Brooke Vines is the co-founder and CEO of Vines/Brookshire, a media, digital and creative consultancy that helps clients drive growth by becoming more people-centric, communicating authentically, and optimizing internal marketing teams.
Brooke is an entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in marketing management, and digital and traditional media planning and negotiation. She is a problem solver whose true superpower is being a people connector.
In addition to her work, Brooke is the mother of twins, Fischer and Bella, and an active member in the community.
As a small business owner, what is your vision for your business and our community?
Our vision for business and community are connected in a natural way that stems from our lives in Arkansas. I know that our communities benefit from strong businesses, so growing businesses to their full potential affects both positively. We are consistently and aggressively growing local and national businesses - and therefore communities - by keeping innovation at the forefront of our work.
What advice do you have for keeping a team focused and motivated in challenging times?
A common idea and vision always rallies a team together and gives us something to drive toward. Our company prioritizes what is effective and purposeful for the businesses we work with, so we’re always connecting with each other on these priorities whenever we’re discussing how to approach anything. Our team grew organically under that banner, with room to find what part of the process they enjoy the most. Allowing each of our employees to find that sweet spot keeps them energized!
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
The last five years have been transformative. We took a traditional agency model with some solid marketing fundamentals and experience and married it with Ad Tech and AI. For the first time, we have been able to concretely monetize the use of data to impact our clients' business outcomes. Having these tools available has allowed us to change the agency model in a way that accommodates scale and achieves results that we can predict on the front end instead of guessing.
Who has been the biggest influence on your life and career?
My dad was an entrepreneur, so I was raised with the mindset that anything is possible, and my parents have both been extremely supportive. My business partner, Bill Brookshire, has had the most influence on my career though. We had a dream a decade before we partnered together and once we took the leap it all came together. He’s an absolute creative genius, plus he gives me the freedom to be unapologetically me, and I can be a lot. His creative genius and my media expertise truly make us a match made in heaven.
Tell us the most meaningful piece of career or life advice you have received.
There is no plan "B," so adapt. You don’t have to know how to do everything. Surround yourself with a smart team
How do you like to de-stress after a difficult day/week?
I love spending time with friends or being outside. My kids have me laughing the most and keep me young.
