The Importance of Branding for Creatives from Pipeline Artists - Symposium on Vimeo.

Branding—what is it, exactly?

Branding is more than crafting a logo. It's the unique way a creative presents themselves to the industry and, ultimately, sells their craft.

Getting a handle on finding your own distinct definition as a creator comes with a lot of questions:

Are branding and marketing the same? How are they different? What are the essential steps to branding? Is there a psychology to branding?

And the list goes on …

But Leah Lewis is here to streamline this topic so you can get a jump on branding strategies that fit your own creative trajectory. She is an independent content creator, documentary filmmaker, tech startup founder, and non-profit executive, and has a lot to say about developing a brand that can elevate your artistic career.

By the end of the session, you will:

• have key resources
• understand what a brand is, and the psychology involved
• gain insights into branding’s significance in the world and to your business endeavors
• craft portions of your brand strategy

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The Reverend Dr. Leah C.K. Lewis, J.D., is the head of Three Butterflies Entertainment & Press LLC. Leah is a writer, documentary filmmaker, social entrepreneur, and event producer. She is the author of Little Lumpy’s Book of Blessings, which serves as the subject of a project in development for animated children’s TV. Currently, Leah is directing and producing two documentaries, Black Buckeyes: A Tale of Two Cities, an independent production examining the lived and historical realities of African Americans in Cleveland and Cincinnati, and Leo’s Legacy for MidTown Cleveland Inc, which highlights Cleveland’s famed Leo’s Casino nightclub of the late 1960s and early 1970s. She also serves as co-producer of “Black Mary '' a co-production of POST Theatrical and DEMASKUS Theater Collective highlighting the life of Mary Fields, the first African American Star Route Mail Carrier in the United States, which will be streamed during Juneteenth.

Rev. Dr. Lewis serves as the spiritual consultant on the project as well. Leah is also the Founder and Executive Director of Little Lumpy’s Center for Educational Initiatives, whose signature event is the Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC pronounced “glossy”) of which Leah is the Executive Producer. In 2020, GLAAWC’s virtual conference reached over 5600 people in twenty states and four international countries. Her articles and commentary have appeared in The Christian Century, Cleveland Scene, Blavity.com, ForHarriet.com, and a host of other outlets. A former community organizer, minister of community engagement at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, elected official, and adjunct faculty at Tri-C and Georgia State University, Dr. Lewis now fully focuses on projects that promote equity and justice for African American people. With degrees from Ashland Theological Seminary, Yale Divinity School, Howard University School of Law, and Bowling Green State University, Leah brings her whole being to every task she undertakes. Justice, equity, and eliminating knowledge deficits are always her focus, even in her art.