Cornett Grows Media Department, Promotes Chris Finnegan to SVP, Media, Hires Director of Performance Media Brian Gilligan

Jun. 03, 2024

Independent, full-service advertising agency Cornett has promoted Chris Finnegan to senior vice president, Media, CEO and owner Christy Hiler announced today. Additionally, the shop has hired Brian Gilligan as director of Performance Media.

Over the course of his 20+ year career, Finnegan has developed paid-media strategies that demonstrate accountability, transparency, and most importantly, results. While at Cornett, he has managed some of the agency’s most successful campaigns for A&W Restaurants, University of Kentucky Healthcare, VisitLEX, Visit Dublin (Ohio), and Keeneland Thoroughbred Race Course. Most recently, Finnegan was VP, Brand Connections.

Hiler said:

"Chris has helped establish a media analytics practice that has proved invaluable to our clients. Under Chris’s leadership, we have elevated our paid, earned, shared and owned media offerings."

 

Cornett believes effective advertising requires equal parts art and science. Their Media department works in tandem with in-house Strategy and Creative teams to develop data-driven campaigns centered around performance using an audience-first approach to targeting combined with creative built on compelling storytelling.

Gilligan, based in New York, will be responsible for the development and execution of overarching strategy, planning, implementation and optimization for Cornett’s campaigns across multiple search and social platforms. He has worked with the female-led shop on the vendor side for three years and is already familiar with their clients and paid media campaigns and has played an instrumental role in managing successful performance-media campaigns across Google, programmatic and paid social platforms.

Moving forward, Gilligan will help Cornett secure new business as they bring performance media tactics in house and will further solidify their already strong media capabilities for new and existing clients.

Previously, Gilligan was activations manager at marketing and media company opTi and senior account manager at SRAZ.