Branding: Not Just for Cattle Anymore

This brand is looking a little tired.

Introduction: A New Ross Murray for a Sort of New Millennium
The Ross Murray brand was first established over 50 years ago and has undergone several iterations – Bad Haircut Ross Murray, Artsy Ross Murray, Ladies’ Man Ross Murray (recalled), Bad Haircut Ross Murray 2.0 – until finally settling into the Classic Vanilla Ross Murray we have come to know and tolerate.

While the Ross Murray brand has seemingly withstood the test of time, it has not withstood the test of sitting cross-legged quietly for extended periods, to wit Ross Murray causes numbness and can be a pain in the ass.

Moreover, certain aspects of the traditional Ross Murray brand are no longer operative, namely tipsy freestyle dancing at 2 a.m. and, more to the point, staying awake until 2 a.m.

In order to remain relevant in the marketplace and elegant at the bus stop, it is essential that the Ross Murray brand be updated for the times, solidifying current audience penetration, stimulating new penetration, and trying to make that seem way less dirty than it sounds.

Background
A golden autumn forest scene with two deer standing majestically nearby.

Methodology: I’m With the Brand, Brand on the Run, and All the Other Brand Puns
In order to refresh the Ross Murray brand, we followed a clear branding roadmap, though admittedly we sometimes glanced at a branding sketch on the back of a napkin and on two occasions resorted to asking for branding directions from some guy on the sidewalk without a shirt.

The roadmap consisted of the following: consumer data acquisition, cross-platform brand alignment, vertical snack deployment, post-strategic napping and dynamic Twitter feed assessment.

Consumer Data: Is Ross Murray Super Amazing or Merely Amazing?
The researchers set out to establish a focus group. But when we couldn’t find any optometrists, we settled for a cross-section of regular Ross Murray consumers as well as occasional Ross Murray consumers and a darling cockatoo named Wally.

The researchers asked the respondents to list the attributes that come to mind when they think of the current Ross Murray brand. Key descriptives included: indecorous, wobbly, blue-ribbon, cake-like, Swedish, dank, peaty, wafting, drinkable and Vera Lynn. In short, the respondents were no help whatsoever.

Instead, we asked Wally to complete the following statement: “If someone knows nothing else about Ross Murray, they must know ________________,” to which he replied, “…that Ross Murray’s greatest revelation came as a child when he realized that his friends’ moms had first names.”

Emboldened by this success, the researchers asked Wally what misconceptions consumers have about Ross Murray, to which he replied that “Ross Murray isn’t angry; that’s just how he looks.”

From this collected date, we concluded that Ross Murray is perceived as being like a comfortable pair of shoes: leathery, worn out and pretty rank if allowed to get wet.

Slippers and sweats: on brand

Alignment of Attributes: Saying the Doing and Doing the Saying and the Thing With the Other Thing
Based on perceived Ross Murray attributes and audience preferences, the new Ross Murray brand focuses on three updated characteristics: 1) fully integrated absent-mindedness; 2) “now with even more ear hair!”; and 3) ability to eat a box of Whippets in a sitting. Simultaneously, the Ross Murray brand will continue to capitalize on established attributes, namely aggressive sighing and causing small groups of two or three to feel uncomfortable.

Competing Brands: Making Envy Work… For You!
In order to assess a brand’s place in the market, one must look at other brands competing for consumer attention and premium parking spaces. In conducting our Ross Murray competitive audit, our researchers concluded that the guy on the sidewalk without a shirt has got it going on.

Visuals: There Is No “Eye” in “Imagery”
The primary colour palette for Ross Murray is Truncated Blue, Velum Smellum and Ashen Streetscape, while secondary colours are Don’t-Touch-That Beige and Tooth Parsley. The Ross Murray logo consists of the initials RM written in Garamond Surprised and sitting on a bed of bacon. This should appear on all letterheads, social media and lower-back tattoos. The tagline for the brand is “Ross Murray: A Jerk in Progress.”

The Ross Murray Brand: The Same But Differenter
Through this process, we have learned that Ross Murray continues to have great staying power. This is due to the perseverance of the brand, always striving, always aspiring, always taking a shot. In short, Ross Murray is trying.