5 Things I Like About the Brand We Built for Jennifer Fairfield, Mortgage Advisor
Today we’re excited to launch the latest brand from Kind & Funny for Jennifer Fairfield, Mortgage Advisor and Captain of The Fairfield Team.
Working with Jennifer was an incredibly positive experience for all of us. Want proof? Here are a couple of email excerpts:
As I was sitting here reflecting on the day, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge both of you because YOU are the reason I feel so good about the day! … I can’t thank you enough for turning what could have felt really uncomfortable into a fun morning. —Jennifer
Jennifer! First of all, thank you!! … Our morning with you left us feeling so inspired and energized, we actually spent the entire afternoon talking about how we can work with more people just like you: expert, kind, and so brave! —Kelly
Here are 5 things I like about this new brand, and the process of making it:
1. Watching Jennifer’s Confidence Grow
From our first conversation with Jennifer and her husband and partner Patrick, it was abundantly clear that Jennifer is very, very good at what she does. It was also noticeable that talking about herself, especially on social media, was not very comfortable for her.
I can sure relate to that. When I first started writing this blog I literally asked Kelly to hide it in the website footer only so that nobody would be able to find it. I was scared! After a while we made it a little more prominent on the website, but I still wouldn’t share it anywhere. I was still scared! I wish you could have seen me make my first Instagram story about a blog post. Not only did I not really know what buttons to press, but I was also shaking because I was still scared! But also, I wish you could have seen me almost cry when someone who wasn’t related to me told me that they read my blog every week. It helped me start to realize that if I liked doing this thing so much, I should probably be more OK asking people to read it.
Jennifer loves helping people buy a home. She’s really, really good at it because she knows her stuff, and because she truly gets to know the personal goals and situations of the people she works with. Kelly and I just had to figure out a brand that would allow her to feel more OK talking about herself in a way that would feel authentic to her, and it was really cool to see Jennifer embrace being the focal point of that new brand.
2. Crafting the language of “empathetic expertise”
In our Soul Search interview, we kept hearing Jennifer say that her approach is to always do what is best for the people she works with, even if that means recommending that they don’t work with her at that time. I sure don’t think that’s everyone’s approach to business, but I think it is an incredible one.
She also spoke about her drive to empower people and boost their financial literacy in a safe, non-judgmental way because too many people have to learn lessons the hard way, if they even get to learn them at all.
To convey this personal approach, we created language under the concept of Jennifer’s “empathetic expertise.” We encourage people to set up a “judgment-free convo” that will “empower you with honest, transparent, best-for-you advice.” We built on one of Jennifer’s sayings that there are no bad questions, and that if you don’t know something then it’s a good question to ask, and her belief that having an answer empowers you to know your next steps.
This isn’t BS language, it’s what Jennifer actually believes in and provides, which is why it made its way into the brand.
3. Learning from Patrick
As “Sidekick” to Kelly’s “Chief of Engineering Just Kidding / Creator, Owner, & Wearer of All of the Hats,” I was inspired watching Patrick, Jennifer’s husband and “VP of Mortgage Lending” to Jennifer’s “Senior VP of Mortgage Lending,” work on this project with us.
He was always ready with a great story of a happy client, or to pump Jennifer up before a video shoot, or to give us an invaluable perspective on what makes Jennifer so uniquely effective in her work.
I’m happy and proud to be Kelly’s hype man, to be the person that brags about her on the days she’s feeling less confident, and to use my own talent and expertise to help her, and the business, shine. I got to watch Patrick do all of that, and I learned a lot from how he did it, and I’m very grateful for that.
4. Lucy and Theo, the Mascots
Jennifer and Patrick have two rescue golden retrievers, mother-son duo Lucy and Theo, and they are pretty much the sweetest dogs out there.
At some point in the project, I got it in my head that it’s impossible to be stressed around these two, and that they would be a good symbol for Jennifer’s non-judgmental approach to the sometimes-scary financial conversations you have to have when thinking about buying a house.
We sprinkled that idea into the messaging, and when it came time to film the pups for some social content, they made like trained actors and hit their cue perfectly:
Take a spin through some of the brands Kelly has built and you’ll see a good amount of gifs of dogs, especially next to calls to action or on 404 error pages. Marketing “science” will tell you that people generally respond positively to dogs and babies. It was cool to work with real dogs on this one.
5. Supporting the Mission of The Fairfield Team
It’s tough out there to buy your first house. It’s also a powerful economic tool, which makes the unaffordability right now so much more devastating. I think it would be very easy to feel like that goal is out of reach, and to give up on it. I also believe in Jennifer’s approach to getting answers so that you can know what is possible, and what is in your own power to do to reach your goal.
When Jennifer says that she wants to help people by imparting the knowledge that she’s learned, sometimes the hard way, I think that is so important because Kelly and I learned a lot of financial lessons the hard way. (Ask me about being broke in Los Angeles and explaining credit card interest to Kel, or how the way I paid my student Pell Grants in chunks of several months instead of monthly because it was a hassle affected my credit.)
We all could use some help and advice on a lot of things, especially finances. I think it’s a lot better to get that advice from someone who starts by getting to know you and what you want instead of starting by telling you how smart they are and everything they know and everything you should be doing.
I’m proud to have done a small part in helping Jennifer get her empathetic expertise out to more people who can benefit from it.
Do you, or someone you know, need a brand that better represents who they are? That’s what we do! jed@kindandfunny.com.