RAZOR BRANDING™
BUILT FROM THE
INSIDE OUT.
Focus. Promise. Connection. Harmony.
Four elements that turn strategy into advocacy.
An advantage at
every level of
marketing.
Razor Branding™ permeates all levels of marketing, advertising, digital and social media, giving us a unique advantage in first identifying our client’s target audience and then developing messaging, strategies, and creative that builds awareness, loyalty, and eventual advocacy.
We accomplish this by changing the conversation to better position our clients within their marketplace regardless of industry, size or location. Razor Branding™ develops brands from the inside out, establishing a series of branded touchpoints that form emotional connections with the consumer. Developing these connections relies heavily on understanding the psychographics of audience behavior, not just demographic profiles that rarely tell the whole story.
FOCUS. PROMISE.
CONNECTION. HARMONY.
Focus
Helps define who you are and who your audience is, through the use of consumer insight, demographics, psychographics, and personality profiles.
Promise
Defines that one differentiating and powerfully compelling quality that makes your brand razor sharp: in effect, the promise behind the brand.
Connection
Establishes your “voice” and a messaging system that is based on your defined brand promise, making you the preferred choice over the competition.
Harmony
Works to identify and develop a series of branded touchpoints that establish trust, connecting with your audience where they live, work, and play.
Creative without strategy is just art.
With the public more savvy and better armed with information today, we understand that it takes more than just a pretty picture and shelves full of awards to win the day.
Thinking about the consumer, patient, or guest and their brand choices helps our team craft strategies and messages that motivate behavior. By changing the conversation, we are able to clearly define the promise of a brand within any given industry. In doing so, consumers, patients, or guests can easily understand how a particular product, service, or company can enhance their lives.
At RUSSO, the desired outcome for all marketing and advertising initiatives is to produce advocacy for your brand, and the only way an agency can do that is to lead creative with insights and strategy in a way that produces substantially different results.
A PROVEN SYSTEM.
FROM START TO FINISH.
These elements assess where you are, where you want to be, and what it will take to get you there. They also provide the framework and architecture for implementation.
- Brand Assessment
- Touchpoint Architecture
- Social Media Applications
- Consumer Profiling and Research
- Psychographic Mapping
- Campaign Architecture
- Consumer Experience Evaluation
- Touchpoint Mapping
- Media Planning
- Competitor Analysis
- Touchpoint Development
- Opportunity Analysis
- Brand Viability & Registration
- Name & Identity Analysis
- Trademark Architecture
- Domain Search
- Media Usage Analysis
- Naming Conventions
- Federal/State Trademark Search
- Identity Development
- Trademark Registration
- Internal HR Branding
- Tagline Development
- Cross Cultural Evaluation
- Message Training
- Identity Standards
- Retention Initiatives
- Measure and Impact
- Buy-In Programs
- Performance Evaluations
- Brand Launch/Implementation
- Brand Management Guidelines
- Brand Strategy
- Website Development
- Consumer Perception Evaluations
- Brand Positioning
- Collateral/Sales Materials
- Message Development
- Public Relations
THE PRINCIPLES
BEHIND THE PROCESS.
There are many variations of brand principles. At RUSSO, we call them the 5 Rs. They break down the confusion about what branding actually is.
- 01
Realize
The consumer owns the brand.
Your brand is defined by an emotional connection between you and your audience. You can influence their perceptions, but you can’t dictate how they truly feel.
- 02
Resolve
Your promise is your brand.
Your promise connects you to your audience and sets you apart from the competition. Make sure it’s a promise you always deliver.
- 03
Reinvent
Your audience is in control.
Your audience controls the information it receives more than ever. Evolve with them, or you’ll be yelling at an audience that can no longer hear you.
- 04
Relate
Develop messaging that resonates.
Speak their language, understand their needs, and treat them with respect, instead of repeating worn-out messages.
- 05
React
Give them a reason to believe.
No matter how creative the marketing, a poorly positioned brand will fail. Give your audience a reason to join your tribe.
RAZOR BRANDING™
FAQ.
What is Razor Branding™?
Razor Branding™ is brandRUSSO’s proprietary brand strategy process. It develops brands from the inside out: first identifying your target audience, then developing the messaging, strategies, and creative that build awareness, loyalty, and eventual advocacy across marketing, advertising, digital, and social media.
What are the four elements of Razor Branding™?
Focus (the who) defines who you are and who your audience is. Promise (the why) defines the one differentiating quality that makes your brand razor sharp. Connection (the what) establishes your voice and messaging system. Harmony (the where and when) develops the branded touchpoints that connect with your audience where they live, work, and play.
Who is Razor Branding™ for?
B2B companies that want to build clarity, consistency, and trust, including manufacturers, service-based companies, franchise systems, professional firms, and healthcare organizations, as well as community banks through RUSSO Community Banking. It works regardless of industry, size, or location.
What problems does it solve?
Common ones include unclear positioning, messaging that doesn’t resonate, entering new markets, integrating acquired brands, marketing and sales teams that aren’t aligned, budgets spent on marketing that doesn’t work, and being the best-kept secret in your industry.
What do we get at the end?
A Strategic Brand Plan: a road map for internal buy-in and external delivery, built on your defined audience, brand promise, messaging system, and branded touchpoints.
How is brandRUSSO different from a traditional agency?
A named partner is engaged with every client. There is never a B team, because there isn’t one. Strategy and creative work together on every project, because creative without strategy is just art. And we use project pricing rather than billing by the hour.
Is Razor Branding™ the same as the 5 Rs of Branding?
No. Razor Branding™ is our process for building your brand. The 5 Rs (Realize, Resolve, Reinvent, Relate, React) are the branding principles behind it, explained in Jaci and Michael Russo’s book, He Said, She Said: Branding.
How do we get started?
Take our 5 Question Alignment Assessment to see if we’re a good fit, or reach out to schedule a conversation with our CEO and lead strategist, Jaci Russo.
Could this be a
good partnership?
Fill out our 5 Question Alignment Assessment to find out.
Take the assessmentTHE CONVERSATION?
Let’s talk about what’s next for your brand.
Start a conversation