August 07, 2009
ICBC gearing up for trademark battle(s)?
Several articles are hitting the wires yesterday and today about the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia's decision to sue Stainton Ventures Ltd. the owner of the www.icbcadvice.com website for unauthorized use of ICBC's official marks. The website offers free advice to the public on dealing with ICBC, links to a variety of "recommended service providers" including plaintiffs' counsel, doctors, chiropractors, physio and massage therapists, and also offers for sale an ICBC advice Claim Guide book for $19.95.
According to ICBC's official news release the Corporation does not object to the content of the website or the manual but rather "it is concerned about the unauthorized use of its official marks and brand for commercial purposes."
In this Vancouver Province news story, ICBC spokesman Mark Jan Vrem says "the issue is they are using our name in their website address".
The Globe and Mail and CBC have also has also picked up the story - find the Globe article here. Find the CBC article here.
The story seems to have hit a public nerve, with over 80 comments on the CBC story online already but there are a couple of aspects that seem particularly relevant to the Plaintiff Personal Injury Bar in BC:
First, in answer to the "why now?" aspect of this lawsuit, it is interesting to note that in the Province story, the Corporation's spokesperson references the fact "ICBC is our registered trademark". A search of the CIPO trade-mark database indicates that the formal trade-mark application for the actual term "ICBC" was allowed by CIPO less than a month ago.
Second, ICBC's own press release as well as the news reports to date suggest there is more to come on this front, potentially setting the stage for a series of hotly contested legal battles with plaintiff lawyers who are using the term "ICBC" in their website urls or otherwise. Consider the following:
From the ICBC press release: Owners of several other websites have adopted and used ICBC's official marks for commercial and other purposes. ICBC considers each situation on a case-by-case basis, but always with the objective of doing what is required to protect its brand and the public."
From the Province story: "ICBC is our registered trademark, it is definitely something we have to protect going forward." [emphasis added] "He added ICBC is contemplating going after other websites like Stainton's that have 'ICBC' in their domain names."
From the Globe: "Mr. Vrem said the car insurer, in the future, will take a harder line against websites that use its name."
I have a sneaking suspicion we haven't heard the last of this one.
Posted by dougjasinski at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 04, 2009
Who has the best Canadian Law Firm Website?
Jordan Furlong, intrepid editor of the Canadian Bar Association's NATIONAL magazine has launched a search for Canada's best law firm websites. He has hand-picked a group of judges to make the call, with the results being released this fall. Categories include:
1. Big Firm (national/multi-jursidictional
2. Small firm/solo
3. British Columbia
4. Prairies
5. Ontario
6. Quebec
7. Atlantic Provinces
8. Blogs [i.e. best blog(s) incorporated within a firm site]
9. Multi-media
10. Student/recruiting
The Financial Post/Legal Post's Mitch Kowalski is one of the judges and in a recent blog post invites you to contact him with your firm's site if you think you've got the right stuff. Deadline for submission to him is August 14, 2009.
Posted by dougjasinski at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 18, 2008
A Brand of One
Came across a terrific blog post today from Jordan Furlong (Editor-in-Chief at CBA's National magazine) today on his Law21.cablog entitled "We are all solos" about the rising importance for lawyers of cultivating a personal brand as we move increasingly towards a milieu in which lateral movement and declining loyalty between firms and lawyers (both directions) is a fact of life.
I was struck by the intersection of this thought with an article that appeared in the Vancouver Sun today entitled "Self-promotion may be key to getting more women on boards." The basic tenet of this latter article is that women are continuing to be under-represented on corporate boards in Canada in part because they are under-exposed to the executives doling out board positions. In the article lawyer Elizabeth Watson of Watson Advisors inc. attributes this to women being less-inclined to blow their own horn as it were, and choosing instead to attribute success as a team effort. As a result, a website has been established (womeninthelead.ca) to identify and profile women in Canada suitable for consideration for board positions - a list which which has grown to include over 850 individuals.
But the message that emerges from both these sources is clear - male or female, lawyers need to start doing more thinking about their own individual brand than has historically been the case. If you don't, who will? And Furlong is bang-on when he points to the web (blogs, social networking sites like LinkedIn and other online applications (podcasts, Twitter feeds, etc.) as the place where this brand-building is increasingly going to occur.
Posted by dougjasinski at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 29, 2008
McMillan Binch Mendelsohn rebrands as McMillan
McMillan Binch Mendelsohn has taken the plunge this week and rebranded as McMillan, (going to McMillan LLP as the legal name). The new wordmark makes clever use of typography in formatting he "i l l" in the firm's name in a bar chart style and adopting a crisp, modern, orange and charcoal grey colour palette. A half-page full-colour ad in yesterday's Globe and Mail brought the change to my attention and a visit to their website confirmed they have backed up the new brand with an equally strong new web presence. The print ad graphics use logo elements to convey four key firm messages (guidance, high performance, positive outlook and leadership) and these same visuals are given an interactive treatment in a small flash piece on the firm website's homepage.
The trend towards shorter law firm names has been ongoing for a few years now and the single name format is the boldest iteration of this pattern. Marketing literature makes reference to consumers only having recall for 3-4 syllables (not names) when it comes to brand recall so from that perspective, moving to a one word name makes good sense assuming that single name is distinctive enough to stand on its own. Additionally, it conveys a more business-oriented approach to the brand that can resonate well with many firms' desired corporate client base. Kudos to McMillan's marketing team and firm management this time out - this is a good example of Canadian legal branding done right.
Posted by dougjasinski at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 15, 2007
Law firm names: Short is sweet
Last year I wrote an article for Lawyer's Weekly on the trend of law firms moving to shorter names. I was reminded of it when I came across an article this morning in the Philadelphia Businesses Journal of another U.S. firm - Gibbons Del Deo Dolan Griffinger & Vecchione that is moving to simply "Gibbons". A wise move, for the exact reason noted by the firm's Managing Partner: "our clients peers and our own attorneys call us by the name Gibbons. When the most important people to your business call you by one name, it is the logical next step to use that name in all communications to leverage the equity in that name to create a consistent message and increased brand awareness." Couldn't have said it better myself.
Posted by dougjasinski at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 10, 2006
A new look for Legal Marketing Canada
I've decided to compensate for my woeful lack of posts the last while by updating the site design with new graphics in advance of adding some additional resources, links and most importantly, new content coming shortly. Stay tuned.
Posted by dougjasinski at 05:14 PM | Permalink
May 15, 2006
Branding the law firm - your brand needs to stand for something
A recent article in the National Law Journal provides an excellent discussion on the need for focus when developing a law firm brand. While the article is American, its insights are equally relevant on this side of the border. The article points out the difficulty of developing a cohesive message, particularly for larger firms with a wide range of practice groups.
Ross Fishman and Burkey Belser - two giants of American legal marketing - both point to the importance of generating significant discussion within the organization about who you are as a firm and what makes you unique from that firm down the street in order to identify "themes" or points of differentiation that can be used to anchor an authentic brand.
From a marketer's perspective, it is always easy to observe which firms have done their homework in this regard and which have not; brands that convey the true personality of a law firm leap off the pages of Lexpert (or anywhere else) compared to those that have gone the "generic" route.
Posted by dougjasinski at 06:43 PM | Permalink
April 08, 2006
Canadian Legal Marketing: An American Perspective
A recent article appearing on the Law.com website takes a look at Canadian legal marketing and concludes that Canadian law firms are "no less sophisticated" at marketing than our American counterparts, but operate in a vastly different legal environment. The article goes on to suggest that most Canadian firms do suffer from an identity crisis in the sense of not adequately positioning and distinguishing themselves in the marketplace, and theorizes that further consolidation among the national firms may be in the cards.
You can find the full article here.
Posted by dougjasinski at 11:20 AM | Permalink
April 04, 2006
Legal Marketing Bootcamp: lessons on differentiating your law firm
The Canadian Bar Association and the Vancouver chapter of the Legal Marketing Association held their joint Legal Marketing Bootcamp seminar last friday in Kelowna. Although I was a speaker, I picked up a few great examples from the audience on what firms are doing to differentiate themselves. During our discussions, one person gave the example of a law firm that sends their holiday cards in the summer instead of in December. Another participant volunteered that her firm eschews holiday cards entirely, and sends birthday cards instead. Simple, inexpensive, and brilliant. We should all be looking for more little gems like this.
Posted by dougjasinski at 12:50 AM | Permalink
January 13, 2006
Does your firm practice Pizza Law? (This is a trick question)
It's new, it's lucrative, and it's growing fast - the niche practice area of Pizza Law. Just ask the leading experts at Warwick-Seltz, pizza lawyers. Their firm website demonstrates their expertise in the area, showcases their many TV ads including pizza class actions, and has an innovative "Free Live Consultation" tool allowing you to ask Royce W. Warwick any question at all about your pizza law claim and receive an immediate response from the interactive video-conferencing web tool.
See it all at Warwick & Seltz website
Just one thing. It's actually a clever viral marketing campaign for a pizza franchise that is very subtly worked into the site in a few small places. The fact that so much of the site appearance and content looks all-too-real should be a warning to lawyers and law firms everywhere. If you can see echoes of your own firm's marketing on this website, be warned: your approach has officially moved into the category of cliche and is the subject of mockery. If too much of this looks like what's happening at your firm, it's time for a rethink of your brand.
Posted by dougjasinski at 06:14 PM | Permalink
December 15, 2005
Law firm holiday greetng cards - eCards, real cards, or no cards?
Well, it's that time of year again. What is your firm doing on the card question? There seems to be a perpetual debate over whether to stick with traditional hard copy greeting cards, opt for an online virtual or eCard, scrap the cards entirely in favour of a charitable donation, or some combination of the above.
The undeniable pro of tradtional hard copy cards is the chance to include a personal note that inevitably has more relationship-building power than a virtual card. The con of course is the expense and logistical nightmare that can be involved at even a smallish law firm in getting multiple lawyer signatures on the cards and getting them out the door in a timely way. At Skunkworks, we have opted for this traditional route, gluey tongues from licking too many stamps be damned.
Virtual cards sacrifice that personal touch, but can free up resources for a worthy cause. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is one firm that has gone with this approach, holding a contest amongst the children of lawyers and staff of the firm to create the artwork that is featured in the virtual card, and making a charitable donation to UNICEF in recognition of the cost savings achieved by using virtual instead of printed cards.
An interesting variation we've seen from firms including Farris Vaughan Wills & Murphy LLP as well as Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP this year is the use of traditional printed cards, but with the cards supplied by charitable organizations (St. Paul's Hospital Foundation and the BC Children's Hospital respectively in the case of the firms mentioned above).
Whichever route your firm chooses we hope your holiday season is a great one and we'll see you back here in January!
Posted by dougjasinski at 10:26 PM | Permalink
November 09, 2005
Are Canadian law firms doing enough to target women entrepreneurs in their marketing?
Marketing Magazine recently had a cover story lamenting the ongoing failure of retail marketing and advertising professionals to capture the hearts, minds and business of female consumers. Arriving in our offices at about the same time was a media kit for Progressive Choices, a Canadian publication focused on women in business. The coincidence prompted us to investigate this segment of the legal services consumer market.
According to the Royal Bank of Canada, there are more than 821,000 women entrepreneurs in Canada, who annually contribute in excess of $18 billion to Canada's economy and represent approximately 34% of all business in Canada including businesses with external trade ties. Further, the majority of Canadian Internet users are women and 90% of them are online at least every other day gathering information and communicating. There is no doubt that at some point in their business careers these women are going to need legal services of one sort or another.
Identifying and utilizing access points to groups and organizations that cater to female entrepreneurs, business owners and executives either through membership or sponsorship of networking and business development events is one avenue to consider.
Another is establishing a presence in resources frequently consulted by business women.
We reviewed the collection of websites billed as related to women in business listed on the Strategis website to see whether law firms were making their presence known. Business resource websites like Canadian Women in Communication (CWC) and Women Entrepreneurs of Canada are points of contact with women entrepreneurs that deserve consideration. While there were plenty of sponsor brands from other areas of the professional services field, Goodmans LLP was the lone law firm occupying the field on this particular list of websites, appearing as a Friend of the CWC.
Given the growing importance of diversity in law firms to consumers of legal services (more on this coming soon) it appears that these types of access points are one way that law firms can provide recognition and support to an important segment of the legal services market.
Posted by dougjasinski at 09:26 PM | Permalink
September 28, 2005
Every picture tells a story: lawyer bio photos with a twist
It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. So..., what does the average law firm website bio photo of a lawyer say? Most often it says "I can wear an expensive suit and look serious". The other 991 words that could be available to engage your audience and forge deeper relationships with your existing clients generally go to waste. But not always.
Today's Globe & Mail carries a story about Calgary's Burnet Duckworth & Palmer LLP. The firm's website features bio photos of its lawyers along with some item that is meaningful to them. The items featured range from sports equipment (skis, tennis racquets) to an antique dictaphone - the images are instantly more engaging than traditional portraiture and they help to put a human face on the law firm.
Putting an authentic face on your firm's lawyers is one way to contribute to the relationship building component of your marketing strategy. Many clients want to know something about their legal advisors. The more unusual photos are also guaranteed conversation starters. Moreover, distinctive images that reflect your firm's personality can help differentiate your lawyers from the grey-suited hordes down the street. In professional services where there are few concrete and tangible markers upon which clients can base their assessment of your services, intangibles matter. Bio photos that stand out instead of fitting in are one such marketing tool.
Posted by dougjasinski at 06:24 PM | Permalink
September 19, 2005
Keeping up with the Joneses
Lawyers love precedents. One of the first questions many legal marketers face when pitching a new marketing idea to firm management is "who else has done it?" While that penchant for the tried and true can make for solid law, it often makes for very cliched marketing (insert greek columns and photos of business people shaking hands here).
One method of at least circumventing the "let's be fifth" mentality is to make sure you have current information about what others are doing. That way you can show your lawyers that what they initially think is some new-fangled craziness is actually something the guys and gals at Jones & Jones down the street have already been doing for the last 10 months. Then their competitive instinct kicks in and "we can't do that" magically transforms into "hey we need one of those too - how soon can we get it?"
So consider this an open call to Canadian legal marketers - our goal is to make Legal Marketing Canada a resource for the collective professional development of our industry. To that end, we would like to extend an open invitation to you to tell us about your firm's unusual, innovative or noteworthy marketing initiatives. We’ll make a point of blogging about the best things that cross our desks. In addition to helping raise your firm's profile and showcasing them as innovators, it will also help to raise the bar (or topple the Greek column) for everybody else. We all win.
Posted by dougjasinski at 09:03 PM | Permalink
