Giving ideas creative flavor, with a cherry on top

Elysia Cook McDermott

A classic sundae calls for a few scoops of ice cream with complementary tastes (and no shortage of sprinkles). In the same way, my career as a creative often calls for the varied skills I’ve gleaned from working in marketing, advertising, video production, and journalism.

I currently call Texas home, but my work is not exclusive to the Lone Star State. I've led a hackathon team to success in Amsterdam, trained an all-female team of writers in Tanzania, captured content in the Peruvian Andes for a Nat Geo grant-funded project, and currently drive creative content production and copy strategy for a San Diego-based medical device company.

Those experiences, among many others, have given me a broader, more compassionate perspective and an immutable sense of curiosity. It all makes for one hell of a sundae, and I’m savoring every bite of it.

Get in touch

A FEW OF THE WAYS I WORK

Copywriting

Exploring worlds through words: snappy taglines, long-form articles, and all of the wordsmithing ways in between.

Video production

Providing behind-the-scenes or front-of-camera support, inclusive of scripting, storyboarding, interviewing, and shoot planning.

Brand strategy

Diving into your brand to help optimize the way it's represented across channels and targets.

OTHER INTERESTS

CREDENTIALS

Lacing up my shoes for outdoor walks and hikes

Putting my spin on recipes at home

Turning blank canvases into painted pieces

Sweating away my worries at the gym

Torturing myself with New York Times word puzzles

Tuning in to podcasts on culture, politics, food, and finance

Teaching my daughter how to be a good human

Traveling in all its forms, but especially solo backpacking

Certified ANA Marketing Professional (CAMP)

Association of National Advertisers

Issued February 2021

AWARDS

Rising Marketing Star Award

National award given annually by the Association of National Advertisers to honor four young marketing leaders (aged 30 years or younger) who show promise in various areas of marketing.

September 2021

Mahogany Red Literary Prize

Honorable mention for original poem submitted to Poetry Matters Project's annual international competition.

April 2018

First place, Booking.com Hackathon

Copywriter for winning product team at Booking.com's first all-female hackathon, which was hosted at their Amsterdam headquarters.

July 2017

SELECT TESTIMONIALS

Wes Wasson

CEO and Co-Founder at DreamStart Labs

Elysia is an incredibly talented writer and storyteller. She has a rare ability to see through the noise and capture stories that connect with readers in a profound way.

Her sense of cadence and pacing is spot on, and she has a great sense of judgment about how to evoke emotion without ever sounding contrived. She also has a great eye for design that goes far beyond the written word.

Over the course of my career as a CMO and CEO, I've worked with many talented marketing professionals and have a high bar for what I consider good writing. Elysia meets and exceeds that bar.

Robin Priems

Lead Technology Recruitment at bol.com

Elysia participated in the Women in Tech hackathon that Booking.com organised ... we flew over 44 women from 20 different countries for three days of brainstorming and creating new features for the website. I got to know Elysia as a very passionate and enthusiastic copywriter.

She is clear and effective in her communication, which really helped her in working together in a cross-functional team.

Elysia even came up with the winning idea, which was an unobtrusive comparison tool. Elysia presented the idea in a great way. She is analytical, curious, and a great copywriter.

Chris Hortinela

Associate Director of Sustainability at Vitamin Angels

Elysia took it upon herself to help reshape and build upon the existing content ingestion process ... In addition, she also pushed for content that highlighted other elements and champions of the organization. In doing so, she indirectly strengthened our long-standing partner relationships and brought fresh perspectives to our content marketing strategy.

Most notably, Elysia was tasked with writing the script for a campaign video that was shown at two of Vitamin Angels’ largest partner-facing events in 2018. The video was an overwhelming success, and is one of Vitamin Angels’ most successful campaign initiatives to date.

It was a joy to work with Elysia and collaborate with her on multiple creative projects. She is a driven, passionate individual who brings a lot to the table.

Let’s create something great together.

Giving ideas creative flavor, with a cherry on top

Elysia Cook McDermott

A classic sundae calls for a few scoops of ice cream with complementary tastes (and no shortage of sprinkles). In the same way, my career as a creative often calls for the varied skills I’ve gleaned from working in marketing, advertising, video production, and journalism.

Those experiences, among many others, have given me a broader, more compassionate perspective and an immutable sense of curiosity. It all makes for one hell of a sundae, and I’m savoring every bite of it.

Copywriting

Exploring worlds through words: snappy taglines, long-form articles, and all of the wordsmithing ways in between.

Video production

Providing behind-the-scenes or front-of-camera support, inclusive of scripting, storyboarding, interviewing, and shoot planning.

Brand strategy

Diving into your brand to help optimize the way it's represented across channels and targets.

Brand build messaging + user personas (Mirrorhouse LLC)

Videos + digital advertising (Dexcom)

Blog post series (Ford)

Videos + long-form features (Walgreens/Vitamin Angels)

Film + long-form features (National Geographic/Simonson Lab

Microsite + newsletters (Nat'l Institutes of Health/Scripps Research)

Lacing up my shoes for outdoor walks and hikes

Putting my spin on recipes at home

Turning blank canvases into painted pieces

Sweating away my worries at the gym

Torturing myself with New York Times word puzzles

Tuning in to podcasts on culture, politics, food, and finance

Teaching my daughter how to be a good human

Traveling in all its forms, but especially solo backpacking

Certified ANA Marketing Professional (CAMP)

Association of National Advertisers

Issued February 2021

Rising Marketing Star Award

National award given annually by the Association of National Advertisers to honor four young marketing leaders (aged 30 years or younger) who show promise in various areas of marketing.

September 2021

Mahogany Red Literary Prize

Honorable mention for original poem submitted to Poetry Matters Project's annual international competition.

April 2018

First place, Booking.com Hackathon

Copywriter for winning product team at Booking.com's first all-female hackathon, which was hosted at their Amsterdam headquarters.

July 2017

Wes Wasson

CEO and Co-Founder at DreamStart LabsElysia is an incredibly talented writer and storyteller. She has a rare ability to see through the noise and capture stories that connect with readers in a profound way.

Her sense of cadence and pacing is spot on, and she has a great sense of judgment about how to evoke emotion without ever sounding contrived. She also has a great eye for design that goes far beyond the written word.

Over the course of my career as a CMO and CEO, I've worked with many talented marketing professionals and have a high bar for what I consider good writing. Elysia meets and exceeds that bar.

Robin Priems

She is clear and effective in her communication, which really helped her in working together in a cross-functional team.

Elysia even came up with the winning idea, which was an unobtrusive comparison tool. Elysia presented the idea in a great way. She is analytical, curious, and a great copywriter.

Chris Hortinela

Most notably, Elysia was tasked with writing the script for a campaign video that was shown at two of Vitamin Angels’ largest partner-facing events in 2018. The video was an overwhelming success, and is one of Vitamin Angels’ most successful campaign initiatives to date.

It was a joy to work with Elysia and collaborate with her on multiple creative projects. She is a driven, passionate individual who brings a lot to the table.

Let’s create something great together.

Videos + long-form features (Walgreens/
Vitamin Angels)

Film + long-form features (National Geographic/
Simonson Lab

CEO and Co-Founder at DreamStart Labs

Elysia is an incredibly talented writer and storyteller. She has a rare ability to see through the noise and capture stories that connect with readers in a profound way.