When thinking of branding our personal business, many of us like to consider nothing more than a business name, color palette and logo. However, Victoria Kennedy, CEO of Victorious PR, understands it is so much more than the visual image of a business. A successful brand establishes trust and credibility and communicates what a company does and how it does it.
Victoria first established her brand as a professional opera singer. Unlike many performers, she recognized creating a name for herself would mean the difference in performing in the smallest of venues versus some of the world’s biggest stages. Due to her ability to market her talent, Victoria lived out her dream of touring all over Europe and landing a single at the number one spot of the iTunes classical chart in Europe.
After years of singing in whimsical castles and grand cathedrals, along with singing alongside the likes of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, the fairytale came to an abrupt and unexpected end when the government refused to renew Victoria’s Visa.
Victoria was forced to return to America and left wondering what her next move would be when she realized her experience in public relations for her own career could be used to help others strive for success. The years spent researching the public relations field helped Victoria reinvent not only herself, but her own business, and she was able to rebrand and build a new business to six figures. Even more astonishing, Victoria was able to do it all in less than three months.
Victoria’s ticket to success was her ability to rebrand herself from opera singer to public relations expert, and now she helps others find their ticket to success. Victoria understood the power, value and impact of press coverage from when she was an Opera singer and she decided to offer the same to her clients. During her TEDx talk which is due in 2021, Victoria will talk about branding and how ‘Your WILL is the Key to Reinvention’ in life and business. Victoria’s work has already been featured both nationally and internationally in Entrepreneur magazine, Yahoo! Finance, Inman News, Forbes and other top publications. What Victoria aims to achieve is a same level of exposure for her clients and a chance for them to become authorities in their niche.
Building a business does not happen overnight. As a business grows, you learn what works and what doesn’t. You evolve as a business owner, your business changes over time, and therefore the brand should change alongside it to ensure it is always an accurate representation of the company.
For example, Walmart was branded as the store that saved customers money but in 2007, Walmart wanted to rebrand itself to suggest saving money in their stores would also help consumers improve their lives. Walmart changes its slogan ‘Always Low Prices’ to ‘Save Money. Live Better.’ It worked. In 2010, Walmart became the largest corporation in the world in terms of revenue.
So whether you are ready to go in a new direction, trying to reach a new customer base, releasing new products or just think it is about time to try something new, how do you successfully rebrand?
- Consider the customers. You’ve worked hard to build a loyal fanbase who appreciates your talent. It is important to keep those loyal customers in the loop during the rebranding process, and chances are, they will be just as excited as you for a new, fresh look. With open communication, you can even make them a part of a process that helps the company reach a larger audience while not pushing away those who have been with you since the very beginning.
- Join forces. One tactic that helped Victoria market herself as the newest must-have public relations expert was her ability to form partnerships with top publications such as Forbes, Yahoo Finance, FOX, ABC and more. By earning online exposure through more than 186 major publications, she was able to help establish herself as an expert in the field. Podcasts, social media and other ready-built platforms are other great avenues for reaching a broad audience. Choose publications and platforms within your niche and you will find yourself amazed at the opportunities that come your way.
- Be valuable. Rebranding is the time to consider the type of content you are putting out to consumers. Is the content what consumers are asking for? There is a reason they come to you for advice, products, services, or whatever the case may be. Now is as good a time as any to make sure you are fulfilling those needs. Ask yourself:
- Does the content get you noticed?
- Is the content helping your brand to grow?
- What do you do better than anyone else in the field? How can you use that to your advantage?
- What do consumers ask for from you the most?
You can take the answers to these questions to create content for sharing with major publications, showcasing on TikTok, YouTube, or your other chosen platforms, and make use of it during the rebranding process.
- Get creative. Now is not the time to take the safe road. Have fun with the rebranding process and don’t be afraid to color outside the lines. Rebranding can be anything from refreshing the colors of your logo to a total makeover. Whatever you choose, stay true to your values, but don’t be afraid to have to use your imagination.
- Be consistent. After the rebranding process, it is extremely important to stay consistent. If you take the time to rebrand your company, but do not take the time to make sure that new brand is properly implemented, it can have the reverse affect you were hoping for. The identity of the company will become inconsistent and lost, resulting in damage to your brand instead of the growth you were hoping to see.
It is easy to get stuck in a momentous routine, playing it safe with what you know. Victoria was not expecting to lose her dream career as an opera singer in a matter of moments, but without that loss, she would have never experienced her true potential. If you have played it safe with your branding image for too long, now is the time to rebrand and find the true ticket to your success.
Victoria Kennedy is a well-respected authority in public relations. She is a highly in-demand speaker on authority building and personal branding and has helped many clients boost their visibility and revenue. She has spoken on TEDx, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inman Connect, and several other high-profile events, in addition to being featured in over 200 publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Yahoo Finance. Click here to get into top publications: victoriouspr.com
