Razorbranding Podcast

A few weeks ago, Popeye’s launched a new menu item – the chicken sandwich – going head to head with Chick-fil-A.  The skirmish began with a series of tweets and escalated into a Twitter battle royale with every fast food chain jumping into the fray and doing their best to grab some of the media headlines. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: Don’t Play Chicken With Your BrandLearn to Build Your Brand from the ExpertsHow to Choose the Right Branding Agency For You “Stranger Things” Uses Out of Home Advertising to Build Their Brand And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

Looking for some expert branding advice but not ready to hire an entire agency? We have exactly what you are looking for. Click here for information on these talks. And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

Human nature is to blend in. Wanting to stand out can be really scary and dangerous. This goes all the way back to the law of the jungle. Why do antelopes and zebras travel in a pack? To blend in. To their predators, the pack down in the plains, looks like one large animal that is too big to consider attacking. There is real safety in numbers. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: 4 Tips to Help Your Bold Brave Brand Stand Out From the PackHow to Choose the Right Branding Agency For You “Stranger Things” Uses Out of Home Advertising to Build Their Brand And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

I was at the 10th annual Ad Age Small Agency Conference last week with hundreds of other agencies from around the country. I had the pleasure of attending the first ever conference 10 years ago, and it was interesting to see how many things have changed (most notably being social media) and what has stayed the same (large agency vs small agency challenges). For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: How to Choose the Right Branding Agency For You “Stranger Things” Uses Out of Home Advertising to Build Their BrandCoach Robichaux Built the Brand of Baseball Do Advertising Awards Build Your Brand? Brand Theft: One of these is a lot like the other. And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

I was in Los Angeles last week and was reminded of how much I love the advertising on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. It’s LA’s version of Times Square, and when done well, it is awesome. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: “Stranger Things” Uses Out of Home Advertising to Build Their BrandCoach Robichaux Built the Brand of Baseball Do Advertising Awards Build Your Brand? Brand Theft: One of these is a lot like the other. And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

Tony Robichaux, the beloved head coach of the University of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team, passed away suddenly at the age of 57. Although he had been head coach for the past 25 years (winningest coach in the university’s history), he always said, “Being a baseball coach is what I do, it’s not who I am.” That’s just one of the many, “Robeisms” that he is known for using to teach life lessons that go beyond just the game. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: Coach Robichaux Built the Brand of Baseball Do Advertising Awards Build Your Brand? Brand Theft: One of these is a lot like the other. Branding of Political Candidates, their Identities and their Tribes And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

The truth behind awards, their true value, and what they mean to a client’s brand. brandRUSSO was born in February 2001, and like most agencies, we entered our work in all of the award shows, winning more than our fair share of local, regional and national advertising awards. We earned a great haul of glass and metal acknowledging the impressive work we created for our clients.  The Telly awards are a favorite being produced by the same company that makes the Oscar. They have some real heft to them.  But, year after year, winning dozens and dozens of awards began to feel empty and meaningless (and expensive to enter).  Just because some out-of-market creative director “judged” the work to be worthy of recognition – what did that really mean?   For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: Do Advertising Awards Build Your Brand? Brand Theft: One of these is a lot like the other. Branding of Political Candidates, their Identities and their Tribes And for everyda

I spent this past Friday on the road, driving from Lafayette to Jackson, Mississippi to watch my son play baseball at Millsaps College. Along the way, I began to notice a multitude of what can only be described as an outdoor buffet of legal advertising. Now, it’s not like I haven’t noticed them before, as they seem to be everywhere these days, but several lawyers seemed to own pretty much every outdoor board along my four-hour drive. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: WHY HAVING THE BIGGEST BUDGET DOESN’T ALWAYS TRANSLATE TO HAVING THE BEST BRANDTHE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF DIGITAL AND ONLINE MARKETINGIT’S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

And how good old-fashioned messaging can save us all As we continue to move further and further into the world of digital and online marketing, we are presented with many opportunities as well as challenges. Perhaps one of the greatest opportunities is the ability to track engagement like never before. For a marketer, it can only be described as game-changing. But for those struggling to keep up with an ever-evolving world of new technology, it can be daunting. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF DIGITAL AND ONLINE MARKETINGIT’S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

How to manage the end of a relationship between an agency and its client In business, as in life, there are relationships. There are beginnings, middles and unfortunately, there are endings. In advertising and branding, it can be the ending of a relationship with a vendor, a team member, or a client – each one takes its toll on the emotional fabric of the creative process. For me, this has been the hardest part of advertising – the end. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: IT’S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

The love/hate relationship many fans have with the NFL To say that the NFL has taken a few bad hits these past few years would be an understatement. The most recent episode revolves around a blown call at the NFC Championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams. The call in question occurred at the end of the game, and pretty much kept the Saints from returning to the Super Bowl. It would be easy to say that blown calls are part of the game, but if you happened to see this play, which I am pretty sure everyone has by now, it would be hard to argue how ridiculously bad this call was. It was so bad in fact, that few flinched when words like conspiracy were thrown into play. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: BLOWN CALLS, SUPER BOWLS AND BRANDINGHOW GILLETTE CHANGED THE CONVERSATION And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

Asking its audience if they are “the best a man can be?” A few months back, we wrote a blog that talked about Nike’s use of Colin Kaepernick in their most recent “Just Do It” ad campaign. Instead of focusing on the controversy of whether Kaepernick was right or wrong in his actions, we instead chose to discuss Nike’s attempt to cash in on such a politically charged national conversation, and whether they even had the moral high ground to do so. Enter Gillette and their “We Believe: The Best a Man Can Be” campaign.

And how providing a strong emotional experience can build a stronger brand. When it comes to building a successful brand, it’s important to never forget the experience you provide. Whether you’re a small business or a giant corporation, if you fail to provide a positive user experience for your audience from beginning to end, then no amount of money or marketing will change the how the public views and values your brand. A good example of this can be seen first hand at Disney World, one of the biggest and most successful theme parks in the world. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: A BRANDING EXPERIENCE FROM THE MASTERHOW PAYLESS CHANGED THE CONVERSATIONTECHNOLOGY AND BRANDINGMODEL OF A BRAND And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

And how changing the conversation, helped increase the value their brand. Taking over a former Armani store in Santa Monica, a new high-end shoe company, held a private launch party this past Thursday night with key influencers and high-end early adopters to celebrate Italian designer Bruno Palessi. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: HOW PAYLESS CHANGED THE CONVERSATION TECHNOLOGY AND BRANDING MODEL OF A BRAND And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. As a child of the 80s, I was fortunate to grow up during the evolution of the cell phone, the home computer, and the Internet. In the early days, cell phones were carried in bags, computers were slow and bulky, and to get online you had to sometimes wait 20 minutes for your modem to kick in. Today we live in a world that I could not have imagined when I was in college. Although I am still waiting for my rocket jet pack and personal robot to clean my house, I am constantly amazed by how technology has continued to not only changed our lives, but also change how we do business. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: TECHNOLOGY AND BRANDING MODEL OF A BRAND And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

If you haven’t had a chance to read the book “Scramble” by Marty Neumeier (author of The Brand Gap, Brand Flip, Brand A-Z, and lots of other awesome branding books), I hope this blog will be the catalyst that makes you pick it up. The subtitle of Scramble is “How agile strategy can build epic brands in record time.” For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: MODEL OF A BRAND And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

And why one cannot survive without the other For some people, marketing and branding is close to the same thing. There is some truth to this if your marketing is influenced by sound branding, but this is rarely the case. More often than not, marketing is developed without the use of consumer insight resulting in a one-sided conversation. Before we get to that, though, let’s break things down a bit further. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARKETING AND BRANDING WHY SO MANY BUSINESSES HATE ADVERTISING DISCOUNT BRANDING AND WHY IT NEVER WORKS And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

And why it doesn’t have to be that way I’m just going to throw it out there before I begin – I love advertising, and I always have. But I know for many businesses, advertising is a necessary evil. It is something that is either blindly pursued with skeptic hope that it might work or a burden on the bottom-line that they would rather do without. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: WHY SO MANY BUSINESSES HATE ADVERTISING DISCOUNT BRANDING AND WHY IT NEVER WORKS And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

How to maintain your brand equity through difficult times I think it would be safe to say that if you own a business, run a business, or manage a business, you have had a few sleepless nights even when things were going well. Sure, you follow the adage of “never let them see you sweat”, but inside, you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, particularly when things begin to slow and the projections you had for the month fall short of expectations. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: DISCOUNT BRANDING AND WHY IT NEVER WORKS REBRANDING FROM THE INSIDE OUT BRANDING, RELATIONS AND LOVE WHAT IT MEANS TO LOCALIZE YOUR BRAND HOW B2B BUSINESSES CAN BENEFIT FROM B2B BRANDING WHY HIRING AN EXPERIENCED BRANDING PROFESSIONAL IS SO IMPORTANT And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso

Is it time to rebrand, or merely take a closer look in the mirror? To say it’s easy would not be entirely true, but every once in a while it benefits us all to take a good hard look at ourselves. Sure, it would be easier to live in a world of self denial, while avoiding mirrors like we were the long lost love child of Lestat. But in the end, there comes a moment of clarity when we realize the time has come to make some changes. For information on these strategies, check out these Razor Branding Blogs: REBRANDING FROM THE INSIDE OUT BRANDING, RELATIONS AND LOVE WHAT IT MEANS TO LOCALIZE YOUR BRAND HOW B2B BUSINESSES CAN BENEFIT FROM B2B BRANDING WHY HIRING AN EXPERIENCED BRANDING PROFESSIONAL IS SO IMPORTANT And for everyday branding tips follow Jaci Russo on Twitter: @jacirusso