EKB

Branding a Law Firm for the 21st Century

The firm

Edwards, Kenny & Bray LLP is a medium-sized, Vancouver-based law firm with more than fifty years of experience providing legal counsel to British Columbia businesses.

The challenge

After more than fifty years as a firm, Vancouver-based Edwards, Kenny & Bray LLP has more than earned its reputation as a leader in the business community. But, in its middle age, the firm’s branding and website was beginning to seem out of touch with its lawyers and their expertise. The firm was in danger of getting lost in the crowd, perceived as just another good full-service firm. It needed to rediscover its uniqueness— it needed a mid-life transformation.

The work

Branding/Identity

DISCOVERY

We gathered together the firm’s key stakeholders for Discovery Sessions, getting to the core of Edwards, Kenny & Bray. Working together, we made the decision to rebrand the firm as EKB—its nickname in the BC market. These collaborative sessions generated key messages, with themes of business strength, quality client relationships, and an enduring connection to the province. Specific taglines emerged, including: “A Step Ahead – Taking BC Business Forward”; “On Your Side for Generations”; and “Business is Our Second Language.”

VISUAL BRAND

A new name calls for a bold look. But how to evoke EKB’s strong connection to British Columbia without coming across as west coast cliché? We implemented a fresh take on a blue/green palette, a confident, modern style that leaves EKB’s old generic branding (not to mention most of its competitors) in the dust.

EKB’s new logo conveys a sense of trust: “we’re here for you.” The lowercase letters make the logo approachable, while the palette and dynamic lines conjure up a sense of verdant rainforest and the architecture of Vancouver.

COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS

This new brand design was carried through to the firm stationery, advertising and marketing pieces. fSquared Marketing also produced a Brand Guideline document, to ensure consistent usage of the brand moving forward.

Web Design & Development

SCOPE & PRE-PRODUCTION

To better plan the new site, we analyzed the key metrics and digital analytics from EKB’s old website. This revealed patterns in user behaviour that were specific to EKB, allowing us to lay the ground work for a new website that would be tailored to the unique needs and interests of EKB’s clientele. Based on approved functional specifications, we designed Information Architecture (IA) and Interface Design Wireframes (IDW) to guide us through the next steps.

WEBSITE DESIGN & PLANNING

We designed EKB’s website to reflect their enduring commitment to their clients, and their considerable business expertise. Inspired by their excellence, we got to work building EKB a modern, responsive website that looks fantastic on any platform: laptop, tablet, and smartphone.

CUSTOM CODE & SITE BUILD

This is where all the pieces came together to make what would soon become an award-winning website. We paid special care to lawyer bios, client experience, and industries of focus, because our analysis told us that these are priority areas for clients, prospects, and the lawyers at the firm. We took other user personas into consideration as we built the website, including students, laterals, alumni and the media.

Lawyer Microsites

Lawyer bios typically received 80% of the site traffic. As such, we designed a “lawyer microsite” style bio. This flexible format supports the business development needs of each lawyer using a customizable page that includes everything from standard contact information & practice areas to publications, recognition & community involvement.

Responsive Design

Responsive design is a “must have” in today’s business & legal marketplace and EKB’s client use a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops & large desktop monitor. The website utilizes responsive design to ensure that the user’s experience is tailored to their device and browser; the layout of each page adapts automatically.

PDF Generator

Law firms need marketing materials – bios, pitches, proposals— in a format that is client-ready, easy to access and easy to update. We created “on-the-fly” PDF versions of lawyer bios, practice areas and industries of focus. Not only are they auto-updated from one source, but also are aesthetically beautiful pieces.

Brand Implementation

Social Media

In preparation for the launch of the new brand and website, (and to enhance the firm’s future business development efforts) we created essential social media accounts for EKB. For each social media channel, we designed graphics to reflect the look of the new website and to maintain a consistent online brand presence.

Advertising

As part of a broader, on-going marketing campaign, we created a variety of advertising pieces for EKB’s brand and website launch. We linked the launch to the firm’s 50th anniversary with the slogan: “We’ve had a mid-life…transformation.” The ads contained tongue-in-cheek images showing the brand logo integrated onto a tattooed arm, a sports car, a motorbike, and a skydiver.

Project Management

fSquared Marketing is known for its excellent project management. Our extensive experience in managing the development of marketing programs, websites and e-commerce platforms, and our proprietary project management and communication tools, ensured that we kept the EKB project on-track and on-budget.

Value Added Services

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

In today’s competitive online environment, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a necessary component to a website’s success. We used industry standard, organic SEO tactics on the EKB site to maximize the exposure on the major search engines. We also implemented a keyword strategy across the site that was reflective of their business development and marketing goals.

Content Writing

Our writers have legal marketing experience and we used that expertise to maximize the effectiveness of EKB’s website content. During the content audit process, we identified areas of strategic importance missing from existing content. We provided new text while also editing and rewriting existing content to ensure consistency of brand and voice.

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