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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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And just how do you know that your tongue is in good condition? The main sign is that it’s a shade of pink (which can go from light to dark). Another sign is that your tongue doesn’t have any of the following 10 issues going on. If yours does — and especially if yours remains with these symptoms for more than a couple of days — don’t take it lightly. Because, even though your tongue is only aboutthree inches long (and a little over two inches wide), it’s a little thing that makes a really big impact. Therefore, you need it to be as healthy as possible at all times.
1. Red Tongue
Another word for a red tongue isa strawberry one. Strawberry tongues happen as the result of being vitamin B12 deficient, experiencing a food or medication-related allergy, or having an underlying illness. Another thing that can cause a strawberry tongue is TSS, which is the abbreviation for toxic shock syndrome (wild, right?). So if you know that you are low in vitamin B12 and your tongue appears red, consider taking a B12 supplement and/orconsuming foods that are high in the nutrient, like beef, tuna, eggs, salmon, and milk alternatives (like almond or oat).
If you suspect that something else might be the case, make an appointment with your doctor because you may need an antibiotic or a prescription-strength antihistamine. Plus, you may need your healthcare provider to confirm that you don’t haveglossitis, which is a condition that addresses tongue inflammation; it looks similar to a strawberry tongue, yet the treatment is sometimes different.
2. Yellow Tongue
If you’ve been noticing that your breath doesn’t smell as fresh as it usually does, stick out your tongue to see if it has a yellowish hue to it. If so, that could be the underlying cause, as a yellow tongue is oftentimes caused by poor oral hygiene and/or a build-up of bacteria. Now, while it should go on record that certain foods, drinks, medications, mouthwashes, and even smoking (tobacco) can temporarily “stain” your tongue, if that is the case, the color will fade; if not, you may have a bout of yellow tongue.
And if it is due to poor hygiene, simply brushing your tongue should remedy it. However, since a yeast infection of the mouth (yes, it happens) and underlying conditions like jaundice and diabetes could also be the culprit, don’t “Google” a home remedy here. If your tongue remains yellow after a few days — especially if you have other symptoms like vomiting, a fever, or blood in your stools — make an appointment to see your physician as soon as possible, just to rule out that nothing else is potentially going on.
3. Bumpy Tongue
Honestly, there are all sorts of things that can result in you havinga bumpy tongue. You could have bitten or burned it, which resulted in some sort of tongue injury, you could have a food allergy, or you could have some sort of oral infection or an STI/STD like syphilis (which has jumpeda whopping 80 percent over the past few years when it comes to new cases) or oral herpes or it could be something as simple (and hella common) as an old-fashioned canker sore.
If it is a canker sore (which is nothing more than a mild mouth ulcer), avoiding spicy foods for several days and rinsing your mouth with some baking soda and water should speed up the healing process. On the other hand, if the bump continues to grow or doesn’t go away within 7-10 days, your doctor may need to perform some blood tests to see why it is still hanging around.
4. White Coating on Tongue
Typically, if you happen to have a thin water coat on your tongue, you simply need to brush it. However, it would be irresponsible of me to not also bring up the fact that a white tongue could also be a sign of dehydration (especially from drinking too much alcohol), not consuming enough fresh fruits and vegetables, breathing through your mouth instead of your nose (which can “dry out” your tongue), damaging your tongue with a sharp object (or dentures) and/or smoking or vaping tobacco. The silver lining in all of this is you can pretty much resolve these with the help of a few lifestyle changes.
5. Sore Tongue
I don’t know what in the world makes people think that they need a condom for intercourse, and yet they can’t get an STI/STD from oral sex because that couldn’t be further from the truth. Pretty much any sex-related infection that you can get from intercourse, you can get from oral activity, so if you’re sexually active, not getting tested regularly, and your tongue has been feeling sore or you notice sores in your mouth, contact your doctor so that they can run some tests.
That said, it’s also important to keep in mind that ulcers, food allergies, smoking, nutrient deficiencies, certain medications, oral cancer, and various infections can lead to having a sore tongue too. Since the causes are so vast, when should you be particularly concerned? If your tongue develops lumps or blisters, changes color, or is also in pain, that’s your cue to see your physician. Please make sure that you do.
6. Green Tongue
If your tongue starts off looking white andthen ends up turning green, it could be due to a build-up of bacteria. However, another thing that it could be a sign of is oral thrush or even oral cancer. Since oftentimes this particular color is yeast-related, avoid trying to self-diagnose it. Instead, contact your doctor because there is a good chance that you may need the type of antifungal medication that requires a prescription.
7. Gray Tongue
Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune condition; eczema is not, although it can produce symptoms that look similar to psoriasis, including an itchy rash. What a lot of people don’t know, though, is you can have psoriasis and eczema in your mouth. When it’s due to psoriasis, it’s oftentimes linked to what is known as geographic tongue, where spots and patches are on the tongue — and when those patches are actual lesions, sometimes they can appear to be gray in color.
Since eczema and oral cancer can also cause your tongue to look gray, it’s best to have your doctor or dentist take a look at it, especially if you have trouble eating or swallowing, too.
8. Blue Tongue
If yourtongue has a blueish hue (and it’s not because you ate something like a bowl of blueberries or had a blue or purple popsicle), the first thing that it’s probably a sign of is poor circulation. If that is the case, you need to head to an emergency room as soon as possible because blood circulation issues are absolutely nothing to play with. Something else worth taking note of is if you have some varicose veins on other parts of your body, it’s not totally abnormal to get a couple of them on your tongue as you get older.
Although that is not a medical emergency, you should still monitor them and bring them to your doctor’s attention at your next visit. Also, anemia can cause a blue or purple tongue, so if your tongue is that color and you’re constantly feeling tired or weak, you are lightheaded, you have shortness of breath, or an irregular heartbeat, put your physician on notice.Anemia is nothing to play with either.
9. “Hairy” Tongue
Did you know that your tongue is supposed to do some of its own shedding (not peeling but shedding)? Basically, the tongue's papillae are what gives your tongue its “rough” surface, and when those little bumps don’t get new cells, it can lead to what is known as a hairy tongue, which is simplya build-up of keratin that can make your tongue look “hairy.” Not only that but if your tongue gets to this point, food, bacteria, and yeast can accumulate and can turn your tongue into a totally different color.
Although more seniors than younger adults end up with a hairy tongue, it’s good to remember that it occurs due to poor oral hygiene and, although a tongue scraper (followed by consistent brushing of your tongue) should remedy the issue if a hairy tongue recurs, you should definitely make an appointment with your dentist or doctor. A hairy tongue, you should not have.
10. Peeling Tongue
Even something as small as a canker sore can feel like it’s big as hell when it’s on your tongue, so just imagine whata peeling tongue must feel like. More times than not, this is the result of oral thrush or physical damage that is done to the top layer of your tongue including constantly drinking or eating spicy or acidic foods. Although a peeling tongue tends to be more irritating than anything, if it’s accompanied by a fever, tongue swelling, or bumps that continue to grow or open up — you already know what I’m about to say.
You need your tongue, sis. Therefore, it’s important that you pay attention to when it sends signs that it’s not working at its optimal level. At the end of the day, whether you realize it or not, your overall health and well-being depend on it.
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