W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery is a 123-year old company selling products that are quite traditional, yet the brand is renowned for being historically cool across the decades.
For more than 35 years, Ed Jessup, founder of Brandr Studio, has been keeper of the W.R. Case brand. He’s led the strategies and creative messaging that’ve helped this purveyor of knives founded in the late 1800s be relevant well into the digital age.

How have Jessup and his staff of creative marketers accomplished this pretty amazing feat? Here are five approaches that you can learn from and apply to your own brand.

Marketing Is Infused into Business Planning & Product Development.
Jessup makes sure Case never puts a product on the market that isn’t viable and doesn’t support the root system of the company. In other words, marketing  is never an afterthought; it holds a place at “the big table” where decisions that guide the business are made every day.

The “Be True to Your Roots” Principle Runs the Company.
For the Case brand, there’s never been an identity crisis in nearly 125 years in business. Through changing times, Case has always been true to itself in terms  of both product offering and brand identity. As a result, customers have been immensely loyal year after year, across three centuries.

Connecting with Customers is Always Top Priority.
Jessup and his team employ the latest communications strategies to reach customers. Believing that a brand stays historically important by maintaining  relationships with customers, Case embraces the most modern approaches to be a relevant voice in the digital, social and mobile market.

Marketing’s Goals Are to Build Brand Loyalty and Sell Product—In That Order.
Customers buy the brand as much as they buy the product. That’s why everything Jessup does is driven by the priority of building the equity of the Case brand; he knows that measurable sales will follow. This mindset keeps every promotion and campaign on target.

Long Term Perspective Pays Off in the Here and Now.
When the W.R. Case brand was born, nobody could’ve predicted it would be successful into the 21st century. Yet the company has always functioned under the presumption that Case would last. Marketing and branding decisions are made not for quick, short-lived results but for long term success.

Ready to strengthen your brand? Ed Jessup and the creative minds behind W.R. Case are available to work with you. Contact Brandr Studio today!

brandrstudio.com - (865) 694-1063 - eric@brandrstudio.com

As many people see it, when a press release goes out then the news is official. If that's the case, we're official!

We've just released the news of Brandr Studio's opening to regional press outlets. It's our way of formally announcing that we are on the scene and ready to impact the way businesses in Knoxville, East Tennessee and beyond build their brands and go to market.

You'll note in all our materials we never use the word "agency" in reference to our business structure. That's intentional. We're defying the ad/marketing agency model of the past as we introduce a fully modern take on providing great branding, marketing strategy and communications for our clients.

Brandr is a studio in the truest sense; we're a place where brand artists come together to work, hone their craft and create new works that mean something to our client base.

The brand 'artistry' begins with our core team—a lean group of talented, experienced creative professionals.

Ed Jessup leads our unique organization, bringing a wealth of marketing expertise to this new approach to brand leadership and business growth. Jessup offers clients practical, long range guidance by drawing from his 30+ years of success as a marketing and sales leader. He's a proven pro at building brands to have real value and implementing effective communications strategies that bolster sales. With a focus on measuring results, he is an exceptional resource for clients across industries, product types and markets.

Eric McNew is Creative Director of Brandr Studio and the resident technology guru. Eric translates the immovable principles of great branding for the digital, social and mobile world in which businesses must now function to succeed. With a superb eye for design, he leads the creative development and execution of Brandr projects and aligns messages with the leading edge social platforms to ensure clients are top of mind with their audiences.

Working within a thoroughly modern business model, Jessup and McNew assemble teams as needed to respond to clients' needs. Rather than maintain a large staff, they bring together the brightest minds to tackle specific opportunities. This ensures clients get truly expert strategy and service while Brandr contains costs by maximizing technology to collaborate professionally.  This approach is, in itself, newsworthy...especially for clients looking for full-scale branding support yet cautious about investing in the services typically found through large, brick-and-mortar agencies.

Here's the full text of the Brandr Studio news release. Please feel free to help spread the news that Brandr Studio is open for business and ready to build better brands!

Brandr Studio Launches in Knoxville
Marketing Veterans Help Clients “Drive Better Brands” in the Modern Marketplace

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Brandr Studio is now open for business from headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn. The company was founded by Knoxville businessman Ed Jessup to provide local, regional and national clients with innovative branding and marketing expertise targeted for the modern, evolving marketplace.

“You must build your brand to grow your business,” states Jessup, who has spent 35+ years leading marketing and sales for the 123-year old W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery brand. “In this...or any...economic climate, the strongest brand wins.”

Joining Jessup at the helm of Brandr Studio is Creative Director Eric McNew. McNew, who has managed creative for a range of national brands, brings a wealth of design and interactive media experience to the mix. Jessup and McNew lead day-to-day strategic and creative services alongside a team of experienced marketing and graphic design professionals focused on “providing clients great service while guiding them to grow their brands” in a digital, social and mobile market.

“We are a studio with a unique approach,” Jessup explains. “Thanks to our collective experience, we have an invaluable foundation and perspective... We’re proven in the immovable truths of great branding and marketing— those principles that hold strong no matter if people are sharing messages by smartphone or megaphone, by mobile apps or direct mail.”

Brandr provides full-service marketing and branding solutions for its clients, encompassing the gamut of strategic and creative services. Jessup is the go-to for business planning, sales strategy and brand development counsel. McNew oversees the creation of brand identity and campaigns with particular expertise in digital messaging and social media strategies, as well as traditional print media. Current clients cover a range of industries in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer categories.

For additional information, visit brandrstudio.com or follow the company on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter (@BrandrStudio).

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Brandr Studio

Our Client, Rogers' Dental Laboratories, has announced an exciting give-away opportunity for the upcoming Hinman Dental Meeting!

For Immediate Release

February 14, 2012

Media Contact: Jim Gamble, VP - jim@rogersfamilylab.com / (423) 309-9665

Rogers’ Dental Laboratories Announces Plans for the Hinman Dental Meeting

Showcasing of Latest Solutions, Awarding of a Cerec AC System, iPad Giveaway

Among Activities Slated at Rogers’ Booth 1104

ATHENS, Tenn. - Rogers’ Dental Laboratories has announced special plans in relation to the company’s participation in the 100th Annual Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting to be held in Atlanta at the GWCC, March 22nd - 24th. As an exhibitor at this respected dental industry conference, Rogers’ will showcase the latest solutions in cosmetic and restorative dentistry and offer giveaways for conference attendees who visit Booth 1104.

Most notably, Rogers’ will award one year’s use of a Cerec AC System at no cost to a one lucky dentist registrant whose name will be drawn at random following the conference. The giveaway also includes one training session for the winning dentist (additional training and supplies not included). Registration for this drawing is open only to dentists and includes an opt-in for ongoing news and updates from Rogers’. The winning dentist must agree to use Rogers’ for fulfillment of all cases with the Cerec AC unit, which remains property of Rogers’ Dental Lab.

“The Cerec AC system is absolutely the most advanced technology for ceramic restoration—on par with our commitment to offering leading edge solutions for our industry,” states Jim Gamble, Rogers’ V.P. of Business Development and Continuing Education. “This winner of the use of the Cerec will find the system transformative to not only to his or her practice but to the lives of the patients who will benefit from it.”

In addition to the Cerec AC drawing targeted to dentists only, Rogers’ is holding a drawing for an Apple iPad2 which dentists can register for at Booth 1104.

“We’re excited to connect with our industry at this conference—to share our wide-ranging products and services. We hope the giveaways draw people in to learn more about what we do,” Gamble summarizes.

Rogers’ Dental Laboratories is a family-owned dental lab specializing in cosmetic and restorative dentistry products and services. Based in Athens, Tenn. and operating for more than 35 years, the company works with dental clients in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky. Rogers’ team is committed to the tenets of Dedication & Service, Technology & Education and Delivery & Shipping. For more details, visit www.rogersfamilylab.com.

Press release prepared by Brandr Studio, a cross-discipline design studio specializing in integrated brand strategies and consultation. www.brandrstudio.com .

At nearly two weeks out from Steve Job's death, the chorus of prolific, public praise is subsiding. Though we still mourn the passing of our modern-day Edison, we're moving forward and carrying on with our day-to-day lives. Yet as we're doing just that, we at Brandr are propelled even more strongly to chime in.

You see, our work hinges on the very innovations Steve Jobs created. As we go about our daily work, we rely on Steve Job's inventions through nearly every device and much of the software we use. Not to mention, we're deeply influenced by his attention to great design.

Jobs has been lauded for his thoughtful incorporation of well-proportioned, attractive typefaces on Mac computers. Likewise, his sleek sensibilities shaped Apple's overall product design and branding. "Apple" as manifest in devices, on the Internet and in all forms of brand communications is consistent, clean, lean and inviting. Through example, Jobs helped define design standards, operational elegance and intuitive user interfaces. Among those who call "design" their profession, countless numbers of us have been influenced by Jobs' attention to fine design and consistent branding. His style permeates throughout Apple's DNA, and, thus, is infused in the design community's core operating system.

We see it as life well-designed and well-defined. Steve Jobs was clearly on a mission, and his very practical influence in our society is punctuated by the beautiful design he never relegated. No innovation came without attention to design. Form and function were one. If Steve Jobs was the tree, let's hope the Apple doesn't fall far from him.

So this is our Blog. If you want to find out what Brandr thinks about the world make sure to check back often.