Well—how did I get here? Meet Kearney Erhard – The Martin Group

It’s time for another installment of our new regular blog feature, “Well—how did I get here?” featuring first-person stories of our team members and their interesting journeys to The Martin Group. Next up: Our esteemed Associate Creative Director, Kearney Erhard. Take it away, Kearney. 

When I was a kid, my speech was delayed. A therapist started coming to my house every week to get me to try and start talking. It worked—and now, I don’t stop.

I guess I’ve always had a penchant for words. My grandma was a great storyteller. We would go over there when I was a kid and she would just talk and talk, but she would make the most mundane things seem extraordinary.

My imagination never turned off, either. I loved reading books as soon as I learned how. For large chunks of my life, I would start and finish a new Hardy Boys book every night before bed.

I remember asking my dad to help me learn how to spell “antidisestablishmentarianism” when I was in second grade after he told me it was the longest word in the dictionary—and then proposing that as a bonus word on one of our spelling tests that year.

I think I finally knew communication would be a path of least resistance for me when I took AP Language and Composition and it was the easiest class of my life. I remember being so confused when we got a practice test back and I had scored a 5, because I felt so unsure of my responses. It was like all of the reading and time I spent with language in my formative years made it natural for me.

Before I knew it, it was time to head off to college. I was fortunate to be accepted to a great communications school at Syracuse University, where I dual majored in marketing at the business school. I decided to pursue the advertising track after my freshman year.

I realized pretty quickly that my dual major put me on the “account” side by default. I discovered Mad Men, and I loved the thought of getting paid to come up with ideas like Don Draper—so I decided to go for it and try my hand as a copywriter.

Thanks to the help of some fantastic professors, I was able to get my book in a good place. After that, all the cool kids were moving to New York City after graduation. I knew my heart was in Buffalo but I (wisely) assumed starting my career in NYC would be the best move and I could always move back to Buffalo eventually.

After a few years at IPG agencies FCB Health and Hill Holliday, I started looking for my opportunity to move back to the area. After a good year of searching, the stars aligned. It took me a few more years to eventually find my spot here at The Martin Group, but here I am.

It’s good to be home.Want to learn more about our team at The Martin Group? Click here.