Holmes & Hills – Leading Law Firm
Delivering tailored legal services to clients
Holmes & Hills is a leading law firm with five offices across Essex and Suffolk. With a unique approach to working with their clients, the firm acts as a trusted advisor, taking time to understand the client’s needs before delivering practical advice.
However, the existing client perception of Holmes & Hills was more traditional and localised around each individual office, rather than as a large corporate brand. The current brand was not aligned with the modern and agile way in which they approach working with clients.
Mackman had the skills and the expertise that we needed, they provided the project in a cost-effective fashion, and I personally found it easy working with the personalities at Mackman.
Philip Davies, Head of Marketing – Holmes & Hills
Holmes & Hills is a leading law firm with five offices across Essex and Suffolk. With a unique approach to working with their clients, the firm acts as a trusted advisor, taking time to understand the client’s needs before delivering practical advice. However, the existing client perception of Holmes & Hills was more traditional and localised around each individual office, rather than as a large corporate brand.
The current brand was not aligned with the modern and agile way in which they approach working with clients. Mackman were tasked with aligning the Holmes & Hills brand with the style and level of service they were delivering from a basis of in depth insight. This brand needed to continue to grow and evolve with the firm, just as it continues to do so with its clients.
The Challenge
Mackman were tasked with aligning the Holmes & Hills brand with the style and level of service they were delivering. This brand needed to continue to grow and evolve with the firm, just as it continues to do so with its clients.
Our Process
Creating a brand for the future
Taking time to understand the business allows us to create the perfect brand. For the team at Mackman, a rebrand is not just a new logo. It is the creation of a brand toolkit which can be used throughout all elements of the business.
We therefore undertook a detailed analysis of Holmes & Hills at the start of the project via a range of workshop sessions. These allowed us to really get to know the business, the brand and what it means to their audience.
These sessions allowed us to really understand the ethos of Holmes & Hills. This was then developed into a mission statement which is used as a basis for the brand moving forwards.
Understanding the business: Meeting with key stakeholders
We identified clear segments and client personas for the audience groups who instruct Holmes & Hills so all marketing activity could be tailored to them.
- Who do you work for?
- What are their needs, expectations?
- How do we talk to them?
External research: What do people think of the brand?
While our Creative team were busy working with the internal stakeholders, our Research team started talking to the external stakeholders.
- What do they think of the brand?
- Do they deliver what they say they will?
- Why do they use them, and would they do so again?
What does this mean for Holmes & Hills?
From working with staff and clients, we really got to know the people, why they deliver the services they do, how they do it and why people buy from them.
Working in partnership
By taking the time to get to know the business, both from internal and external stakeholders, we create a fantastic piece of insight, really getting to know the company in detail. This then formed the foundation for the brand we wanted to create.
For Holmes & Hills this highlighted that they were passionate about working as a partner to their clients, not just as an objective advisor, therefore creating the “Working in Partnership” element of their brand. This was further strengthened throughout the brand in the creation of the ampersand icon, which also becomes apparent in more subtle ways throughout the brand.
Applying a modern brand
Throughout the insight sessions, we quickly became aware that they were evolving the way they work with their clients to suit modern day time pressures and needs, which was at odds with the traditional and localised perception of their external audience.
This resulted in the presentation of a fresh and modern brand which was aligned with the firm’s aims and aspirations and has been applied across all the firm’s marketing channels, creating a consistent brand image.
The firm has also taken this one step further and applied the new brand across the physical elements of their business including the outside of their offices and the employee workspaces, ensuring the fresh and modern brand is communicated internally as well externally.
Creating the right tone
As part of the insight segmentation sessions, we really got to know Holmes & Hills’ audience segments, their needs, expectations and the ways in which they want to be communicated to. This insight formed the basis of a Tone of Voice guidance document which is used to inform each piece of marketing copy, ensuring Holmes & Hills is using the right style and tone and providing the correct information for each audience group.
The Results
By delivering a fresh, modern brand which is born out of insight from both internal and external stakeholders, we have created a full toolkit for Holmes & Hills to deliver tailored marketing communications to its audience. This new approach supports the perception that Holmes & Hills isn’t an old-fashioned traditional firm but one which uses an agile approach to provide an exceptional service tailored to their clients’ needs.
Brand Facts
- Holmes & Hills is a full-service law firm based in Essex and Suffolk.
- They are a well-established and well-respected brand but were often seen as a traditional and local firm by their audience.
- Their existing brand had become tired and disjointed.
Project Facts
- Holmes & Hills approached Mackman to work with them on rebranding their image to fit with the modern approach they take to working with clients.
- Mackman worked with the Business Development Team at Holmes & Hills to build upon the existing brand, modernising it across all marketing platforms including web, print, social and office interiors and exteriors.
