Making a Splash with a Law Firm Office Move

The Issue

Law firms relocate all the time and without much fanfare, but for Delaware-based Young Conaway, its office move from a traditional building to the iconic courthouse on Rodney Square in the heart of Wilmington was anything but typical. Transforming the nearly 100-year-old structure—which had declined over nine years of vacancy—into a 21^st-century office space was a mammoth undertaking. Still, the firm knew that garnering significant press coverage and public attention for its office relocation would be a challenge.

Young Conaway asked Jaffe to not only make the office move communication exciting, but to convey the strategic messages of community involvement and superior client service to the firm’s target audiences: clients, referral sources, community leaders and the media.

The firm transformed the nearly 100-year-old structure into a 21^st-century office space.

The Strategy

Jaffe knew that the media would ignore a standard press release and clients might overlook a typical direct mail campaign. The agency decided that the most effective communication tactic would be to tell the story of the build-out by creatively leveraging an assortment of multimedia, from videos and custom images to classic children’s toys.

The team created a press packet that included a retro View-Master viewer and picture wheel, which provided an exclusive sneak peek of the ongoing office renovation and speculative images of the finished space. The packet also included a media alert inviting reporters to a press tour, along with a press release and a backgrounder for all the information they needed to write a story.

In addition, Jaffe commissioned a pen-and-ink line drawing of the historic space. The line drawing was used as the basis for an Etch-A-Sketch artist to create a time-lapse video that depicted the artist drawing the new space on the Etch-A-Sketch. This video was incorporated into an e-vite to clients, prospects and other local dignitaries for a reception unveiling Young Conaway’s new home.

Create a time-lapse video that depicted the artist drawing the new space on an Etch-A-Sketch.

The Impact

As a result of our efforts, the firm’s office relocation secured coverage in more than 241 legal, business and architectural news media outlets, including national coverage in Reuters and MarketWatch; local coverage on the Fox News and NBC television affiliates; and feature stories in Delaware Today, Delaware Business and Delaware Law Weekly. A reporter from a major national daily newspaper also traveled to Delaware see the space and meet key attorneys to develop them as sources for commentary.

The pen-and-ink line drawing became a second logo for the firm and was used in the firm’s holiday card, on letterhead for the media alert and backgrounders, and in all subsequent branded pieces.

This exciting project garnered the Legal Marketing Association 2013 Your Honor Award for Jaffe and Young Conaway in the Promotional/Collateral Materials Announcement category, with Young Conaway accepting the award. Jaffe was also selected by PR News as a 2013 Platinum PR Awards finalist in the “Media Relations” category.