While Issa Rae's HBO show Insecure is coming to an end, the star just celebrated a new beginning. The writer/actress got married to her longtime boyfriend Louis Diame in July in the south of France. The couple released the wedding photos on social media on July 26. And while many people expressed excitement for the 36-year-old, others were left confused thanks to Issa's sense of humor.
The Insecure star posted a carousel of photos showing her in a wedding dress, standing alongside her groom and smiling with her bridesmaids. However, the caption read:
"Impromptu photo shoot in a custom @verawang dress.
B) My girls came to help me, but they all coincidentally had on the same dress! They were sooooo embarrassed.
C) Then I took a few flicks with Somebody's Husband.
Big thanks to @whiteedenweddings for being so gracious and accommodating and making this feel so real and special."
Lee Vuitton/AM PR Group via Getty Images
Issa has always kept her private life private, but during her recent appearance on The Tamron Hall Show, she opened up about why she revealed her wedding to the public the way she did.
"I was supposed to do this in 2020 and things were different at that time and I worked with Vera Wang who were really great and they wanted to post a photo. At the time I was like 'ok, yeah no problem' and then later I was like 'oh, they're going to post the photo before me, let me tell it my way in the best way I know how' and that's the only reason I let it go."
She continued:
"I wanted to release the photo my way first without having them (Vera Wang) release it. It was great to work with them and everything, but I knew the picture was going to get out and of course there were publications calling as well."
The actress went on to discuss what it was like walking down the aisle and the wedding overall.
"It was just a beautiful experience. People tell you that it goes by fast, and they're right. But my thing was, it was a party. At the end of the day, it was just a big party. And it was a lot of fun."
"I feel so blessed to be surrounded by people who took the time out to just come and celebrate, and that's something that I'll cherish for the rest of my life," she said.
Some of those people who came out to celebrate Issa's nuptials to Louis were her Insecure co-stars Yvonne Orji and Jay Ellis.
The fifth and final season of Insecure premieres October 24 on HBO.
Featured image by Rich Fury/Getty Images
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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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