8 Principles of Branding

ebook Ser ies: Volume 24
the promise behind the brand.
8 Prin ciPleS of Brandin g

8 principles of branding
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©The Russo Group, 2009. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
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1. Be distinct
What is
2. Be First
Branding?
3. Be insightful
As stated in the What is Branding? eBook, “A brand is not
a logo, a product, or a company. A brand is a person’s
emotional response to a company, product, or service.”
4. Be reliable

And great brands have followed some of the most 5. Be Emotional
fundamental principles that lead to overwhelming brand
loyalty. 6. Be there
These 8 principles of branding are: Be Distinct, Be First,
Be Insightful, Be Reliable, Be Emotional, Be There, Be 7. Be smart
Smart, and Be Conversational.
8. Be Conversational



BE distinCt
Becoming a reputable brand is a long and difficult path.
Success and brand loyalty don’t just happen over night.
Truthfully, a relevant, distinct message and product will
determine the brand’s overall success. A brand cannot
only rely on a catchy tagline or creative promotion,
either. You must have a distinctive brand.

Distinctive branding stems from clear brand positioning.
At the foundation of the brand position is a clear map of
whom the brand is targeting, who the competition is, and
how it will be beaten.



BE First
Many brands that have grown to become household names
have built their success on distinct positioning to their target
consumers. They identify a positioning strategy in a way that
appeals to their market, and then exploit the opportunity.
If a brand can create something truly innovative, then they
have the opportunity to claim and own both the market
and the loyalty of consumers.

The ultimate measure of being first to market is becoming
the generalized term for a category. You say things like,
“Can you pass me a Kleenex?” or, “I need a Band-Aid.”
You refer to the product by the brand name instead of the
object’s name because these brands created something
new and then lived up to their core propositions.



BE insightFul
In finding the thing that makes your brand special, you may
want to look for insight over innovation. Look for the obvious
and universal truth that no one else has seen. Sometimes
the best ideas are right in front of you.

Keep in mind that insights are not inventions. Insights are
just observations that bring a human need and a market
opportunity together. In the 1950s, Lucky Strike Brand
Cigarettes promoted that their tobacco had a “toasted
tobacco taste”. Consumers asserted that Lucky Strike was
the only tobacco that was toasted, when in actuality, ALL
tobacco is toasted. Lesson: Lucky Strike used the insight
that no other cigarette manufacturer was claiming to have
toasted tobacco, so they used it themselves.



BE rEliaBlE
Creating and sustaining customer loyalty is a primary
objective for most brands. The ability to continually live up
to promises will not only build loyalty, but will also generate
brand advocacy.

If you can consistently deliver the things you promise, then
your reputation will grow beyond your brand. Creating a
policy for effective feedback loop-closure is also a system
that will build a brand’s reputation. If a consumer provides
feedback on your brand, then it will build credibility if you
respond to it. Responding to patron feedback is a very
basic step for those brands that wish to have a personal
relationship with their customers.



BE Emotional
The difference between being rational and being emotional
is that rationality leads to a conclusion whereas emotion
leads to action. Rational benefits are important because
they legitimize the tangible features of the product, but
these benefits can be easily copied by other brands (i.e.
price, service, staff).

Like we said at the beginning of the eBook, a brand is a
person’s EMOTIONAL response to a company, product, or
service. This means that the most basic level of relationship
between person and brand is based on feelings. Once you
find the medium that allows for an emotional bond, then
you can grow advocacy.



BE thErE
For service-oriented brands in particular, an engaged and
passionate workforce contributes substantially to the strength
of a brand in the eyes of its customers. Be an advocate at
home. Empower your employees to truly embrace the brand
promise so that you can develop a network of passionate
brand ambassadors.

Southwest Airlines has gone on record as saying that their
employees are their number one priority. The top three
Southwest Airlines values are 1. Employees, 2. Customers,
and 3. Stockholders. This means that the Southwest
Airlines organization exists first and foremost, to exceed
its employees’ expectations; in a close second, to exceed
its customers’ expectations; and in close third, to exceed its
stockholders’ expectations. This is the greatest example of
creating employees’ advocacy in the market today.



BE smart
Brand communication should be viewed in the context
of “the media you own” and “the media you rent.”
Maximizing all brand touchpoints plays a pivotal role
in overall awareness and engagement. Today, it is too
simplistic to believe that paying media fees is still the
best way to activate awareness and conversion with the
consumer.

Effective brand development will identify and leverage
touchpoints your competitors can neither access nor
influence. Aside from increased consumer engagement,
leveraging your own media is financially savvy.



BE
ConvErsational
As stated before, the personal relationship between brand
and consumer is the foundation for brand loyalty and
advocacy. Part of that relationship is dialogue. Old-world
marketing involves a one-way flow of information to the
consumer, but with the dawn of social media, brands have
the opportunity to talk back. This goes back to the “Be
Reliable” point about creating effective feedback loop-
closure. It not only reinforces reliability, but it also creates
a dialogue.



RUSSO IS A STRATEGIC BRANDING AGENCY –
AND AS A BRANDING AGENCY, WE ARE BELIEVERS.

Here, we believe in the promise behind the brand.
And here, we believe that changing the conversation motivates consumer behavior.

Through the use of consumer insight, we develop branding initiatives for our clients
that form emotional connections with their consumers.

for more information on branding, social media
or to learn more about the russo group, drop us a line, we would love to hear from you.

116 e. congress St., downtown lafayette, la 70501 | 337.769.1530 | f 337.769.1531
www.therussogroup.com | www.razorbrandingblog.com | jaci@therussogroup.com



8 principles of branding
©The Russo Group, 2009. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.


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