— Brand Nouveau —   

Strategic planning for a successful, authentic rebrand.

You have a vision for the future of your brand.

Whether or not you’ve spoken it out loud, when you imagine where you want to be — where you could be — in a year…or five…or ten…something comes immediately to mind.

Are you sitting at a desk in your home, chatting happily on Skype with a client who’s become a good friend? Are you looking out from your C-Suite office at a room full of employees busily making connections and growing your business? Are you in a meeting with a global charity to discuss your contribution to a project that supports a cause close to your heart? Picking out the perfect products to appear in your next magazine feature? Hosting a deluxe retreat that will pay your bills for the next six months?

Whatever your vision, you can feel its pull anytime you allow your mind to wander. Sure, it may shift a little over time, but generally speaking, you’ve got a pretty good idea of what is and isn’t included in the business of your dreams.

But when you look at the business you’re presenting to the world right now, there’s a disconnect.

Maybe when you launched your business, you didn’t really take the time to develop your branding. It’s understandable — branding can be complicated and time-consuming, and maybe you didn’t know at that stage whether you were more of a serif or a sans serif person, or what sort of tagline would best represent the business you were about to start.

Maybe you’ve evolved over time, and the brand you built no longer fits you. You may have grown beyond being a one-person show, or maybe the brand presence that felt right as a new business now feels a little too green for the seasoned professional you’ve become.

Whatever it is, you know that, in order to get where you want to be, you need to make changes to where you are right now. That old saying about dressing for the job you want? It’s true for your business, too.

So you’re thinking about making some changes to your brand.

Whether you feel like what you’re doing right now just isn’t working or you feel it’s working so well you’re ready to take it to the next level, you can tell it’s time to evolve. This may look like a light refresh, just polishing up what you have and nudging your business gently in the direction you hope to grow. Or maybe you’re in more of a “scorched earth, fresh slate, burn it all down to dust” sort of mood. Either way, you need to come up with a plan. Because a great rebrand? That takes some serious thought.

It’s totally doable. This is where we come in.

Hi. I’m Katie Mehas, Creative Director of The Voice Bureau. I’m a content specialist, an analytics nerd, and a marketing expert. I can’t begin to tell you how many clients have come to me over the years looking for support as they make shifts in their online business presence. From gently massaged website copy to full ground-up restructuring, I’ve seen how otherwise savvy business owners struggle to find their next steps when it comes to a rebrand. With our recent expansion into the design and development side of branding, we’re in a great place to support our clients with the full scope of crafting an updated brand presence, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Together with Jane McLaughlin, our Doyenne of Design & Digital, I’ve created Brand Nouveau to help you bridge the gap from how your business is showing up now to where you want it to be.

Of course, it’s not as simple as swapping out a bit of copy and a few colors on your website. (If only, right?)

A rebrand can be a complicated and often lengthy process. Big businesses go through rebrands all the time, debuting new logos and styles and websites to keep ahead of the latest trends in their market, and they tend to spend beaucoup money and time ensuring they get it right. Nobody wants to be the next “New Coke.”

So how can you be sure your rebrand does what you need it to do and goes smoothly — without throwing Coca-Cola or Microsoft dollars at the problem?

Well, it takes some planning.

A great rebrand will:

• Incorporate what’s fabulous about your current brand, ensuring what you love comes with you and creating a sense of continuity for your clients
• Take a holistic look at who you’re serving, what you’re doing for them, and why they come to you in particular — and establish if that needs to evolve or stay the same for you to reach your goals
• Reflect on every part of how you’re showing up in your brand, from fonts and colors to brand voice, content, and website structure
• Be selective about what needs to be changed and what is already working for you
• Consider all the technical aspects of rebranding, from updating your site to creating new e-letter templates
• Reassure your Right Person that you are the best person to support them, with a brand that feels authentic and natural for you and the way you do your best work.

But a great rebrand doesn’t happen on its own. It’s tempting to update your logo, change a few colors, and move on with your life, but it’s crucial to understand why you’re making the changes you’re making, and know what exactly these changes are saying to your Right Person. Otherwise, you’re just making changes for the sake of making changes, and the chances of these being the right changes — the ones that are going to bring you more in line with your ideal future business — are very slim.

It’s okay, though — there’s no need to launch an exploratory committee and spend the next four years planning your next steps. How about four weeks, instead?

Here’s what you get:

After purchasing, you’ll receive 8 Audio Classes (Mp3s) with attractive and easy-to-print written transcripts, to download and complete at your own pace.

How the learning will flow:

Week One – Taking Stock

Lesson One – Katie: You’ll identify the areas of your business that are working well and the pain points where you’re currently struggling, and begin to translate those into the foundation of what your future brand will be. You’ll also take a closer look at your current website and determine what needs to stay…and what needs to go.

Lesson Two – Jane: You’ll learn to use analytics to determine how your clients — or would-be clients — are using your current website and figure out exactly what that means. Plus, we’ll talk about the technical aspects of transferring to a new website and create a timetable of what needs to happen and when in order to successfully launch your new site by your targeted launch date.

Week Two – Your Evolving Right Person

Lesson Three – Katie: As your business changes, there’s a good chance that your Right Person will shift as well, either dramatically or in subtle ways, as your updated brand appeals to new clients. You’ll develop a profile for your evolving Right Person, taking cues from your Voice Values (and theirs) and defining who your audience is and what you mean to them. Looking at your existing business and where you hope to be, you’ll be able to craft a profile that includes both what you love about your current clientele and what you hope to see in the future that will guide you as you develop your new branding.

Lesson Four – Jane: Understanding your Right Person isn’t just about knowing where they work or where their favorite vacation spot is. In this lesson, you’ll study how they interact with your website and will create a user experience that guides their behavior flow through the website exactly where you want them to go — and helps them be ready to sign on once they get there.

Week Three – What Do You Do?

Lesson Five – Katie: Whether your rebrand sees you in a whole new line of work or just clarifying what you already do so your Right Person better understands it (and knows why to hire you), this lesson will guide you through creating your unique selling proposition (USP) which will serve as a sort of mission statement for your brand. You’ll establish what products or services you’ll be offering including any signature offerings, based on your own interests and the needs of your Right Person. You’ll be able to state clearly — to yourself and to your potential clients — exactly what you do and how it can help them.

Lesson Six – Jane: Would-be clients searching for businesses like yours often have expectations of what they’ll see in your design and layout, based on market trends. You’ll identify some of the market trends your competitors are incorporating into their websites, and find ways to make your site feel familiar and easy to navigate while still adapting these styles to suit your own brand — so you’re standing out from your competitors while still feeling like your site belongs in this particular market.

Week Four – Finding Your Niche

Lesson Seven – Katie: With a solid understanding of the brand you hope to become, it’s time to put your rebrand into action. You’ll learn how to redirect your brand conversation — and what, exactly, a brand conversation is — updating your brand voice and content to be natural, authentic, and effective in supporting your vision for the future. You’ll also look at your current website and the content you have there and determine what’s important to keep to support your business, and what needs to go.

Lesson Eight – Jane: The most directly impactful part of a redesign often comes from the visual changes to your site, and in this final lesson, you’ll develop the tools you need to create a visual style that suits your evolving brand. From creating vision boards to choosing new fonts, colors, and images for your site, this is where your new look comes together.

So, to recap, your course experience includes:

• 8 Audio Class Mp3s with attractively formatted, easy-to-print written transcripts, with each lesson written and recorded by either Katie or Jane, alternating each lesson
• Brand voice, Right Person, and web design and development guidance, with a focus on planning and implementing a rebrand now, not someday in the future
• Brand voice exploration and insights based in our signature methodology, The Voice Values paradigm for branding, which has been described as “the Myers-Briggs for creative entrepreneurs”

 

Brand Nouveau is ideal for YOU if you …

• are a values-based business solo or small business owner, meaning, your clients’ and customers’ experience is every bit as important to you as their results and your bottom line
• are planning to make changes to your business and the way it is presented online, either as a full-scale overhaul or a gentle makeover
• have some concept of writing and design; you don’t need to be a marketing or design professional, but if you don’t know a serif from a style guide, you’ll probably want more one-on-one support than this course will offer
• are comfortable making updates to your website, or plan to hire someone who can make them for you
• have a pretty good understanding of your current business and a vision for where you want to be, but need a hand making that leap.

Cost

       $425 USD 

 

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What This Course Is NOT:

We love clarity and think it’s important to manage expectations. Here’s what is NOT included in Brand Nouveau:

• A coding or web development primer. While we’ll help you understand what technical aspects need to be accounted for in your rebrand, we can’t share instructions on how to update your particular website.
• A guide for branding your first business. The insights shared in this course are tailored to businesses that have been active for at least six months to a year, and if you’re just now launching your business, the reflection and guidance we provide won’t really apply to where you are in your process.
• Extensive personal recommendations for the direction of your own rebrand or site design. We’ll provide you the tools you need and will answer your questions in the Facebook group, but you’ll need to do some work on your own to get there.

 

In other words, we’re going to help owners of existing online businesses create a plan for an effective, impactful, and authentic rebrand, but we won’t be focusing on coding or how to build a website, and brand new business owners won’t find most of our discussions useful in establishing an online presence for the first time.

FAQs

// I REALLY WANT THIS MATERIAL BUT I’M NOT SURE WHEN I’LL HAVE TIME TO WORK THROUGH IT. HOW LONG WILL I HAVE ACCESS TO THE COURSE MATERIALS?

Forever! Once downloaded to your own computer or online storage, your course materials are yours to keep, use, and engage with forever — no expiration date.

// WILL THIS COURSE HELP ME IF I’M WORKING WITH A DESIGNER OR COPYWRITER FOR MY REBRAND?

Brand Nouveau is designed to help you figure out exactly what you want your rebrand to be and to create a detailed, comprehensive plan to make it happen. If you’re comfortable with building websites and writing copy, this may be all you need. If you prefer to work with a designer and/or copywriter on the actual execution, this course will help you give them the clear direction they need to make sure their work matches your vision. We’ll be taking you right up to the point where you’re ready to execute your rebrand — whether you choose to do that on your own or with a team is up to you.

// HOW MANY HOURS A WEEK SHOULD I EXPECT TO SPEND ON THIS COURSE?

It depends on how fast of a processor you are. Some people like to listen to the audios multiple times each lesson, lingering over the transcripts, and luxuriating in the worksheets. Others primarily listen or read, maybe not both, and they move quickly through the worksheets. Most people are somewhere in between.

On average, a good time estimate is 2-3 hours per lesson per week (1 hour or less listening/reading, plus an additional hour or two on worksheets, including thinking/processing time). There are 2 lessons each week, so that means you might spend 4-6 hours per week total over the course of 4 weeks. Some people will spend a lot less time to work through the course material, others will take longer.

// I’M A SOLO BUSINESS OWNER. DOES THE COURSE MATERIAL APPLY TO ME?

Absolutely! The Voice Bureau (our own biz) is solo-owned and specializes in copywriting and brand voice development for values-based solo-owned businesses and small businesses. If this is you, you are definitely in the right place!

// MY BUSINESS IS STILL IN THE DREAMING/PLANNING PHASE. IS IT TOO SOON FOR ME TO ENROLL IN THIS COURSE?

Definitely. Because Brand Nouveau focuses on rebranding, you need to have an existing online presence for us to start with. We recommend that you have been in business for at least six months to a year before beginning this course, so you have a good feel for what is and isn’t working in your existing brand and are able to parlay those insights into a plan for the future. If you’re not there yet, we recommend holding off for now and taking a look at this when you’re considering making some changes in the future.

// I’M A COPYWRITER or WEB DESIGNER or ANOTHER TYPE OF MARKETING PROFESSIONAL. AS A POTENTIAL COMPETITOR, DO YOU MIND IF I TAKE THIS COURSE?

As you probably know if you’ve been in the business for a while (or you’ll learn soon enough if you’re just starting out), there truly is plenty of work to go around. If you feel that you can learn something from us, we would be honored to teach you. That said, this material is proprietary to The Voice Bureau, and, while you are welcome to use it for your own business — either personally or for your clients — it may not be repackaged and retaught as a part of your service offerings, or in private consulting work with your clients.

// I’M NOT SO TECH SAVVY. WHAT DO I NEED TO BE ABLE TO USE THE COURSE MATERIALS, & WHAT IF I RUN INTO A TECH SNAFU?

If you can click links, open files, and press PLAY on an Mp3 or a video, you have what you need to use the course materials. And if you get stuck or run into a snafu, our amazing Virtual Concierge is just a message away at ">.

You may have a harder time implementing some of the updates as you launch your rebrand, but at the end of the course, you should have plenty of insight to direct a web designer on exactly what you need, if you’re not interested in doing it yourself.

// DO YOU HAVE A REFUND POLICY OR A GUARANTEE?

We guarantee that you will be getting the best of our teaching, and we do not offer refunds. We offer a rich learning experience but we do not guarantee specific results, as participants will come to this course in all different seasons of life, phases of business, and levels of self-awareness. You are responsible for integrating and implementing the course material in your own way and in your own time.

// AFTER I PURCHASE, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Watch your Inbox for a confirmation email. Click the link in the email to Complete Your Purchase. After clicking, check your inbox for an email to download your course materials. (You may also be redirected to this link after clicking Complete your Purchase — it depends on your browser.) The download page is password-protected — you’ll receive your password in an email after you’ve completed your purchase.

Any questions that aren’t addressed here? Email us at and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

Cost

       $425 USD 

 

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ABOUT the COURSE CREATORS & FACILITATORS

// KATIE MEHAS

Katie is the Creative Director and owner of The Voice Bureau. She’s been part of the Voice Bureau team, working side by side with Abby and firsthand with clients since 2012.

Her specialties include content strategy and flexible, intuitive systems. Around here, she owns the process of helping business owners become clients and getting a project underway. Katie previously worked as a magazine editor for print publications with an annual circulation of nearly 2 million before finding her niche in self-employment, and has served as an online arts and culture magazine editor and as a freelance writer. She “gets” creatives and loves helping them organize their ideas and produce them in a consistent, authentic way that doesn’t cause the sort of stress that derails the whole creative process.

Katie is an Enneagram Type 1 INTJ Cancer whose Voice Values are Accuracy, Clarity, Excellence and Power. (And if you know what all of this means, you will surely love working with her.)

Outside of The Voice Bureau, Katie can be found curled up with a bowl of olives and a good novel (or a Netflix binge) in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she lives with her two daughters.

 

//JANE MCLAUGHLIN

Jane is the newest addition to The Voice Bureau team as our Doyenne of Design and Digital, but a longtime collaborator and an expert in web design and development. She’s been helping people communicate for more years than she’d care to mention as a creative communications and brand strategist, specializing in design, delivery, innovation, future trends, and behavior change.

Jane is passionate about using creative and simple ways to communicate – finding the cut-through to express an idea and bring it to life.

She specializes in the creative use of the web and social media, from strategy and creative design to project management — and getting her hands dirty with the code too. (A bit of a guilty pleasure for her.)

Jane’s work has taken her from Edinburgh to Brighton and London and Spain, and across sectors – from entertainment and international corporations to grassroots community organizations and the creative industries – helping each to connect with their audience and reflect their brand online.

Developing new ideas and turning them into reality is something Jane adores – and does well. She’s previously co-founded a number of companies, including an award-winning artisan gluten free bakery, as well as running a pink caravan cafe on a cliff top (as one does).

Jane loves living by the sea. She makes a mean cocktail, loves great food, and will happily talk music with anyone who will listen.

 

How to help spread the word  . . .

If you feel so moved, we’d be honored if you’d share Brand Nouveau with your community or readership.

HERE ARE SOME COPY-&-PASTE-ABLE POSTS TO GET YOU GOING. OUR HASHTAG IS #BrandNouveau.

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Just enrolled in @TheVoiceBureau’s #BrandNouveau course and can’t wait to get my brand back on track! bit.ly/Brand-Nouveau

Big changes are coming for my business, and @TheVoiceBureau’s #BrandNouveau is going to make sure my branding is JUST. RIGHT. Join us? bit.ly/Brand-Nouveau

Rebrands can be overwhelming, which is why I love @TheVoiceBureau’s new #BrandNouveau course. Just four weeks to create a comprehensive plan for my rebrand! bit.ly/Brand-Nouveau