The brief
Leeds is the biggest legal centre in the UK outside the Capital. Yet, despite this status, it was little known on the national stage for its expertise in the field.
Following discussions with the Leeds Law Society and a number of leading individual practices, we embarked on a campaign to raise the profile of Leeds as a major force throughout the UK and international legal communities - one that is capable of providing expert, no-nonsense advice across a wide range of legal services.
The approach
The campaign centred around the creation of the brand 'Leeds Legal'. We developed a totally integrated marketing strategy which maximised a limited budget to deliver powerful messages about the strengths of Leeds' offering.
Since launching Leeds Legal at the Houses of Parliament in April 2006, we have used online and offline PR, branding, events, sponsorships, emailers, research, marketing collateral and displays to build a reputation for the city as a leading legal centre, as well as establishing a dedicated web portal in
http://www.leedslegal.co.uk/
The activity has relied heavily on PR, both on- and offline, to regularly promote legal experts in the city in regional, national and specialist media. This strategy led directly to research and comments by Leeds Legal being mentioned in a House of Commons debate on the law.
PR has also played a key role in promoting the success of numerous overseas missions to major cities including Hong Kong, Barcelona, Milan and Brussels. Through PR we raised profiles and helped in establishing close working relationships with overseas legal professionals generating business for the city.
The result
The campaign is now in its fourth year and has grown from strength to strength. Over £300,000 of media coverage and up to 500 meaningful website enquiries per month have been generated and we have supported 12 overseas visits to major international cities.