Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Hoedebeck and Cornell Johnson.
Jeff and Cornell, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My business partner and I came from opposite sides of the spectrum. I was the advertising guy from the traditional downtown agency and he came from the music industry. We met at a startup agency that specialized in grassroots marketing. During the late 1990’s this agency had captured lightning in a bottle. It was simply the most amazing collection of talent we had ever experienced under one roof. It was easy to view everyone there as a Ph.D. of some sort. Innovation and adaptation with a focus on solutions came with ease here. We were trained not to focus on problem. We honed our individual and unique talents to navigate obstacles, mastering solves to advance our purpose. We were trained to manage chaos. The energy, the volume of work and the results were magical. Our core focus was Pepsi-Cola. Our job was to introduce Pepsi-Cola products to consumers in every phase of their lifestyle. Mountain Dew was our core Brand and that work took us all over the world for five years. From Compton to the Philippines, from neighborhood streets to the X Games and the Super Bowl.
However, with success came suitors. With suitors came acquisitions. The transition was hard. New brands, higher expectations and different processes came into the mix. It was not the same. After three years and a series of acquisitions, our umbrella company went bankrupt. Changes were made to our existing company, including losing our entire senior executive staff. Left behind was a young core group of marketers still eager to learn, a small group who still loved executing great work, innovating, and making things happen for our clients. .
So in the midst of a bankruptcy, we left at 5pm one day. It was a very hard decision to make because we departed from a company that we’d given so much of ourselves to in an effort to pursue our own dream. We had to leave some good friends behind and that was not easy for us nor were our actions well received.
With this new start, we decided to create Trilogy in late 2002. We set out to create an agency where executing good work is paramount. A company that did not focus on quantity, but quality. A place that would take on any job no matter how small or big. We made an effort to keep our operation small and focus on precision. We did not want it to be about the money. We felt that if we held true to our standard and executed good work, money would never be an issue. This challenge was our juice. The Trilogy process is bringing brands to life while simplifying the traditional experiential model. Thus making it cleaner and easier for our clients. Innovating has always been central to our mission and has anchored us for fifteen years.
Has it been a smooth road?
As you can imagine, during the course of the first year reality set in. Every effort was like sprinting uphill in a weighted vest. Starting a business from scratch is no easy task, especially in a recession brought on by 9/11. Setting up to address federal and multiple state regulations, tax id numbers, branding and web presence, locating office space, financing, establishing creditors, accounting support and this is all before landing a single piece of business. We had to prove we were viable to open these doors. Our business is all about relationships, making it even more challenging.
In the first year of business, we lost a partner. When you start a business with friends and one decides to go in another direction it is a make or break moment. Cornell and I understood, and we supported our partner’s decision to leave. Today, we still appreciate his decision. We are also proud of his amazing career accomplishments in the last fifteen years. After that day, we had some hard decisions to make. Cornell and I decided to stay the course.
Over the years, the main challenges we have faced in growing our business are common among all entrepreneurs and business owners. Ever present hurdles like cash flow management, wearing multiple hats to keep your overhead low, searching out potential prospects for hire and the constant pursuit of new business leads can take a lot out of anyone. This while holding to our personal standards to always execute good work. We continue to adapt and we have honed our craft along the way.
The primary struggle in our eyes is the need to believe in yourself. We were told outright we would not last six months. This could have been true had we listened to others. But you have to believe you are going to succeed to make anything happen. We surrounded ourselves with good people. Our silent board of directors helped us set up a strong foundation. They guided us in finding the right legal team, accountants, financial analysts and insurance brokers. All of this to protect ourselves from what was soon to come. We found suppliers like us to handle our needs. People with low visibility with great amounts or talent, innovators and problem solvers. We built our internal team on our personal principles, sourcing out people we could trust. We vetted people who could understand the chaos associated with this business and hired those who shared our desire to take on tough challenges. We extended our formula for delivering at a high level to our field teams through detailed training and proper coaching. Aside from self-belief, our wives have been championed our efforts from early on. They have seen and heard all that we have encountered through this journey. They have supported us in all our decisions and have grown with us. Without all these people, we would not exist today.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a Culturally Driven Experiential Marketing Agency.
At Trilogy Marketing, we don’t just represent your brand; we become your brand. We know in today’s world, people are starved for authenticity. We understand how to create real connections with your consumers by becoming a true extension of your company’s ideology and culture. We create and control experiences by generating more dialogue between you and your consumer, which leads to trust and loyalty for your brand. By building this connection, we develop long term relationships that produce impressions, create memories and drive sales. We are a true collective here at Trilogy Marketing. We collaborate together to address the client’s needs and build impactful activations that could run across the city or across the country. From managers to coordinators to people in the field executing our activations, everyone has a role in creating that unique experience that accurately represents the brand. We are also very inclusive in addressing client issues and rally together to create solutions that ensure we deliver real, authentic impressions for the brand. This cannot be done without a passion for what you do, which is why we pick projects we’re passionate about and pair them with the people who are passionate about working with that brand/project.
Because when you’re passionate, you’re more authentic. And when that authenticity comes through, you create impressions that last. That’s the Trilogy Marketing difference.
We are proud of our company. We are proud of are our diverse selection of clients. We are proud of our long term relationships with people who trust us with their brands. We are proud of the repeat business we earn by delivering on their behalf and we are proud of our diverse workforce who delivers it for them. Lastly, we are proud of our Brand.
Two years ago, our original Mountain Dew client from twenty years ago and our beginnings called us to execute a major launch on his behalf. He was a Brand Manager on Mountain Dew back then. He is currently the President of a major corporation now. He wanted someone he could trust to handle his business. At that moment, we came full circle and prepared ourselves for the next adventure. It was a proud moment.
We would never change one thing. When you manage chaos for a living, nothing is scripted and you deal with the hand you are given. It’s up to you and you alone if you plan to succeed. You just have to believe. We hope we encourage others to believe and chase their dreams too.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5601 Democracy Drive St. 105
Plano, TX, 75024 - Website: www.trilogymktg.com
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