The Importance of Reinvention – What Can You Learn About Transforming Your Marketing from Madonna, Lady Gaga, and More?

In times of turmoil, it’s those who stay the same that struggle. But if you learn how to reinvent yourself, your firm will pull through the tough times and come back stronger.

Adversity may be the key word for the time we’re living in right now. From week to week, the situation seems to change. And it’s creating havoc in your accounting firm. You might even be wondering if you’ll be able to come back from what’s happening.

You can.

In fact, you can use the current circumstances in a positive way. This is a time for you to reinvent your firm so that it stands out from the crowd. And this very reinvention will make your firm VITAL, while your competitors struggle.

The simple fact is that the old way of doing things doesn’t work anymore. That’s been the case for a while, but what’s happening in the world has thrown it into stark contrast.

You need to change how you market your firm so that it’s capable of withstanding such difficult times. You need to unleash the Design Brand superpower so that your firm can prosper.  

And you can look to some of the world’s top celebrities to find out how.

The likes of Lady Gaga, Madonna, and many others have reinvented themselves constantly during their careers. In this article, we look at what you can learn from them and how you can apply those lessons to your marketing.

Lady Gaga – Reinvention Is a Never-Ending Process

If there is a queen of reinvention in today’s celebrity sphere, it’s Lady Gaga. She regularly changes everything, from her appearance to her musical style.

And perhaps the perfect metaphor for this is in the movie A Star is Born. The film itself represents yet another reinvention for Gaga. She went from pop icon to acclaimed actor in the space of a couple of hours.

But even the story that the movie tells highlights her ability to reinvent herself.

We see Gaga’s character as a waitress by day, without makeup and living a seemingly normal life. A failed musician in the film, she still finds ways to reinvent herself by dressing as other stars while she sings. It’s as part of this transformation that she meets Bradley Cooper’s character, Jackson Maine. And from there, she transforms into what she always needed to be.

Perhaps that’s a touch sentimental for your liking. But we’ve seen Gaga transform throughout her real career, too. From budding pop princess to icon. From musician to movie star and back again, Gaga reinvents herself constantly.

And that’s the key lesson to take away here.

Reinvention is not something that you do only once.

It’s something that you must do over and over again if you’re to remain VITAL. A single reinvention may allow your firm to advance a little bit. But without continued innovation in your marketing, you will eventually stagnate again.

Always take every opportunity to learn new things. The catalyst for your next reinvention may be just around the corner.

Madonna – Rebranding May Be the Key to Reinvention

Before there was Lady Gaga, we had Madonna.

Many people point to how the two popstars have had similar, yet contrasting careers. Both started out making fairly standard pop music before taking on a more controversial edge. They both reinvented themselves as movie stars at some point in their careers.

But the amazing thing about Madonna is that she’s still at it. Even though she’s been in the public eye since the 1980s, she’s still looking for ways to reinvent herself.

In June of 2019 she rebranded herself yet again. She’s no longer known as Madonna. Now, she’s Madame X, which is essentially a new character for her fans to learn and absorb.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this type of extreme rebranding in the pop world. Some of you may remember when Prince did something similar, becoming “The Artist Formerly Known As…”

In both cases, the lesson is the same.

Rebranding yourself may be an essential part of your marketing reinvention.

Let’s assume that your firm has been in business for several years. People think they know what to expect from your marketing materials. And they have an opinion about your firm that they may think is set in stone.

By rebranding, you’re giving yourself a clean slate.

You’re allowing your firm to reinvent itself under a new name, with a new ethos. In doing so, you can shatter all preconceived notions of who you are and what you do.

And from there, you can build something even better.

Britney Spears – Reinvention Can Repair a Damaged Reputation

A reputation is a fragile thing.

It can take years of hard work to create a great reputation in your niche. But it would only take one mistake to shatter your audience’s perception of you.

It’s fair to say that Britney Spears made several mistakes during the midpoint of her career.

Bursting onto the scene as a teenage sensation, Spears made music for adolescents. And while she always courted controversy, she managed to maintain a positive public image for quite a while.

But then she went through some difficult times and became tabloid fodder for several years.

Her response was to reinvent herself musically to create an edgier persona. She leaned into some of the issues that damaged her reputation in the first place. And now, she’s once again respected as an artist who pushes boundaries – without having newspaper pages dedicated to her scandals.

The lesson here is that reinvention could be the cure if your firm suffers a hit to its reputation.
This doesn’t mean that you completely forget about whatever caused your reputation problems. Instead, you learn from what happened and use it to make the new version of your brand stronger than ever.

People love a good redemption story.

By reinventing your firm, you can recover from past issues and create something even more amazing for your clients.

Angelina Jolie – Focus on Purpose When Reinventing Yourself

Angelina Jolie has also experienced an interesting journey through the world of fame.

When she burst onto the scene, many recognised her for her acting talents. However, she was also something of a sex symbol during her early career. This femme fatale image served her well for a while. But as she matured as an actress, and as a person, it almost became an anchor holding her back from advancing in her career.

She dealt with this by choosing to focus on causes that really mattered to her, becoming a UN Goodwill Ambassador in the process. And when people think of Jolie now, it’s often this aspect of her work that comes to mind first.

Jolie didn’t focus on helping others as a career move.

She did it because it gave her a sense of purpose. The reinvention of her persona came naturally when she found something to dedicate herself to.

So ask yourself this question…

What purpose does your firm serve?

Right now, you may not have a specific purpose. But this means that you have an opportunity to reinvent yourself. Find what makes your firm tick. Figure out the “why” behind why you’re here and what you want to achieve.
And once you’ve identified this purpose, put it front and centre of your marketing.

Floyd Mayweather – Move Your Brand Away from the Generic

Every boxing fan in the world has an opinion on Floyd Mayweather. In terms of pure skill, few can deny he’s one of the best ever. But it’s his “Money” Mayweather brand that’s divisive. Some see it as arrogant, while others believe he should revel in his own skill and celebrity.

Either way, the brand is usually part of any conversation about Mayweather. And it’s a brand that didn’t even exist during the early parts of his career.

For over a decade, Mayweather was “Pretty Boy”.

And that’s about as generic a brand as one can have in boxing. Nobody could deny his skill, but that brand was never going to move the business or marketing dial.

It’s only when Mayweather reinvented himself as “Money” Mayweather that people outside of the boxing press started talking about him.

The lesson here for your firm is that generic doesn’t work for marketing.
There are hundreds of other firms out there using the same language and offering the same services. Your job is to reinvent how you operate so that you stand out in this crowd of generic firms.

Reinvention Is the Key to Becoming Vital

Your firm is currently facing adversity that nobody saw coming.
But you can overcome this adversity through your marketing and branding. Now is the time to use the lessons in this article to reinvent yourself. Change how you do what you do and you’ll stand out from the crowd.

That means you’ll survive during the tough times…

And you’ll thrive when the world goes back to normal.

Reinvention is what makes you VITAL, as each of these celebrities discovered.