Allen & Overy has spent a fortune on brand consultants and associated management wonks to produce a new strategy to develop its image. And to tell it that Slaughter and May has a better brand.
According to sources at the firm, the consultants blew a six figure sum to discover that A&O's image isn't as strong as Linklaters' or Freshfields'. Much more damningly, Slaughter and May was revealed to have a stronger brand even in jurisdictions where it doesn't have an office and A&O does. Which is - of course - pretty much everywhere.
However excited insiders tell RollOnFriday that this has not stopped the firm from coming up with a new mantra: from now on, it will call itself "The World's Most Advanced Law Firm". Crikey.
The only thing is, the whole "World's Most Advanced Law Firm" thing is clearly a bit embarrassing and silly - and so the slogan will only be used within the firm. It seems A&O may not quite have got the hang of this marketing game yet.
A spokesman for A&O told RollOnFriday that "the research we undertook was about ensuring global consistency in light of A&O’s growth over the past few years. Clients tell us that we’re at the very top of our game, but don’t tend to shout about it enough. We don't want to change our culture because we know that’s what people like about us. But we do need to update the way we communicate to our clients and be less understated about our ideas. There won’t be any rebranding or new taglines. We’re just focussing our minds on what we do well and continuously improving on it."*
*Quote presumably outsourced to a Soho communications agency. Note the inclusion of key messages "top of our game", "culture,", "global", "communicate", "ideas" and "continuously improving". That'll be £20,000 plus expenses plus lunch.
Tip Off ROF
According to sources at the firm, the consultants blew a six figure sum to discover that A&O's image isn't as strong as Linklaters' or Freshfields'. Much more damningly, Slaughter and May was revealed to have a stronger brand even in jurisdictions where it doesn't have an office and A&O does. Which is - of course - pretty much everywhere.
However excited insiders tell RollOnFriday that this has not stopped the firm from coming up with a new mantra: from now on, it will call itself "The World's Most Advanced Law Firm". Crikey.
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David Morley next week |
The only thing is, the whole "World's Most Advanced Law Firm" thing is clearly a bit embarrassing and silly - and so the slogan will only be used within the firm. It seems A&O may not quite have got the hang of this marketing game yet.
A spokesman for A&O told RollOnFriday that "the research we undertook was about ensuring global consistency in light of A&O’s growth over the past few years. Clients tell us that we’re at the very top of our game, but don’t tend to shout about it enough. We don't want to change our culture because we know that’s what people like about us. But we do need to update the way we communicate to our clients and be less understated about our ideas. There won’t be any rebranding or new taglines. We’re just focussing our minds on what we do well and continuously improving on it."*
*Quote presumably outsourced to a Soho communications agency. Note the inclusion of key messages "top of our game", "culture,", "global", "communicate", "ideas" and "continuously improving". That'll be £20,000 plus expenses plus lunch.