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NEW brand, who dis?! Witness the magic on my brand new website!
A lot of times when we think about a rebrand, we think about new logos and colors… and as you’ll hear in this episode, there was a lot of that.
But through this process, there was also a lot of discussion about what the Jenna Kutcher brand IS; how to make it reflect ME and what I stand for and who I am becoming.
In this episode, I’m peeling back the curtain on what went into the new brand, why it came about, who played a role in helping get it done, and how we went about it.
Whether you’re building your first or your fifth brand, my goal for this episode is to help you start to think about your own brand and if you need a little update, too!
What IS A Brand?
So many entrepreneurs focus on the wrong things when they think about branding. It’s important to know the difference between a business and a brand. A business is a product, service, or offer that someone can purchase. A brand, however, is the PERSONALITY behind your offers!
Notice that your brand is not just your colors or fonts… it’s the personality behind everything you do – which will ultimately make people FEEL something, not just see something. Creating a true brand will allow your business to be multi-faceted and continue to evolve, giving you the opportunity to take people on the journey with you.
A successful brand focuses so much on the way things look – though that is a fun and creative part of it, it’s important to look at the entire story and how you want people to feel about you.
Why I Rebranded
Interestingly enough, I’ve actually never had a formal brand. I’ve always “been” the brand and obviously I’ve changed over the years and I’ve had different looks and feels and vibes and colors but I’ve never truly had a solid brand identity.
Beyond what things looked like, I wanted to be able to reintroduce myself. I feel like I have been growing and evolving SO much lately that this felt like a beautiful way to step out in a new light and to refine things and have one cohesive vision that was the umbrella over all of the things I do.
The Vision Beyond The Rebrand
Going into this rebrand, I knew I wanted it to feel bright, vibrant, peaceful, inviting, and ALIVE.
My mission statement had shifted over the years from “imperfectly leading women” to wanting to help women build businesses they don’t hate so they can live lives that they love.
I wanted my brand to show a lot of the shifts I’ve encountered over the years, stepping away from the grief of loss, stepping into this stage of life and motherhood, embracing my curious spirit, and loving life more than I love my work. I wanted a brand that showcased that so that other women know it’s real and it’s also possible for them, too!
That’s why I think it’s so important to evaluate your core values, understand your target audience, and identify exactly what problem your brand solves before you ever even think about creating a logo.
I believe that a brand is so much more than a business; it’s a crucial way you connect with and communicate with your audience.
What Goes Into A Rebrand
1. Once I decided we would rebrand, I first wanted to start on the messaging and the feel. I think it’s super important to get clear there BEFORE you go any further because it’s your job to communicate it to any designer you work with. Even if you’re DIY-ing it, you must be super clear on the messaging and the feel before ever creating a logo!
2. After I felt clear there, I went to a graphic designer! I had a few options that were all amazing and ultimately I ended up hiring Briana from Brightenmade. She was actually the designer behind the cover of my book so it was a natural fit. Since the design of my book won’t be changing, I loved that she could design the rest of the brand identity to fit WITH the design of the book without having to match it!
3. Next, it was time to get some brand photos. I am so happy we waited to have photos taken until after we had the initial brand direction done because Briana had helped us nail the color palette and the vibe of the photos. This helped nail down everything from backdrops to outfits and the color story! I worked with Jordan Quinn again. She’s a dream, I love her and her ability to art direct and keep things moving. I still can’t get over how many looks we shot and how efficient we were!
4. Once we had all of the logos, treatments, fonts, and colors, we were able to start to put the pieces of the puzzle together on the website! This was the biggest overhaul that you’d see as a consumer because it totally shifted the way the brand felt. Shout out to my fave web designer on the planet, Jen Olmstead of Tonic Site Shop who I have worked with for eight years and Tara from Oregon Lane who assisted her– they crushed it!
5. Last but not least, there was a lot of internal design to work on in the brand. This includes things like the Goal Digger social media graphics, Facebook and LinkedIn cover photos, Pinterest templates, ad graphics, course workbooks, freebies, and more. Madie from LeRue Creative has been my graphic designer for years, and she’s helping us flip our old work in new ways!
Challenges We Encountered During This Process
There were a few things that were interesting to navigate — the first was timing. It was tricky and delicate to try and line up all contractors and make sure each person had what they needed to do their job and then to put it all together in the end! Each contractor had a unique schedule and process, so we needed to pull everything together to make sure each contractor had everything they needed to do their job!
Another thing that was interesting to me was how long it took. I’m so used to moving really fast and a full rebrand like this is not a fast process. We started it at the end of 2023, so it’s been going on for about 7 months behind the scenes!
The last thing would be the amount of pages we have — I’m not exaggerating when I say that we have over 100 landing pages, so we had to prioritize which ones were the most important to get done first, and work from there.
What Does The Rebrand Mean For YOU?
One thing I’ve learned about branding time and time again is that no one cares about your brand as much as you do.
At the end of the day, no one will lose sleep over or hit refresh on your website the way you do, so it’s important that your brand is something that YOU are proud of! And I am personally so excited about this rebrand.
What it means for YOU is that it feels fresh, it matches the vision of today, it means we’re updating EVERYTHING to make them better for you. This whole process has pushed us to dig into what you need more of and how to make YOUR experience even better whether it’s as a podcast listener, an email subscriber, a course student, or just a member of my community!
My Advice For YOUR Brand
If you’re considering a rebrand, the first place to start is asking yourself: Is this a “nice to have” or a “need to have”? 90% of the time, formal branding is a “nice to have” and it’s something that you’ll aspire to get to when you hit a certain level of success.
I didn’t do any of this for the first decade of my business; you don’t HAVE to have a professional brand to be successful. However, based on your business type or who you serve, elevated branding COULD elevate your business in a massive way!
To get started, take some time to review your current brand if you have one or to journal about the brand you want to build if you’re in the start-up stages.
While reviewing your brand, write down:
- What you love about your brand,
- What you want to leave behind,
- The mission statement that fits who you’re serving now,
- What your values are, and
- The top 3 inspirations you have for the brand.
Rebranding in this way is an investment but for me, it’s been something that has brought passion, life, and refinement back into my business and it’s a celebration for sure.
This rebrand was a labor of love from everyone involved from start to finish, and I’m so proud to say that I think we’ve created something uniquely, undeniably ours. To see the new brand in its entirety, visit my main website or any of my social media platforms @jennakutcher!
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