Law firms using sponsorship and broad-based advertising to boost their profile are reaping the rewards. Kate Hanley strolls the aisles of the super-marketeers for a closer look at their efforts


Only those with a profound aversion to football will have failed to note the real winners of this year's FA Cup, even before the final takes place later this month. Sheffield law firm Wake Smith & Tofields scored the PR coup of the year as kit sponsor of giant-killers Barnsley FC, who not only sent the mighty Liverpool packing in the fifth round of the competition, but then went on to beat Chelsea in the quarter-finals in front of a BBC1 prime-time audience. It was a true brand-feast: Samsung, E.ON, Umbro, Carlsberg and, er, Wake Smith.



John Baddeley, corporate partner at the firm who negotiated the sponsorship deal, says that 'if ever there was a season to sponsor them, it was this one - it has paid off in spades'. The effect of having the firm's name splashed across our television screens for more than 90 minutes on live terrestrial television has boosted the profile of the firm ten-fold in a way no elaborate marketing campaign could have achieved.



'Before, if someone suggested instructing Wake Smith, the response would be: "who are they"?' says Baddeley of his 28-partner commercial and private client firm. 'But now everyone knows us.' And there was always the corporate entertainment dream of taking clients to Wembley for the semi-final, even though the dream ended when Barnsley lost to Cardiff City.



The UK's top law firms spend more than £10 million a year on business development and marketing. Yet, in a recent survey conducted by market analysts Superbrands, our flagship firms could barely muster a ranking in the top 300 of recognised UK business brands. Perhaps, then, the experience of Wake Smith could teach the magic circle a thing or two - the name 'Slaughters' emblazoned across Cesc Fabregas's chest, perhaps?



'I believe Samsung paid in the region of £21 million to sponsor Chelsea,' says Baddeley, 'so I don't think even the likes of Clifford Chance would dip their hands that deep into their pockets. But I could see it working for a medium-sized City practice sponsoring a team like Fulham, Crystal Palace or Watford. It would certainly raise their profile.'



A growing number of PR-savvy firms with half-decent marketing budgets are seeking to raise their profile beyond the realms of traditional legal and business circles, using campaigns aimed at the general public - sponsoring events, sports teams, theatres, art galleries, community law centres, or simply through direct advertising. City firm Olswang and national firm Wragge & Co are currently running posters on London Underground. Pinsent Masons did this last year, also targeting the under-side of flip seats inside London black cabs.



Pinsents director of strategic development, Peter Coleman, explains: 'The legal press plays an important role, especially in relation to profiling the firm for recruitment, and will be read by general counsel and in-house legal teams. However, our business covers many jurisdictions and a wide range of industry sectors, and we are keen to present the firm in a wide range of media, such as trade and broadsheet publications and live media, including TV and radio, to increase understanding and awareness of us as a top firm.'



Clare Turnbull, senior consultant at Kysen PR and a former marketing manager at Pinsents, says: 'In most instances, there are two reasons for addressing the market. The first is within legal circles to raise your profile mostly on a recruitment basis. The second is to a wider market, where profile is the bottom line, to attract clients to the firm, so you need to go outside the legal sphere. Some [campaigns] are very B2B-focused, while others are about attracting some personality to the firm, for example, by sponsoring the arts.'



City giant Herbert Smith is in its fifth year of sponsorship of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG). As well as providing the perfect venue for client entertaining, this gives something back to the community through financial support of the arts and, most importantly, sees the firm's logo included at the gallery and on promotional posters across London.



'There are different reasons for getting involved,' says Beccy Keeble, marketing manager there. 'It's a mixture of branding, corporate entertaining, staff benefits and corporate responsibility. We believe the NPG's art exhibitions align with our values of quality, innovation and creativity.'



But hang on - does the visiting public have any idea who, or what, Herbert Smith is when they attend the exhibition? Probably not, admits Keeble, 'but our clients and staff pick up on it and they are our most important audiences. It's about getting our name out there, a combination of branding and supporting a great exhibition.'



The arts are a popular choice for law firms keen to associate their brand with the values of culture and creativity, and Leeds firm Walker Morris proves that high-profile sponsorship is not restricted to London. It is involved in a number of initiatives within the music and art fields, the most notable being its 2006 sponsorship of the Saatchi Gallery's The Triumph of Painting exhibition. This made history through the transfer of the exhibition from London to Leeds, where some 53,000 visitors viewed it (and the Walker Morris logo) in just six weeks.



Sponsorship is one of the main marketing tools at the firm and provides excellent value for money, explains Walker Morris's marketing manager Caroline Black. 'I'm a great advocate of sponsorship,' she says, 'especially when it fits with our firm and the culture. It's about finding the right one for you. If you find something unique and it works, then it really works.'



Walker Morris also organises an annual children's charity calendar competition for five- to 11-year-olds in the Yorkshire, Humber and North East Lincolnshire areas, which this year attracted more than 1,600 paintings. Many past and present pieces are to be found hanging in the firm's offices.



'We try to believe in innovation and creativity in the workplace,' says Black, 'and to do that you need to strip back to the basics. Nothing does that better than art.'



Matching the marketing to the image is a key point. 'We wouldn't sponsor anything that we felt wasn't appropriate for the image of the firm,' says Jo Milton, marketing manager at the Guildford office of City firm Charles Russell. The firm undertakes several profile-building initiatives, such as sponsoring Guildford Cricket Club and becoming title sponsor of a new annual Twenty20 cricket match between Oxford and Cambridge universities. While a host of law firms sponsor university events as part of their graduate recruitment programmes, this recent deal also seeks to build links with businesses in both cities.



'In the past two years we believe the profile of the firm has risen considerably in the local market,' confirms Milton, speaking about the Guildford office. 'We have gone for expensive, high-profile campaigns rather than lots of small ones.' The aim is to attract lateral hires, future trainees, raise awareness of the firm's services and to network with local business, 'and it gives reassurance to clients when they see our name', she adds.



Another benefit of broad-based marketing is the morale boost it gives to existing staff. Seeing your firm's name out there can create a sense of pride among employees, while clients feel assured they are instructing a big-ticket law firm.



Clare Turnbull suggests that, often, the more unique the campaign or sponsor target, the greater the enthusiasm generated among clients. 'To some extent it is driven by the interests of those running the firm,' she says, 'such as sponsoring horse racing meetings, for example.'



But nothing beats Norwich-based firm Steeles for a unique sponsorship programme. Two years ago it sponsored the East Anglian Air Ambulance, complete with law firm logo on the medics' flying leathers, and still continues to support them on a more ad-hoc basis. Marketing manager Garrick Munday explains why: 'This was a good example of how sponsorship can leverage good PR for a law firm. It wasn't just about charity but was part of our business plan too. You've got to be realistic about these things - it's a corporate initiative at the end of the day.' The deal generated much press coverage and was followed by an annual ball, which brought the local business community together. 'It certainly aided our networking profile,' says Munday.



Baddeley will not reveal how much Wake Smith paid to sponsor Barnsley FC, but admits there was a discount - the firm stepped in at the last minute when the previous sponsor pulled out. But there was more than money at stake when the partners agreed to the deal - Wake Smith is a Yorkshire firm from staunch rugby league territory. 'There was a lot of banter from clients about our involvement with association football,' he admits.



Predictably, Barnsley has upped the price of sponsorship for next season and Wake Smith will be stepping down. Any takers know where to find them.



Kate Hanley is a freelance journalist



The American way




Legal advertising in the US has come a long way since it was first allowed back in the 1970s



US firm Bingham McCutchen raised its profile - and some eyebrows - last year with its 'Baby in the Clutches of a Bear' advertising campaign. The digitally-created photo of a bear cradling a human baby carried the tagline: 'The best lawyers know how to balance aggression with delicate handling', and featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and The Economist, even winning a WSJ marketing award. But while the imagery was not to everyone's taste - 'does the firm accept babies as payment?' wrote one legal blogger - like anything controversial it brought publicity to the firm, with the WSJ noting it 'generated the kind of buzz one might hear about a beer or sneaker campaign'.



The extent of law firm advertising in the US varies from little or nothing, to media saturation, depending on the type of firm. Mark Messing, a former advertising executive and now director of marketing and business development at Weil Gotshal & Manges in New York, explains: 'The very largest, most successful firms such as ours do very little by way of paid advertising or sponsorship of the type that the general public might view. But the next tranche of firms, say the top 20-50 and regional firms, will use more frequently the type of commercial vehicles the business community will see, such as the WSJ, Forbes and Fortune magazines, and airport advertising, for example - as will plaintiff firms to a broad consumer audience. But commercial law is still not an advertising-intense field.'