Curiosity

Ashley Walters

CMO

Underdog

“It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” 

- Ashley Walters, every damn day.

This philosophy is why Ashley is the spark igniting Curiosity’s new business, marketing, and culture.

Known for luring national brands like DUDE Wipes, Holland America Line, and Blue Buffalo, Ashley’s superpower is forging trust between client and agency. In the past year, that trust fueled Curiosity’s boldest work: DUDE Wipes’ Best Clean, Pants Down campaign, the agency’s largest production ever for Academy Sports + Outdoors; the launch of "Justin" –the new face of Stop & Shop; and a taboo-defying campaign for pH-D Feminine Health featuring “cootie cats” and “beavers.”

But what keeps Ashley on the grind day in and day out?

Curiosity's underdog spirit. We work hard, we work smart, and we consistently go above and beyond for one another. That hard work is sometimes spent on clients like DUDE Wipes, where we inject ourselves into the Super Bowl conversation, or pH-D where we destigmatize women's health. Sometimes it's on pro bono accounts to help stop drunk driving or create a more inclusive representation of women and young girls in advertising. And, sometimes it's spent on ourselves, whether that's making TikToks, cookbooks, card games, or podcasts.

While the industry is (sadly) backpedaling on DEI, Ashley is making sure Curiosity doubles down. She ran a third-party pay audit, made structural progress on bias reduction, and led equity-in-advertising organization SeeHer’s first awareness initiative. She celebrated employees with an iconic International Women’s Day shoot, fueled Curiosity’s first viral TikTok hit (2.4 mil+ views), and launched Cur Lab to fund employee passion projects up to $25,000. Ashley also helped attract top-tier executive talent to Curiosity from The Martin Agency, Kroger, VML and Mirren.

Ashley's day-to-day role at Curiosity is leading our growth and reputation. But the truth is, her role is much more closely tied to ensuring our culture and our people don't suffer as a result of our growth. In some ways, it's easy to grow revenue. What's hard is maintaining your culture during that growth. Our wins, vibes, and visibility in the culture department have attracted the best of the best from across the industry.

Last year, Ashley reeled in $2.3 million in national wins from Blue Buffalo, Splenda, Crazy Candy, a spot on the Helen of Troy roster, and, most recently, NICKS ice cream.

She’s also the beloved, balls-out host of the Question Everything podcast—30 episodes deep and featuring guests like Ryan Meegan (Dude Wipes), PJ Pereira (Pereira O'Dell), and national treasure Doug Zanger (Indie Agency News). The show has driven new business conversations and fueled last year's 469% increase in Curiosity’s thought leadership engagement.

Rounding out Ashley’s wins is her move to secure Curiosity’s new forever home (you know, for now) in the heart of downtown Cincinnati. With double the office space, tricking out the production studio, launching new collaboration spaces and client lounges, and putting the finishing touches on a brand-new podcast studio. While many agencies are going fully remote, we doubled down on our togetherness while still maintaining the flexibility our people crave.

“Ashley connects with people in a way that cuts straight to the heart. She’s courageous, vulnerable, and passionate — disarming prospects, podcast guests, and our people, and bringing out their superpowers.” - Christian Jaekle, Marketing Director

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