Razor Sharp is Rebranding; Here’s the Method Behind the Makeover
Few aspects of a business are more crucial than its brand. As the etymology suggests, a company’s brand is stamped on every product or service. It lends to that product or service whatever authority it may possess, and in turn derives its authority from the quality of the products and services upon which it is stamped. It is the name and identity of the company, what comes to mind when people call it to mind. And if workers, clients, places and times all come and go, it is not a leap to say that the brand is the company, the ever-present—if ever-shifting—emergent idea of what the company is, does, and stands for. What, then, does it mean to rebrand?
To tell the truth, rebrand is a misleading word. If a business could simply swap out its brand for a new one by conjuring their desired image into the public mind then public relations firms would be useless and Meta would be trusted. Of course they can change their name, logo, or color scheme, which many do with precisely this ‘conjuring’ intention to very limited success. What we mean by rebranding, however, is fundamentally different. At Razor Sharp Public Relations, we believe that the brand-image our company puts out—logos and colors—should be an honest reflection of the brand itself—what our company is, does, and stands for. As the years go on, both that identity and our understanding of it has grown. So we have decided to rebrand, not for the sake of furtiveness or pretense, but for the sake of transparency. Here’s what we’re doing.
A New Color that Burns with Energy
We are changing our primary brand color from a dark navy blue to a vibrant, burnt-sienna orange. There were several motivations behind this decision, not the least of which was that we liked the look of it. We also resonated with the energy of the color, because it conveys three of the themes we see emerging most strongly from our brand: optimism, confidence, and enthusiasm. If those sound like platitudes, bear with us.
Optimism is at the root of what we do. When we encounter a potential client, whether they be new or established, struggling or flourishing, we see yet-unrealized potential. If we did not believe in a bright future for our clients, how could we pursue it headstrong? We hope to expand what our clients, their stakeholders, and even ourselves think possible with every partnership we enter, and none of that can even begin to happen without a strong spirit of optimism.
Without confidence, however, optimism has little ground to tread upon. We have always been confident in our ability to deliver on our promises, but the scope of that confidence and the promises for which it allows has grown in proportion to our successes. Now, more than ever, we are certain that we can make the difference our clients are looking for—because we’ve done it before. Together with an optimistic vision, this self-assurance has allowed us to aim as high as we can and then work tirelessly to hit every mark.
Finally, we are enthusiastic about what we have the privilege to do. The more times we are able to see a client’s potential realized, the more excited we become to keep on doing it. We find much joy and fulfillment in helping companies share the stores of value they already possess with the people who can benefit from it the most. We do not take the opportunity lightly, and so we aim to make as much as we can of each and every chance that we are given.
Taken together, these three themes give us a combined sense of energy—and so a burning orange was the natural choice of color.
A New Logo with Razor-Sharp Direction
To accompany the change in brand color, we have reimagined our logo. The new emblem features a striking, burnt-sienna R—for Razor Sharp, of course—with trenchant contours that pay homage to the relentless precision which serves as our namesake. That is not all, however. A second glance will find an upward-facing arrow embedded in the whitespace, pointing skyward with palpable energy.
While the R may be somewhat obvious, that arrow bears a little more meaning. Recall the optimism, confidence, and enthusiasm which inspired the new color, and the same trend emerges once again. We called it ‘energy’ earlier, and we feel that ‘upward trajectory’ captures the very same sentiment. The arrow is aiming high; it is where we see our clients heading. The arrow is the work we put in each day to raise their public image, elevate their media-presence, and increase the potential of their value by inspiring stakeholders with their vision. In that one, simple image, we hope to have captured the same drive which makes us do what we do in the way that we do it.
In Conclusion
At Razor Sharp Public Relations, we are proud of the brand that we stamp on our services. Many years of experience, many more successful partners, and much hard-earned trust lies embedded in that brand. So when we decide to alter the image with which it is associated, we don’t do so thoughtlessly. We are not trying to fool anyone, and we are certainly not trying to leave anything behind. Rather, our new brand color and reimagined logo are implemented in an effort to celebrate the years behind us, and to showcase as clearly as possible all the lessons that we have learned from them.