CORBIN, Ky. – Dr. Kevin Flora and Josh Coppock met at a bible study at a local coffee shop in Corbin in October 2017.

That introduction led to a friendship and a partnership in January 2018 to create The Holler Creative, a digital marketing company leveraging the creativity of those in Appalachia to see communities throughout the region grow and flourish.

“Josh and I began to manage some large conferences, and as we continued to work together on websites and marketing, we began to flesh out an idea to create a digital marketing company in Appalachia Kentucky,” said Flora.

Dr. Flora, who’s family originates from just outside of Hazard, and Coppock, who is from Corbin, created The Holler Creative with a focus on community and hope.

“We want to see communities and businesses within Appalachia attain success so that those who have lost hope can find it again,” said Coppock. “Our business is about building communities and creating opportunities.”

The Holler Creative has nine employees, including seven full-time staff.  They’ve transitioned from being a business focused on analytics and effectiveness to a full-service marketing company providing services such as business consulting, marketing development, e-commerce setup, media creation, advertising, video production, graphic and web design, and analytic dashboards. 

“It is about designing a digital experience for our clients and their customers,” said Dr. Flora. “We are elevating how we do business through the creativity and passion of those who call Appalachia home.  That is something special, and it is something we take a lot of pride in.”

Dr. Flora and Coppock have made additional investments in ideas to greater leverage the digital economy.  They partnered with like-minded startups to create Better Your Product, a business that partners with individuals to resell on platforms such as Amazon. Additionally, they have started a paid internship program with the University of the Cumberlands for students interested in careers in marketing. They have leveraged the internship program to identify new talent for their team. 

In September 2019, The Holler Creative launched Lachian Clothing, an Appalachia-inspired apparel company and in February started Forged Sign Company to build custom signs for businesses across Appalachia. 

In June 2020, The Holler launched Go Tell It.  Go Tell It is their newest business that provides website and live streaming services to churches. 

“We have been talking with churches since the beginning of our company about the importance of having a strong digital presence and the ability to live stream their church service,” Coppock explained.  “During the COVID-19 pandemic, it became obvious to churches that the best form of communication was through their website.  The only way for them to share their message, due to the social distancing order, was for their congregation to tune in on a live stream.  So, we wanted to put together a service that would make it easy for churches to have all the tools in place to be able to have a quality website and stream.”

Dr. Flora stated that “bringing hope and opportunity back to Appalachia is multi-faceted.  It entails servicing businesses in the mountains, hiring people from the area, and also bringing people from the outside into this wonderful part of the country.  Our next steps are going to be even more exciting as we continue to roll out new businesses that will supply jobs and revitalization to Appalachia.”

You can follow The Holler, LLC at www.theholler.com or purchase an item from their apparel line at www.lachianclothing.com.  And more will be released soon about their next businesses on their social media!  Give their social media accounts a follow as well: YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER.