He Said, She Said: Razor Branding™ Podcast

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