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Branding, Part I: Should Law Firms
Try To Build Brands?
JERRY LAWSON (JL): Coke. Nike. Merrill Lynch. All these
names have something in common. Each evokes a certain
image, and a certain expectation of quality in consumers'
minds. Is branding also useful for law firms?
BRENDA HOWARD (BH): Most definitely. All products or
services should evoke a mental picture or feeling when
their organization's name is mentioned. Branding is
really about recognition.
DENNIS KENNEDY (DK): The jury is still out on this
question. Greenfield
/ Belser Ltd.'s 1999 white paper, "Branding Your
Law Firm," makes some convincing arguments
and thier work for firms is quite impressive. But some
firms have dropped branding efforts and it's still difficult
to point to any firms that you identify with a "brand."
It seems like a case of great promise, but little concrete
results to show as yet.
(JL): I agree that branding hasn't revolutionized the
world of legal marketing, but there are success stories
out there. Our bibliography this month contains many
case studies that show some of them.
While law firms as we know them can't, and probably
shouldn't be, promoted in exactly the same way Procter
& Gamble rolls out a new brand name, I think that
law firms can effectively adapt many of the branding
techniques used by other businesses.
Branding Campaign Basics
(JL): There are a lot of misconceptions out there about
what branding is. It involves a lot more than a slogan,
a logo and a web site makeover, right?
(BH): Gosh yes. It involves everything from the business
cards, flowers in the foyer, the look and feel of the
conference room, brochures, or any visual representation
the law firm has to project. It starts when you decide
to use gold inlay on your cards and go the practical
route of black and white. All of these decisions determine
how the potential client perceives your law firm. Maybe
it is about glitz or you prefer to present an image
of hard working and practical. Either way, all visual
images must match so that when the potential client
sees your law firm name, the image/feeling appears to
them.
(DK): You want to create a united marketing front where
all the elements support each other and work together
and everyone and everything "stays on message."
Too often you'll see web sites, brochures, stationery,
announcements, and the like sending different messages
in different ways. The web site is an important point
of contact, but not the only one.
(JL): Branding is tying together all the elements of
how your firm is perceived by the public and managing
them, with the objective of creating a desired public
image. Many of the things law firms already do for marketing
is branding. They just are not doing them as systematically
and effectively as they could and should.
(DK): There are many different approaches to take. There
are also some great resources out there. Harry Beckwith's
book, Selling the Invisible, is an excellent
starting point. Two other good books are Emotional
Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to
People and The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding.
Our bibliography this month contains case studies on
what some leading firms have done.
(JL): All good references. Al and Laura Ries have a
follow up book, The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet
Branding.
The difficulties of branding a professional services
firm should not be under estimated, however. Branding
involves making a promise of consistent quality. This
is difficult enough when you are talking about hamburgers
or cameras, but it is even more difficult when your
"product" is largely intangible services.
Beckwith understands this better than most branding
gurus, which is why his book is so popular among law
firm marketers.
A Position in the Marketplace
(JL): What is the difference between "brand development"
and branding?
(BH): When you decide to use your marketing materials
to instill a certain feeling or image, then you have
started the "brand development" process. Over
time, these materials will envoke that image. When you
add a new product or service to your offerings, then
you'll use that image to "brand" that new
product with the existing brand that has been successful
for your law firm.
(DK): Brenda has described the difference well. There
is definitely a process and an evolution that takes
place with brands and, to the extent you can, you'd
like to be able to plan and manage that process.
(DK): Some have likened managing lawyers to herding
cats, but it is clearly difficult to meld a group with
diverse interests, strong opinions and significant egos
to one marketing message and get them to stay on message.
I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's likely that
some people won't like the logo, tagline, colors or
something and will refuse to play along.
(JL): I'm sure you are right, but a well thought out
and implemented branding campaign can bring large benefits,
even without unanimous support. The support of the key
players is essential, however.
(DK): Another point to consider is Tom Peters's saying:
"The brand is you." I believe it's easier
to establish branding for individual lawyers, especially
in the CNN era, than it is to do so for firms. Try this
exercise. Cravath, Brobeck, Baker & McKenzie. What
comes to mind? Gerry Spence, Greta Van Susteren, Alan
Dershowitz, Johnnie Cochran. Whose brands are stronger?
(JL): You raise a very good point, one that complements
our discussion in Internet Roundtable columns 14
and 25
of the benefits of building "cults of personality,"
promoting the law firm's "stars" (or at least
letting them promote themselves), to the extent that's
compatible with the firm's culture. Your point also
goes to another reason for not liking branding: it goes
against the "eat what you kill" approach to
compensation that most firms use. Lawyers tend to overlook
that what benefits the firm can benefit them as well.
Objections to Branding for Law
Firms
(JL): Let's consider some of the specific objections
to branding. Many law firms shy away from branding because
they fear it will be limiting. For example, if they
cultivate an image as a litigation-oriented firm, this
may make it difficult for them to get other business.
What do you think?
(DK): This is just one of many excuses law firms come
up with. Get together with any group of law firm marketers
and you'll hear a whole laundry list of others. The
fear of "misbranding" strikes me as evidence
of not understanding your market or markets or what
the mission of your firm is. In other words, I don't
buy it. It's like excuses for not doing updated web
sites - you are sending a message about your firm out
24 hours a day over the Internet and the question is
not what your image, site or brand should be. You have
one right now. The question is do you want to be sending
the message you are currently sending. Brand management
is similar.
(BH): I agree with Dennis. Establishing a "brand"
is different than establishing a reputation. It's the
visual imagery that is used to instill a feeling of
comfort or confidence. When I see the red Coca-Cola
symbol, I get a warm and fuzzy "family" feeling
from all their years of branding family images. This
feeling makes me "think" that I'm going to
enjoy their soft drink, in the same way that I draw
comfort from their visual image advertising.
If I saw a web site with a law firm and its staff and
that same image is repeated throughout all their marketing
materials, I would get a sense that is it a "caring"
law firm. In the reverse, if all the marketing materials
were extremely formal, I would expect that the law firm
is an older, established law firm that has been around
for a while and has years of experience. It's less about
areas of law and more about the "feeling or visual
image" that in conjured up by the marketing materials.
(DK): What do you think of criticism
that law firm branding is bad because "marketing
is about building relationships?"
(JL): While I share the skepticism about multi million
dollar television ad campaigns as a brand-building tool
for most law firms, I think the critics are missing
a key point. The right brand image can help you build
and strengthen those relationships.
(BH): What do you think about the rap that brands are
not important because people today are looking for bargains
and brand loyalty has lessened?
(JL): Brands may have lost some of their persuasive
power over some consumers, but so far as I can judge,
they still have great power. Just today, I was thinking
about buying a better digital camera. I want a Nikon.
It will be more expensive, but I've gotten great service
out of my Nikon SLR, and I will gladly pay a premium
for a Nikon digital camera. Are Nikon digital cameras
really better than other digital cameras? I don't know,
but I don't plan to do a lot of comparative research:
I want a Nikon.
While the top quality/premium price niche is not the
only possible market space to claim through branding,
most law firms will strive to be the Nikon of their
segment of the legal market, the one that clients not
merely feel comfortable hiring without extensive research
but are also glad to pay a premium rate. As Greenfield|Belser
observed, "Branding is a shortcut around intellectual
proof."
Will Branding Violate Ethics Rules?
(BH): Do law firm branding campaigns implicate any
ethical considerations?
(JL): Trade names, slogans, and other parts of a branding
campaign could definitely cause problems with state
ethics regulators. For example, a slogan could be determined
by an unsympathetic ethics board to create unreasonable
expectations in the minds of clients. For example, the
state of Virginia
prohibits the use of phrases such as "the best
lawyers," and "the biggest earnings,"
as self-laudatory statements that cannot be factually
substantiated. Also, many states still have restrictions
on using trade names instead of the names of lawyers
in the firm. These can be important issues, but they
are not a reason to shy away from branding completely.
The general rule is that if a law firm can use a marketing
technique something off line, it can do the same thing
at its Website. In fact, sometimes restrictions are
lesser on Websites. See, for example, Utah
Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee Opinion No. 02-02
(Issued February 11, 2002), (web site was not "solicitation,"
so not required to have "Advertising Material"
label that must appear on paper newsletter). The analysis
of law firm use of domain names in Arizona
Ethics Opinion No. 2001-05 (March 2001) is sensible
and would probably be followed in most states.
Conclusion
(BH): It looks like we've covered the benefits of branding
and have discovered a "hidden benefit" - establishing
a "brand" causes one to think about thier
mission and presentation of their law firm - which is
also good for the law firm.
(JL): Definitely. I think for some firms, this self-analysis,
and the benefits that accrue from it, may be the most
important reason to think about branding.
(DK): Despite some of my skeptical comments earlier,
I think that it is worth the effort. Most other types
of business use branding successfully. There are some
examples where lawyers have definitely carved out a
brand, which is obviously to their benefit. It's definitely
worth making an effort.
(JL): Well said. We've reached an answer to the question
posed at the beginning of this discussion: Yes, many
law firms can benefit from building thier firm's brand
in the marketplace. In next month's column, we'll examine
the elements of a successful branding campaign in more
detail, focusing on effective integration of Internet
components.
SIDEBAR
Links
"Branding Your Law Firm" - Still valuable
1999 White Paper by Greenfield
Belser, Ltd.
http://www.gbltd.com/media/news/news.105.pdf
Building Your Law Firm's Brand
http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine/articles/magarticle12477_front.shtml
Penetrating Global Markets With Branding
http://www.lawmarketing.com/publications/news.cfm
Branding the Firm AND Its Individual Practices
http://www.lawmarketing.com/publications/news/pub10.cfm
Why a Down Market is the Right Time to Brand
http://marketing.lp.findlaw.com/articles/semmes01.html
Establishing Your "Brand" in the Law Firm
Marketplace
http://marketing.lp.findlaw.com/articles/buchdahl01.html
Law Firms Doing Branding All Wrong
http://www.lawmarketing.com/publications/news/pub76.cfm
Determine a Tangible Value for Your Brand
http://www.lawmarketing.com/publications/news/pub272.cfm
Is Branding Law Firms A Mistake?
http://www.lawmarketing.com/publications/news/pub101.cfm
Links to Branding Resources from Themanager.org
http://www.themanager.org/Knowledgebase/Marketing/Branding.htm
Trend Toward Shorter Law Firm Names
http://www.lawmarketing.com/publications/news/pub326.cfm
O'Connor and Hannan, LLC, Tag Line
http://www.oconnorhannan.com/
Case Study Links
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal's Branding Campaign
http://www.lawmarketing.com/publications/news/pub70.cfm
An Insurance Litigation Firm's Branding Campaign
http://www.lawmarketing.com/publications/news/pub285.cfm
Branding Campaign for a "Square" Law Firm
http://www.lawmarketing.com/publications/news/pub238.cfm
Brobeck Marketing Campaign
http://www.lawmarketing.com/publications/news/pub93.cfm
Books
Gobe, Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting
Brands to People
Ries, The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
Ries, The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding
Beckwith, Selling the Invisible
Top
Dennis Kennedy (dkennedy@thompsoncoburn.com)
is a lawyer in the Intellectual Property and Information
Technology Department of Thompson Coburn, LLP in St.
Louis. Many of his articles on Internet and technology
topics may be found at his web site (http://www.denniskennedy.com).
Brenda Howard (brenda@creativewriting.com)
is the owner of CreativeWriting.com, LLC (http://www.creativewriting.com),
a Web design firm in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Ms.
Howard is also a Corporate Software Trainer specializing
in the Internet.
Jerry Lawson (lawson@netlawtools.com)
is a lawyer and author of
The Complete Internet Handbook for Lawyers (ABA
Law Practice Management Section 1999). Mr. Lawson operates
the Internet Tools for Lawyers Web site (http://www.netlawtools.com)
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