Amanda Liz Taylor
Q What do you do?
“I help brands with a genuine desire to make an impact solidify their brand story. You are constantly evolving, and so is your brand story.”
I work with founders and teams to get to dive deep into a brands' core values, missions and goals to develop brand messaging and a visual identity that tells a consistent and compelling story across all marketing channels.
Every brand and founder story is unique. I encourage brands to find their own voice instead of holding onto the "should do's" of their industry, because authenticity is foundational to building trust and fostering long-term relationships with an audience.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I moved from Kingston, Jamaica to NYC in high school by myself. It's the biggest decision I've made in my life so far and it was truly because I envisioned the kind of impactful creative career that I knew would only be possible in NYC.
I spent high school performing in competitive acapella across the country and eventually, the world. Our experience of traveling across the globe really solidified my interest in connecting people across spaces.
A few years later, I founded 'The Unplug Collective' a college publication at Barnard College - which eventually became a global platform. A place for people to tell honest stories about their experience with mental health and body, I created a brand rooted in my own personal story. The goal here was to connect people, through storytelling and shared experiences.
This was foundational to my career as a Creative Brand Strategist, partnering through Unplug with brands like Nike, Talkspace, WrayNYC and more. People often ask why I would pivot to working on other brands, rather than just my own. The answer is because I truly love it.
I now work with brands - at every stage - who are eager to make an impact and delve deep into the brand story, both at the big picture level and in every small detail.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
Because of my experience building and growing digital community with my own brand and others across several industries (wellness, media, entertainment, activism, fashion, etc.), I'm pretty tapped into the smaller niche creators who you may not see in big campaigns but are truly making a huge impact, and setting the in their smaller communities.
I love keeping an eye on upcoming talent, new language, or innovative ideas that we know are cutting edge, but haven't become a larger part of the cultural zeitgeist yet. My appraoch is really about innovating beyond what already exists to get to something greater - in every area of our work.
Q What are you working on right now?
I'm working on a few things (check out my portfolio!) One of my favorite projects right now is working on creative brand strategy with an e-commerce company that wanted to transition from product-focused content to more organic and honest lifestyle content. I love love love seeing the brand blossom as we have spent the past few months really perfecting how we could sell a product by showing people really living and experiencing the product in an authentic way.
Q What’s your style?
I really love content that clearly communicates connection between people. There's so many different ways to pull that off, here are a few recent examples of brands I've helped with that:
@blk_ivy
@insidethenout
@theunplugcollective
@thehappyhuesco
@becauseofthem
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
Big picture - I love all things dreamy and visionary.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
I'm not the biggest fan of cold pitching myself to brands just for the sake of it. I much prefer to reach out if I've seen someone's work that I love and can genuinely see myself contributing to.
So I'd definitely have to say client outreach is at the very bottom of the list. But there's so many perks to letting connections happen naturally too.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Anything boring and administrative lol - research, scheduling/planning, outreach.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
Everything you seek is already within you.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I've started using AI a lot more and I'd love to speak to an expert about how we can continue to utilize AI as Brand Strategists for research and concepting - in a way that doesn't actually give us our ideas - but helps us to get to them faster.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
Projects that are engaging, inspiring, and culture shifting.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
I love working with brands and founders who genuinely care about the impact of their work. They are committed to shifting an industry or making a cultural impact and are looking for new and innovative ways to connect with their audience.
I'd love to do more events or community-based and experiential work. I love connecting with people IRL with brands on the cutting edge of culture and innovation (WNBA, Parkwood Entertainment, and Universal Music Group are dream clients!)
Q: What is your rate?
My monthly retainer starts at $3000, however it depends on how much time and investment you're looking for.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Email me: amandaliztaylor@gmail.com! I'd love to hear from you! My website has a list of services, let me know what you're interested in and your monthly retainer budget :)
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Dayna Carney @ Dayna's House
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Live in new york city (then leave for some peace, quiet & reflection) -- rinse & repeat
This member profile was originally published in July 2024.