Social justice law firm, Maurice Blackburn, has launched its first ever brand work to not only raise awareness for the business, but to also challenge the sameness in the legal category.
Maurice Blackburn partnered with One Green Bean for the creative, which uses real people to highlight some of the social issues currently playing out in Australia, such as the policy surrounding asylum seekers and LBGTI rights.
The campaign is currently running across digital channels and on the free-to-air TV networks, with a focus being on the Victorian and Queensland markets where the firm has a strong presence.
National brand and social media manager at Maurice Blackburn, Rebecca Hanlan, told AdNews this campaign is a big departure for the brand, having previously focused on work the business does, such as personal and workplace injuries.
“It's a big leap for the firm and it's definitely a reflection of wanting to make a long-term commitment to the brand,” she says. “[The campaign] is about differentiating us. Plaintiff law is so homogeneous – it really is a sea of sameness amongst law firms.
“It's hard to differentiate yourself, but we always knew that this area of social justice was our opportunity because it's how we are different to our key competitors.”
One Green Bean's CEO Carl Ratcliff explained that when looking at the brief, the agency felt that perhaps a large majority of Australians misunderstood the idea of social justice. Adding that the agency decided to approach it in a completely new way for the category, with earned media playing a key role.
“There really is no more powerful way to demonstrate the importance of social justice than by getting people to share their own stories. In this way, through a real life lens, we hope to have humanised these issues and its impact on us all,” he says.
The campaign launched earlier this month and while the push was centred around gaining awareness for the brand, rather than driving business growth, Hanlan says enquiries to the firm are up.
“The campaign’s message is for anyone who is 16-70, with the focus being around long-term brand building. We weren't expecting the phones to ring or to be getting massive amount of enquiries right away, but interestingly that’s exactly what's happening at the moment.
“It's generating work as well as discussion,” she added.
When it comes to the channel mix the brand used to get its new message out there, Hanlan says that Maurice Blackburn is getting less and less reliant on traditional channels, with the business aiming to ensure its budget works as hard as it can.
“We've got to this point now where TV is not the lead channel,” she says. “There's a real tapestry of mediums and there’s no one lead media.”
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