Branding for Professional Firms

30 Years Working with Brands

Issues in Professional Firm Branding

• Commoditization followed by the fear of differentiating• You have a brand… even if you don’t work at it• Branding done right is foundational – everything else

springs from it• Who is your brand champion?

Issues in Professional Firm Branding

• Your website, in most cases, is the initial conversation• The website is the heart and soul of your identity – it is

who you are• Whether your message matches or not, it is broadcast

1000’s of times

Issues in Professional Firm Branding

Websites are as much about being found, and knowing who finds you, as they are about what you say once they get there• How are you indexed?• Do you know who is looking?• What are they doing once they get there?

Issues in Professional Firm Branding

Two ways to miss the mark:

• The $5,000 job– “We got a college kid with some free time to do ours”

- or -• The $35,000 job… without first understanding your

brand

So...

If the plane’s fold-down tray is dirty, what must engine maintenance be like?

Lubar & Co.’s

Branding Initiative

Our Branding Initiative

1. Hired Trefoil Group (formerly Scheibel Halaska)

2. Four month brand positioning study

3. Four month website / collateral design

Our Branding Initiative

Effective branding:• Crystalizes the firm's value proposition• Creates a compelling, relevant story• Differentiates the company for a competitive

advantage• Drives perceptions externally and the culture

internally• Launches the right conversations

Brand Statement

Lubar & Co. understands that real, sustainable success – the kind that builds thriving companies and strong communities – doesn’t happen overnight.

It comes from doing the right things, day-in and day-out, over time.

For over 40 years, Lubar & Co.’s unique blend of patient capital, collaborative vision and steadfast commitment to management teams has enabled companies to reach their full potential while preserving hard-earned legacies.

What We Learned

1. Who we are and what we stand for matched:• Our desired future brand image • Our internal brand image• Our external brand image

2. Our office environment reflects our brand

3. Lubar is all about the people and images of them are essential to conveying our brand

Extending the Brand in all Materials

Measuring Web Traffic is a Powerful Tool

Thank You.

Q & A?