How Eddison Smith III stays ahead of the competition as a brand storyteller

He shares which technologies keep him on top
How Eddison Smith III stays ahead of the competition as a brand storyteller
Eddison Smith III | Photo courtesy of Alex D. Rogers

Eddison Smith III is a premium visual brand storyteller and creative director who is the owner of two companies called The Penthouse Creative Branding Agency and Third I Visuals. With a degree in business marketing and a minor in graphic design, he uses his skills and talent to market and promote such events as the Emerging 100 Atlanta, the NAACP Awards, and Fellaship ATL.

Smith shared how he stays ahead of the competition.


As a brand manager, what are some of the innovative tools you use to stay ahead of the competition?

The world of visual branding is constantly changing and growing due to the implementation of new technologies. As creators are creating, innovators are creating vehicles like TikTok and ChatGPT that [are] changing the culture of branding. In developing brand copy for client websites and social media captions, ChatGPT has proven to be very helpful.


What are some disruptive ways to launch new brands, products, or services?

Sharing your unique story about why you are passionate about your brand is one of the most disruptive ways to launch a new brand. Authentically tell your story without sugar-coating or fluff. People are looking to connect with people, and if they can relate to your story, whatever you sell them will be a solution to their problem.

What role does social media play in helping your brands, products, or services?

Social media plays a big role in helping brands reach their ideal target market. Your brand’s reach can be infinite with influencer marketing and hashtags. Start-up brands struggle because they don’t know who their target audience is because they don’t know how to properly use tools, design, and social media to grow their reach. This is why it is very important that brands develop their strategy before they try to market their product or service.

Name two companies, products, or services that do a great job of marketing their brand identity and explain why.

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna and Manscape are two companies I admire for the way they market and brand their products. In their marketing campaigns and branding, Fenty Beauty places all ethnicities in their marketing campaigns and really emphasizes the importance of inclusivity and having products that match the skin tones of all races. The marketing language used by Manscape is genius and very witty. Subliminal messages are kept subtle yet tasteful by them.

What two statements do you live by as a brand manager?

In my role as a brand designer, I live by the statement, “Keep moving forward,” and “Handle what you have in your hand well at the moment.” Sometimes I think we tend to focus so much on the future getting new brand deals and growing our businesses exponentially, but we tend to forget that we have clients that need us right now, so handle what we have with them right now, and everything else will follow. Just keep moving forward.

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