Kelly Reed is a brand and copy leader working at the intersection of healthcare, beauty, DTC and consumer products. Most recently Creative Director at The Lactation Network, she has 10+ years of experience helping brands develop distinctive voices, launch products, and bring complex ideas to life through clear, engaging storytelling.

Extracurricular highlights:

Musician of the avante-indie variety • Obsessed with documentaries and trashy reality TV • Owner of a very weird-but-sweet Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, see here

Extracurricular lowlights:

Habitually leaves near-empty containers in fridge • Pathologically distrustful of IKEA instructions • Proud curator of 37+ open browser tabs at any given time

I’VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH

Allstate Insurance

• Make-A-Wish

• KitchenAid

• Peepers

• Body Glove

• Reverb

• Auto-Owners Insurance

• UNICEF

• Curology

• Fellowes, Inc.

• Zulily

• Murphy's Naturals

• Circ

• Gaia Herbs

• Allstate Insurance • Make-A-Wish • KitchenAid • Peepers • Body Glove • Reverb • Auto-Owners Insurance • UNICEF • Curology • Fellowes, Inc. • Zulily • Murphy's Naturals • Circ • Gaia Herbs •

My guiding philosophies

Empathy always

I live by one rule: lean into the messy, emotional, human stuff most brands avoid. I love figuring out what makes people tick and weaving that deeply-embodied empathy into my work. Because loyalty comes from feeling seen, not marketed to.

Be more human

Brands, like people, should bend and evolve with context. You don’t talk to your best friend the way you talk to your grandmother — and brands shouldn’t either. The most compelling ones know how to flex, respond with nuance, and keep things interesting.

Pressure-test the premise

Creative briefs aren’t gospel. Once the work starts, gaps always show. That’s why I begin by interrogating the “why” — why this, why now, why them. Taking a step back leads to sharper, longer-lasting ideas (and saves a lot of headaches).

Kill your darlings

Creative work is intended to solve a problem. If a concept isn’t actually solving something for you, it shouldn’t exist. Have I lost many a “clever” headline to the proverbial trash bin as a result? Yep. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.