Attorney “Branding”

Presented by John Hellerman

Philadelphia LMA

January 16, 2007

“A name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies

one seller’s goods or services as distinct from those of other sellers.”

What is Branding?

NOT!

• Firms have brand aspirations

• Clients define brands (for products and firms)

Branding: How does it work?

• Brands are valuable (if they’re leveraged)

• Most law firms have valuable brands (reliable, solid, expert, etc.)

• Firms aren’t leveraging and differentiating them properly

Branding: What is the value?

• We say “branding” we mean “differentiation”

• How will the market know what makes us different?

• Industry is consolidating its “products” NOT differentiating them

Branding: What does it mean?

The 4 Cs

Product (attributes & packaging)

Price

Promotion (Offers) Place (Distribution)

Customer Solution Cost

Communications Customer Service (Interaction)

The 4 Ps

A firm becomes branded by the reputation and performance of its

partners over time.

The “Branding Process”

Proctor & Gamble as a law firm

Proctor & Gamble’s products

A law firm’s products

Marketing What We Sell

“Clients don’t care about the firm, they care about their lawyer.”

“Firms are too busy ‘institutionalizing’ clients, and not busy enough institutionalizing their talent.”

Marketing What We Sell

The talent is the product.

The firm is the product marketer.

Create campaigns that impact the 3 R’s:

Relationships, Results, and Reputations

Seek compelling content that can be leveraged

through multiple channels (internal & external)

Apply sophisticated tools down the sales funnel

(from general awareness to direct marketing and relationship building)

Niche Practice/Partner Positioning

STRATEGY

“Using” Communications vs.“Doing” Communications

Tactics

• Super Bios/Q&A Releases• Best of Lists/Rankings*• Roundtables/Presentations• Custom Publishing• Blogs• Events• Training• Linking

Questions?