your own and your own personal ideas are the only things you think about and the only things that are important, your marketing becomes stale.” So, it’s really important to remain true to yourself and not to let outside forces influence the way that you do things. And it’s just as important to listen to that voice within you that knows what’s best for you. “For us, a lot of times it’s like that inner voice that says, hey, I know I’ve always done business this way. I don’t want to change because my instincts tell me that I want to keep doing it the same way.” Listen to Babbitt and your company’s marketing voice, and you’ll see that you’re right. Listen to Babbitt and your company’s marketing voice, and you’ll see that you’re right. As they say, if you listen, you will learn. So, the message of the book is twofold. First, you have to listen to the marketplace, which can be more than just a bunch of buzzwords that people toss around. If you want to improve your bottom line, you have to pay attention to what people are saying and doing and how they’re doing it. Second, you have to listen to yourself, which means listening to your company’s voice and what your company is doing to improve the products or services you provide. In a lot of cases, the two are in conflict, but not necessarily always. There are times when it makes sense to take the business into the future while keeping the business running as it’s been running for the last 15, 20, 30, or 50 years. The question is: Where is your company going? And does it really need to move in that direction? If you don’t think that’s the direction you need to be going, then you might not want to. I think listening is the key to this. Let’s hear the marketplace and let’s hear our company and see how well we’re doing. If we can listen to the marketplace and our own company and get an honest sense of where we’re going, we can move in the right direction. To listen to your company’s marketing voice, you need to get your message out in as many places as you can and keep listening. Listen to your prospects and customers in the most casual, casual ways you can. When you go out for coffee, pay attention to what your friends and customers are saying. Find places to hang out in your office and watch what your employees and others are saying. Do a search for the keywords you think your customers are using to find your products and services. If you can’t find them, it’s time to try again. Use Google to help you find the words and phrases that your customers are using to search for you. And if you don’t find them, don’t stop until you do. There is a saying: If the message isn’t getting through, the audience isn’t responding. And if it’s not getting through, you’re probably not responding to the message either. You have a great opportunity to listen, but you have to listen in different places and in different ways. You have to listen for different things and you have to listen in different ways. The places to listen are right in front of you and that’s probably why so many other businesses have been in trouble. It’s easy to get caught up in the “business as usual” mindset, to just hear what we’re already doing.
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