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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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During his interview with Essence, the Eagles quarterback gushed about knowing he had something special with Bry. “I knew a long time ago,” he said. “I mean, to this point in my life, that’s an irreplaceable feeling. I think that’s what allowed us to get to where we are now.”
Both are relatively private and haven't said much about their engagement. However, the internet has celebrated the exciting news of Black love. So we've gathered what we know about Bry and their love story.
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They met at the University of Alabama
Jalen and Bry both attended the University of Alabama and were involved in Greek life. Jalen is a member of Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Inc., and Bry is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc. The NFL heartthrob played football for the school but later transferred to the University of Oklahoma during his senior year to continue his football career.
Bry has brains and beauty
Bry's LinkedIn profile shows that she graduated from Bama in 2017 with a bachelor's in Spanish and political science. She then went back to pursue her MBA. In 2018, she became the vice president of Bama's MBA Association and was the captain of the MBA Case Team. In 2019, their team won the national SEC Championship. After graduating, she began working at IBM and is currently an AI partner.
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They both love philanthropy
Bry's tech career has led her to help others with the same passion. In 2022, she served as a coach for IBM's 8-week Accelerate program, which helps minorities prepare for the real world. She also spoke at Manderson Women in Business talk and a Diversity & Inclusion panel in 2021.
Jalen's Instagram page shows many examples of him giving back, especially to the communities in Philadelphia. He's worked with KB foundation to provide food and coats at several schools. He's also seen painting with kids and playing football with them and his teammates.
We can't wait to see what the future unfolds for Jalen and Bry. Congrats to the beautiful couple.
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