For Us, By Us: The Elle Collective

Elle Branded is a full-service brand management firm. We specialize in building your image from the logo and slogan to helping you dominate your field with brand awareness and recognition.

After six years of working in marketing and social media departments for large global corporations, I created this company. I noticed that there weren’t many women leading these conversations. I once worked on a campaign for tampons, where not one woman was a part of the pitch. And if we want to talk about Black women in these rooms, we might as well be non-existent.

I got tired of seeing so many brilliant women getting passed over because we were “just one voice.” There’s strength in numbers. So in December 2015, I officially opened Elle Branded to allow us to work together while we train and employ the little sisters coming up behind us. 

Since then, I have met and collaborated with so many amazing Black women creatives, and we have shared our grievances. We have spoken on how infuriating it is to work in some spaces and be paraded out as their “African-American Female” employee that checks not one but two diversity boxes while being silenced and having our intellectual property stolen. Also, about how isolating working alone can feel. 

For Us, By Us: Elle Collective is a safe space I’m creating for the amazing Black women creatives in my network to come together, flourish and thrive in our creativity. To be honest, I’m tired of us not feeling supported and trying to fit into their spaces. We are not your tokens, we are the whole game board, and we’re taking over TOGETHER!

I want to create a safe space for us to work on creative projects and compete with other agencies and collectives with this campaign. To be successful, we will need to cover furniture, utilities & insurance, operations, safety measures, equipment, and supplies required to pitch and compete. We have the opportunity to take on some significant projects. With your help, we can rise to the occasion and exceed expectations.

Click here to hear me being featured on BLK Directory podcast speaking about the incredible work Elle Branded has been doing and has coming up.

Thank you for reading this far. Thank you for caring about black women. Thank you in advance for any level of support you can offer.