12 Years of Ride or Die
And just like that, greenlight hits the 12-year mark. 12 years of learning, 12 years of challenges and 12 years of more success. 12 years of creativity, of growth. 12 years of thinking bigger and bigger — and bigger. 12 years of never giving up. 12 years of a ride or die mentality that keeps clients happy and the team creating branding and marketing work even happier.
The co-founders of greenlight, Erik Herskind and Olivia Cole, know what persistence feels like; it’s about surrounding yourself with the right people, not stopping until you find them, then hitting the ground running together, with a sense of curiosity that drives award-winning work.
Todd Lancaster, greenlight Chief Creative Officer and more recently agency co-owner (woo hoo, Todd!), sat down with Erik and Olivia to talk about this journey. He’s the best person to ask these questions, to get a little reflection going, as they know the answers better than anyone else.
Read on, then crack open a beer and celebrate greenlight Founders Day with us >>
Todd Lancaster, CCO: Explain ride or die for us, what does that mean to you? To greenlight?
Erik Herskind, CEO: For me, there are a couple other sayings that capture the spirit of Ride or Die. “All In,” and “Crossed the Rubicon.” Both of these essentially mean the same thing — a 100% commitment to something with no turning back — but neither says it with the same swagger as “Ride or Die.” When I think of what Ride or Die means when it comes to greenlight, I think of the incredible loyalty of my founding partner Olivia. Her dedication to keeping the light on is inspiring.
Olivia Cole, COO: To me, and I’d say for greenlight as well, it means that finishing what you’ve started is more important than failure. Regardless of the outcome, you’ll accomplish something — and that feels a hell of a lot better than nothing.
TL: How do you turn die moments into ride ones?
OC: Acknowledging, and accepting, when it’s time to shift the strategy. By approaching our work with curiosity, openness and awareness, it’s easier to chart the course and make adjustments along the way.
EH: Embrace challenges and give yourself permission to feel uncomfortable. We started the agency believing there was a better way to serve clients. Along the way, how we successfully serve clients has evolved and it hasn’t always been easy. If we didn’t allow ourselves to admit it can be hard, we’d never have delivered the kind of work we have for our clients.
OC: And internally, we spend a lot of time developing interpersonal relationships. Because we’ve built greenlight to be talent-diverse, that’s really more important than anything we do from a culture standpoint. Having a lot of people in the room unlocks broader ideas and opportunities, giving us the opportunity to create some powerful stuff.
TL: You’re celebrating 12 years as greenlight co-founders, what have been the most influential moments on the agency?
EH: There have been some incredibly powerful moments that helped define the direction of the agency, but two really stand out for me: the launch of our agency culture and hiring you, our first Creative Director, Todd. Putting a stake in the ground in 2015 by launching the “Guide to Vibe” changed everything. For the first time, everyone in the agency was truly aligned and formally empowered to think big. It wasn’t for everyone and that was OK.
The second moment was actually not even your first day — it was the Friday before your first day. You secretly tagged our front door in a uniquely greenlight way — we knew big things were about to happen. We met you in 2009 and knew you were the kind of guy we needed as a creative director. For the next several years, any time the topic of hiring a creative director came up, we would always say, “you know, someone like Todd.” Instead of trying to find someone like you, we were able to get the man himself. We are thankful we never settled.
OC: Todd, for sure. We’ve created a trifecta of greatness, and I feel better than ever about the future of the agency. We all have the same agenda — to do great creative work without compromising our values — but what’s special about this partnership is that we all have a unique perspective on the best way to get there. We challenge each other, push each other and support each other in the very best way.
This is a hard one for me, though. I think it’s been the moments when technology and generational shifts required us to think and hire differently.
When we started the agency, Facebook was a student-only platform. And since none of us (there were only 4 of us at the time) were students, we didn’t have Facebook accounts. I didn’t even know how to create a profile picture.
In 2011, we saw an opportunity for our client, La Quinta Inns and Suites, to launch their first social campaign by taking on a more active role within 7-Eleven’s Slurpee Unity Tour. We went from concept to execution in just 3 days and learned Facebook for brands on the road (literally!). For 21 days, we represented La Quinta as the official tour hotel by following the Slurpee trucks across the country and documenting the journey through blogs, vlogs and Facebook posts.
TL: How did you get to those moments?
EH: The culture launch came at a time in the agency’s history where we needed to do something to define and shake up our team. We were in need of something to inspire us to dig deeper and push harder. Olivia deserves the credit for converting our culture into words and meaning through the “Guide to Vibe.”
OC: Hard work and ignoring the fear. Getting uncomfortable almost always yields the best results.
TL: What are you taking with you into the next 12 years? What are you leaving behind?
EH: For sure, I’m taking our passion for exploration. We challenge each other to uncover insights and opportunities for our agency and our clients. It’s how we are wired. As for what I’m leaving behind, that’s easy — those assignments and opportunities that fall outside our expertise.
OC: For me, it’s all about leaving behind unhealthy habits. Taking care of my body and my mind are the most critical things I can do to lead greenlight into the future. Working with Gold’s Gym has taught me a lot about the importance of physical and mental health. I got started on my fitness journey when I joined their 12-week challenge in January 2017 and I haven’t missed my “old ways” at all. Also, as a woman co-leading an agency that’s about 75% female, I realize that I am a role model for these incredible women, and I want to be the best version of myself that I can be.
TL: You also started a new business! How does HOWDO work into greenlight’s business philosophy?
EH: We like to think of HOWDO as the physical manifestation of greenlight’s business philosophy. The space is meant to inspire creativity, curiosity and collaboration — the same pursuits we demand of our people and ultimately our clients. An inspired space can do so much to get people to think bigger and change their perceptions and viewpoints. We believe we are on to something much bigger here and are anxious to share the space in a significant way with Dallas.
OC: Oh! I could talk about HOWDO all day long. HOWDO started as a venue, but is quickly becoming the driver of new business for the agency. Launching this business has really given us a deeper connection to the creative Dallas community. It’s the starting point of goDo — our creative problem-solving process — and the actual space helps our clients to feel the “greenlight difference.” It truly is the physical manifestation of the principles and processes that have defined our creativity since day one.
I don’t want to give too much away, but we are currently hard at work on developing strategies that will integrate HOWDO into greenlight’s positioning.
TL: What is your secret? What inspires you to explore more, keep pushing and come into the office every day?
OC: I truly love what I do. And I love who I do it for. Creativity “rides and dies” (see what I did there?) with culture and I am committed to these incredible people who have chosen greenlight to be their home.
One of our core values — love & respect — ensures that we all put relationship first. All agencies are creative. And every agency says the same thing. I could challenge any organization that says creative comes before the relationship. How in the world could you create campaigns that create connections if you and your client partner don’t have a good one?
EH: At the end of the day, we are in the service business. And I tell people, if making a client successful doesn’t make you feel good, you are in the wrong industry. I’ve been doing this for 30+ years, but it’s never felt better or been more meaningful for me personally than it has for the past 12 years. We — the people of greenlight — have created something much bigger than just an ad agency. We’ve created a culture based on love, respect and trust. And that is what keeps me driven to keep the light burning bright.
