A global marketer helping teams develop marketing strategies and put them into action.
SHORT BIO
Lea-Ann W. Berst is a global activation professional and filmmaker located in Myrtle Beach, SC. Her career spans from Product Management & Go-To-Market Execution in the Tech Industry — to large and mid-sized corporate consulting that includes effectively managing standalone or sophisticated Engagement Marketing programs & Olympic Brand Activation — to writing, producing, and impact marketing of films focused on creating positive cultural change.
Lea-Ann is the recipient of various leadership and business awards, including the prestigious IBM Award of Excellence, the Women in Business in North Carolina Award, and the Associated Press Robert R. Eunson Distinguished Lecturer Award.
Leading project efforts
My career began working for some of the world’s most well-known consumer products and commercial enterprise companies: Memorex Telex, Champion Products, Marvel Comics Group, and IBM.
During the first 15 years of my career I was involved in the development and launch of some pretty amazing “first to market” IBM tech products — like the first internet-enabled cash register, first branded kiosk, and the first sub-$1000 consumer PC.
Every product came with its own unique challenges that had to be engineered and marketed to overcome. For example: at a time when the Internet was taking off and global sourcing was being streamlined, we were able to apply magnetic stripe technology, thermal printers, and outsourced software applications into a what we called ‘a computer on a stick.’
This kiosk was networked to push and pull information over the Internet, mobile and lightweight, easy for consumers to use, and highly precise and accurate.
Developing IBM’s first branded self-service Kiosk was just the beginning. Making it easily serviceable and bringing it to market and selling it into stores that weren’t very sure that they could afford it… involved so much more! It was a wonderful time when marketing and sales worked together really really well — I loved it.
I really enjoyed the work I was part of. But, one day I started feeling like I was falling behind what was happening in other industries and the world beyond mine. I was feeling like I needed more in my life so I left the corporate scene and started to work for myself!
Starting in early 2002, I have been working with mid-sized corporate clients who want to be more effective and dynamic with their product line-up and in their marketing approach.
As the lead project manager and founder of Sleddogg Marketing, I have contributed to non-profit boards, am an invited guest lecturer on the topic of The Effective Marketing Approach, and have participated as a judge for international marketing award programs.
From Olympic sponsorship activation to industry competitive positioning, I have spent the last 18 years working with clients who want to be more effective and dynamic with their product line-up and engagement marketing programs.
As an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, I help filmmakers develop impact strategies and put them into action. I work to build partnerships and tactics designed to deepen and advance the positive impact a film can have on our culture.
The films I have worked on have received festival awards, including Best Documentary for Change, Spirit of Activism Award, and Best Documentary Feature — to name a few.
