Billboard’s 2019 Country Power Players List Revealed

May 31, 2019

JENNIE SMYTHE, 42
CEO, Girlilla Marketing

The client list of Smythe’s 11-year-old digital marketing agency mixes Nashville’s powerhouses (Tim McGraw, Brooks & Dunn) with country’s next generation (Maddie & Tae, Rachel Wammack, Tenille Arts). But for Smythe, it has been especially fulfilling to watch stalwarts like Darius Rucker, Tracy Lawrence and Rodney Atkins apply the same enthusiasm they have for new projects to their online followings. “Social and digital marketing needs to translate on the ground,” says the Denver native. “The reality is, ‘Did people show up to the event?’ ‘Yes?’ Great.” This conversion rate bodes well for Girlilla, which also quarterbacked socials for Avengers: Endgame, now the all-time second-highest-grossing movie at the domestic box office.