Starting from a blank slate – no marketing materials at all – Goldberg Simpson was challenged to create something that would establish it as not only a great firm but a standout. To compound the challenge there was little synergy within the 30-member firm, combining conventional business lawyers and tragic personal injury specialists; high-dollar divorces and high-volume house closings, international adoption specialists and front-page criminal attorneys. This seemingly mismatched Louisville outfit badly needed the cohesion of a brand. The firm took the bait. What resulted caught the eye of the Your Honor judges who bestowed the first-place award for Multi-Media Campaign to Goldberg & Simpson.

An intense research phase identified key commonalities within the firm: energy, leadership, creativity and a Type A business attitude. With that in mind, marketing products first developed included a new logo and tag line, “A law firm that really moves.” New ad materials and website images showed creativity and action – men, animals, women running, jogging, riding ahead of the pack.

Web copy reflected agility and a willingness to move: “Clients tell us we’re different from those big, lumbering downtown law firms. We move. We don’t bog down our clients’ business plans with process, procrastination and endless reconsideration. We help our clients make timely decisions and then move swiftly to put those decisions into effect.”

In another unusual move, silhouettes of different athletic images -- e.g. horse racer, basketball  player, runner – were cut out of the firm’s new logo to demonstrate the firm’s deft and targeted approach.

Distribution channels included more traditional - newspapers, magazines, community sponsorships – and more creative - manicures that featured logo-painted nails, floaty pens, and running-man billboards, unusual for a corporate law firm.

The reaction and success were immediate. Within two weeks of launching stage one, the firm began receiving the type of resumes they’d targeted for firm membership. Accomplishments were impressive on any scale, but especially with the allocated budget. The entire campaign, including message, creative work and production of logo and identity materials, billboard, pens, direct mailers, announcements, web site, ballet-related materials, etc. – all were produced for less than $100,000.

Click here for video of the award presentation and an interview with the winner.