The Five Rs of Branding
The third installment in our Brand Building best practices series is the 5 Rs of Branding. The series includes best practices and tips on how to make these marketing tools work for you: Website, Social Media, Brand Development, Sales Strategy, & Culture.
There are many variations of brand principles in existence. At RUSSO, we call them the “5 Rs.” They help break down the confusion and misunderstanding that surrounds what branding actually is.
1. Realize: the consumer owns the brand
Your brand is defined by an emotional connection between you and your audience. While you can help influence their perceptions, you cannot dictate how they truly feel.
Questions to ask:
- What “mental real estate” is yours to own?
- What emotions do you evoke?
- What differences can you authentically claim?
- Why should your audience care?
2. Resolve: your promise is your brand
Your promise connects you to your audience, establishing the one thing that sets you apart from the competition –making sure it’s a promise that is always delivered.
- Be different
- Be authentic
- Change the conversation
3. Reinvent: your audience is in control
Your audience is more in control of the information and communications they receive than ever before, and it is your responsibility to find ways to change with them. If not, you will soon find that you’re yelling at an audience that can no longer hear the sound of your voice.
- You can’t buy their attention
- You must be willing to evolve
- You have to be where they are
4. Relate: develop messaging that resonates
Everyone claims that their service is superior and that their customers are treated like friends. But far too often we treat our customers like unintelligent fools. We give them worn out messages that are tied to outdated delivery systems – ignoring their needs in order to force our agendas upon them.
- Speak their language
- Understand their needs
- Treat them with respect
5. React: Give them a reason to believe
No matter how creative your marketing is, a poorly positioned product, service, or brand will fail sooner or later. For this reason, you must develop what is most worthwhile to communicate – a reason for your audience to join your tribe.
- They want to belong and be part of something
- They want to connect with others who are like them
- They want to be in “the club”
Click here for a guide that you can use to better understand the Five R’s of Branding.
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RUSSO is a strategic branding agency that uses consumer insight to change the conversation; forming emotional connections with the target audience. To learn more, click HERE to learn more about our process, RAZOR BRANDING.
