When launching a new brand or website, I think it’s time for a party.

Some firms launch via memo from the marketing committee or managing partner.  What a wasted opportunity!  When we launched Hedrick Gardner’s new marketing campaign and website, their internal team really took it up a notch. Here’s the story:

Recently I wrote about the launch of the Hedrick Gardner “We Don’t Blink” campaign ( See “Smoothing a litigation firm’s sharp edges”), an aggressive new marketing campaign, ad campaign, and website for one of North Carolina’s top litigation firms.  Using a few inexpensive-but-impactful materials and giveaways, the in-house marketers created a series of festive events in three different offices that really helped get their people on board with the brand.

The marketing message is aggressive and shows that the lawyers are strong, tough, and confident trial lawyers, rather than paper-pushing “litigators.”

The tag line is “We Don’t Blink.”  Believe me, they don’t.

Here’s an example of the visuals (on the left), the firm’s dynamic managing partner, Mel Garofalo — one of the region’s top trial lawyers.

They look tough and strong; we spent a little more to get a great photographer.  But the roll-out party showed their collegial culture as well.  When shooting 15 different branding photos for the home page, the terrific photographer had the brains and expertise to shoot some candids as well.

Good photographers shoot what they’re told.

Great photographers see a great photo and take it. 

When rolling out a new logo, website, or marketing campaign, we typically recommend printing the marketing materials on the cakes (described here), which we recommended to the firm’s creative in-house marketers, Alyson Willisand Sara Snavely.  They took this a step farther, using the candids on the cakes — dynamic and charming Managing Partner Mel Garofalo grabbing his tie next to top partner Martha Surles.

On the Wilmington office’s launch-party cake, managing partner Erica Lewis is shown doubled over laughing.

(She burst out laughing right after shooting her “tough” photo, and the savvy photographer captured it.)

And, in the Raleigh office, a little Photoshop and frosting showed the Raleigh office’s new and former managing partners, Jeff Doyle and Tom Buckley, parodying 21 Jump Street.

Then they blew up the Mel-and-Erica shot and cut out the faces to shoot Comic Foreground photos. How many managing partners would agree to that?  But it added to the festivity and boosted morale – and that’s the point.  Smart. 

They also handed out cool “We Don’t Blink” sunglasses:

We launched the site in three offices, starting with a PPT presentation in which I explained the rationale and process behind our work, to get the entire firm educated and bought in. The more people understand the brand, the more they get on board.

The net effect was terrific parties in all offices that helped all personnel buy into the brand, with enthusiastic and well-received speeches by the managing and marketing partners to help boost morale and camaraderie.

Images (c) Copyright 2013 Hedrick Gardner

We saw “The Book of Mormon” recently and really enjoyed it.  Hilarious and thoroughly offensive.

We also saw an especially good example of carefully targeted and executed marketing by LDS — a lesson many law firms could learn.

My wife, a former musical theater singer/dancer, always ensures that we arrive early to read the Playbill and see who she knows in the show.

Here’s the interesting part -

There were three consecutive right-side, full-page ads in the short program, each one with attractive smiling young person and a clever headline – “You’ve seen the play … now read The Book.”  ”The Book is always better.”  And “I’ve read The Book.”  (Below):

Also:  

No lengthy text, just a quick eye-catching photo, an intriguing headline, a photo of the aforementioned “Book”, and a square QR code in the corner.   You can use an app on your smart phone to scan the QR code, which acts like a direct connection to a specific page on the Internet (here’s a screenshot of how it looked on my iPhone):

The QR (Quick Response) code  links to a website with some persuasive videos and information about LDS:

Great idea, great marketing.

Here’s the point:

Law firms too often take the obvious route, e.g. advertising in the local business publication or magazines dedicated to corporate counsel.  These are often good ideas — but it helps to look past them as well.  Dig deeper.  Consider creative solutions.  Think about where your targets go, what they read, what they attend.

Some creative marketer at a meeting in Salt Lake City must have said, “You know, I have a crazy idea – why don’t we become the primary advertiser for ‘The Book of Mormon’ Playbills?”

You’d have to imagine that the LDS community was already discussing what position they should take regarding the show.

I’m glad they took the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach.

Smart.

All images (c) 2013 The Book of Mormon, and Intellectual Reserve Inc.

Many law firms send large numbers of seminar invitations, hoping to fill the seats.  Of course, the goal should be quality rather than quantity – i.e. it’s better to have the right people rather than simply a lot of people.  But quantity is much easier to execute – just send invitations to everyone.

You want to see how to increase the attendance at a conference? How to get the rapt attention of the right people?  Go the extra mile and grab their attention. Intrigue them.  If the targets are important, it’s worth spending more on the materials and taking the time to tailor them to the individual recipients.

Here’s a package that showed up in my mailbox. It caught my attention; it was the first thing I opened.  I dedicated much more attention to it than anything else that arrived that day, and took the time to appreciate the creativity, hard work, and expense that went into it. It implicitly promised a program of real value.

First lesson – all the Hallmark research shows that “dimensional” mailers get opened first, before the letters.  Of course I opened this box before the holiday cards and other flat envelopes.  And the return address from Google made it even more interesting:

Opening the top, you see a black box and an envelope:

Let’s start with the box.  It’s thick and very high quality:

The subtly embossed Google logo shows the elegant design:

The enclosure letter sitting on top of the box is a folding card, beautifully printed, personalized with my first name on it.  ”Ross, join us.”

It doesn’t say “Mr. Ross H. Fishman, join us.” or “Fishman, Ross, join us.” or the other misspellings or database errors which would convey that it’s junk mail or a faulty database.  I’m feeling pretty special at this point. 

Opening it, you find an invitation for a seminar hosted by Guy Kawasaki himself:

There’s also a personalized, hand-signed cover letter that is offering to sell me Google Engage for Agencies (“ a program that helps you master the art of online marketing”):

At the Midwest Chapter’s recent 2012 Your Honor Awards, Ross was inducted into the chapter’s Hall of Fame.  The gracious induction speech was delivered by Joy Long, Director of Marketing at Ostrow Reisin Berk & Abrams, below:

LMA Midwest Hall of Fame Award

Sydney Iglitzen, Ross Fishman, Joy Lon

Joy Long, Director of Marketing for ORBA, and Sydney Iglitzen, Director of Marketing & Business Development for Schopf & Weiss, served as Co-Chairs along with Megan McKeon of Katten Muchin Rosenman for the 2012 LMA Midwest Your Honor Awards.

Ross Fishman will be speaking at the MSI Global 2012 International Conference, to be held at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, on October 20-23, 2012.

Ross Fishman will be presenting Integrated Marketing in a Rebounding Economy to the ALA and LMA at the Cleveland Bar Association in Cleveland, Ohio on March 27, 2012.

Ross Fishman will be speaking at the Litigation Counsel of America at The Breakers in Palm Beach on October 24-26, 2012.

Ross Fishman will be speaking on digital and online marketing at the ALA Region 3 Conference, at The Depot Renaissance in Minneapolis, September 13-15, 2012.

Ross Fishman will be speaking t0 the Law Firm Media Professionals in New York on April 18, 2012.