Brand Makeovers: Lillee Jean On The 5 Things You Should Do To Upgrade and Re-Energize Your Brand and Image
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Oversight. Probably the most important in my opinion, while the execution of plans is happening, you need to make sure at all times that there is accountability and oversight to the plan.
As part of our series about “Brand Makeovers” I had the pleasure to interview Lillee Jean.
Lillee Jean is a well-known social media celebrity, with long ties to the borough of Queens in New York City. She is a content creator, influencer, actress, model, entrepreneur, beauty and health blogger, and lifestyle vlogger. Self-taught in makeup, she is known for her easy-to-use makeup tutorials that can go from soft glam to full-on glamorous looks. Lillee Jean is also an advocate for cyberbullying and the environment. While she mainly focuses her content on beauty and health which airs on her YouTube Channel, she has created her web series, called Lillee Jean TALKS! Live, which airs live on her IG TV channel, as well as runs on her YouTube, and own website. She likes to explore other additional subjects on her channel, which range from digital art to mental health.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I always loved entertaining people, but I especially loved glamour, beauty, and glitz. I’m grateful I can bring joy to people by giving them fun things to watch, and also touch their lives by talking about current events that are relevant to everyone right now.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing or branding mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Not the funniest, but the most important mistake. When I was starting out I would read the comments that people would leave on my various social platforms. One of the biggest mistakes was allowing myself to believe what people would say online. When I first started doing this, I branded myself as a beauty guru only, but as time has gone on, I want to do more, and I want to be more. Freeing myself from the confines of what I originally placed on myself, as well as not “googling myself”, changed me, and how I saw my brand.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?
The tipping point in my career was when I realized that change needed to happen. I had for so long allowed a small group of cybercriminals, to take over my life. Once I realized that they were weighing me down, and I was allowing them to do that, it was like a light was turned on in my mind. What once took me off my A-Game, and made my health, mentally and physically, suffer, I was able to regain through a conscious decision to rebrand in my mind, and my surroundings.
The takeaway from this experience for me is to not take things, like these people, who really, in retrospect are not important, to heart anymore. I have come to realize that these people cannot be changed, and I have a lot of pity and compassion for them. I would tell anyone who goes up against this sort of thing, to remember to ignore the ignorance, and follow what makes you feel good, and do it well.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Many exciting things are coming next year, some I can talk about, and some I cannot. I am looking forward to starting Season 3 of my show, “Lillee Jean Talks! LIVE”. I have so many well known and interesting guests lined up, I think my fans are going to love the show. I also have a documentary I am working on, (that targets online bullying), with a family friend, who is a well-known Hollywood documentarian, as well as writer and producer. I can’t talk much about that, but I am very excited to move forward with it, and also to try to make changes in federal laws regarding online behavior.
What advice would you give to other marketers to thrive and avoid burnout?
I would say that you need to set a strategy for goals and stick to them. When we started rebranding, our team decided the best approach was to set milestones. For example, we go by a three month rule. We put down in a 3 month period, what we want to achieve, and we work from there. The goals are prioritized by what will benefit me best, and if we end up not achieving all of the goals we set down, we roll them into the next three month plan we have. To me, the best way to avoid burnout is to set those goals, make them realistic, and if not all are met, don’t beat yourself up about it, know you’ve done your best, and put them forth for the coming months, as new goals to be reached.
Ok, let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
It really can be the same in my vision. Many say that product vs. brand is the head vs. the heart, but to me, it is just two spectrums of the same idea. For example, I am the brand. Without me, there is no company and no voice, as I am, the living, walking product. Building a brand is not about marketing the product, but about defining who I am, and what I stand for. People should be able to look at me and know that they are going to get multi-level messages that range from me as the brand, giving you the product, which is entertainment, when it comes to Lillee Jean, as well as the dual side of it, which is me as the product, giving you, to put it as simple as possible, me, the product. As the product, which in this instance is not a tangible thing, but a person, entertaining you, I need to be able to come to the table and offer my fans enjoyment, as well as what I am all about.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
It is important to invest in all areas of your brand, because it defines who you are, and what you are going to give people, as you grow. I have grown so much as a person, and that shows in my work, and what I give back to my fans. I want my fans to know what is important to me, such as the environment, and advocacy for stronger online laws. I want my fans to come to my social media platforms, and websites, and enjoy themselves, and have opinions on the things I give back to them.
Let’s now talk about rebranding. What are a few reasons why a company would consider rebranding?
In my situation, the reckless behavior, of a small group of adults, who enticed children to get involved with their defamation scheme, merely to provide online juvenile enjoyment for themselves, defamed and bordered on almost ruining my reputation, not to mention my personal life. At the lowest point they got me at, I felt defeated, and I felt that the brand, Lillee Jean, and me, were no longer going to exist. I realized that this is what I love to do, entertaining, and nobody can nor would take that from me. I needed to refresh my image, and show my fans, and hopefully other people that would become fans in the future, that I was strong, I had a message I wanted to share, and I needed to prove to them, that the outlandish fantasies that were spread across the internet by this very small group of people, could not and would not destroy my reputation nor me. Rebranding was the only clear answer, and that is exactly what we did. Because they tarnished my corporate name, we decided to rebrand the corporation, and revamp my image, to be a stronger person, then I previously had shown to people.
That was my experience, but in retrospect, I think most companies every few years should consider rebranding. It brings a fresher perspective on your message and stays relevant for the times.
Are there downsides of rebranding? Are there companies that you would advise against doing a “Brand Makeover”? Why?
I suppose the downside could be that the “familiar” that people are used to, might be refused by people. Branding for any product shouldn’t be cold water thrown to people who are interested in the brand. You have to find what people are interested in and zoom in on that.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Can you share 5 strategies that a company can do to upgrade and re-energize their brand and image”? Please tell us a story or an example for each.
- Research. You should always see what others in your industry are doing. I don’t mean mimic them, but I do mean get ideas from what they are doing, and do it better than them;
- Innovation. If you are going to make that change, then make sure it is relevant for the times, and that it is clear in being an innovated new thing for people to want;
- Communication. A rebranding needs to have direct communication between everyone in the company. Without that you are going to come off the rails fast;
- Clear Direction. It is great to have a new plan, but without a real direction on how you want tasks to be performed, you are not going to get very far;
- Oversight. Probably the most important in my opinion, while the execution of plans is happening, you need to make sure at all times that there is accountability and oversight to the plan.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job doing a “Brand Makeover”. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Angelina Jolie is a perfect example of rebranding. She has gone from being known as the wild child without direction, doing irresponsible stunts, to a humanitarian who has children, and works to better the world, when she is not entertaining us. She impresses me simply because it is not an act on her behalf, I truly believe she is committed to every cause she puts her heart into.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
People learn to help each other. Too often we forget each other and leave others in the dust. If we all just made a small effort to be kinder, and help each other, what an amazing world this would be.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Mother Theresa said “Some people come into your life as blessings. Some come in your life as lessons.” A truer statement cannot be said. Going through the relentless harassment, and online defamation, certainly was not a blessing, but it taught me how I want to be, and what I want to project and do for the world.
How can our readers follow you online?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilleejean/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGQF-GZ2oWfgb1NN3QtJJlA (Lillee Jean)
Websites: https://www.lilleejean.com and https://www.lilleejeanbeauty.com
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/REALlilleejean/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealLilleeJean
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/LilleeJean
Digital Art: https://www.deviantart.com/lilleejean
Giphy: https://giphy.com/lilleejean
Tenor: https://tenor.com/official/lilleejean
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10479689/
Thank you so much for these excellent insights! We wish you continued success in your work.
Brand Makeovers: Lillee Jean On The 5 Things You Should Do To Upgrade and Re-Energize Your Brand… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
