What was initially a way for her to express her feelings became a highly anticipated film that Zoë Kravitz wrote and directed.
Blink Twice is Zoë’s directorial debut. It touches on an important topic that has dominated the news cycle for the last few years: the #MeTooMovement.
Starring the multihyphenate's fiancé, Channing Tatum, and Naomi Ackie, the story follows Frida, played by Ackie, a waitress who meets her crush, Slater, played by Tatum, a charming billionaire, at a party and gets the opportunity of a lifetime to go to his private island.
However, after days go by, Frida discovers her best friend, who accompanied her on the island, is missing, and this leads her to find out what’s really been happening to the women on the trip.
Zoë recently sat down with xoNecole to discuss her decision to make this film, why she left the ending up to viewers’ own interpretation and more.
Channing Tatum, Zoë Kravitz, and Naomi Ackie
Photo by Dave Benett/WireImage
“I didn’t plan on directing this. I also didn’t even intend on making it when I started writing it,” she tells xoNecole. “I just needed to kinda let out this emotion that I was having and feeling like I didn’t have a place to put it or a way to work it out.
“And then, the more I wrote, the more the story developed. And I saw the movie very clearly in my mind, and once we got the script to a place where we thought, ‘Oh, we might actually make this,’ I just felt so protective of it.
“I saw it so clearly that I was afraid that if I passed it on to someone else to direct, it wouldn’t be what I wanted it to be, and so I just said, ‘Okay, I’m gonna do it.’”
Watch the full interview below.
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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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