We live in a highly visual world, so when it comes to communicating the proposition of a professional services firm, the way the messages are presented matters.

Matters more than the words? Most certainly not. Matters? Most certainly.

IQ + EQ

Brands are not logos. These days most senior executives in the corporate world get this; brands like Apple, Nike and Virgin have demonstrated the value of building strong brands that stand for something much bigger than a logo.

However, in the professional services world, many partners and senior executives haven’t had the same kind of exposure to this development and can come to the table with a wide range of assumptions when it comes to brand identity.

This can give the CMO an interesting challenge when it comes to navigating the development of something new.

In its simplest terms, the brand identity of a professional services firm must reinforce the brand strategy and key messages it wants to get across to its external audiences.

Generally – but not always – the strategic ‘direction of travel’ is to project a more modern, digital, and innovative firm. The brief is rarely to be more old-fashioned, out of touch and conservative.

Law firms are not breakfast cereals – they need to look modern and innovative but at the same time premium and sophisticated.

The challenge in partnerships is that if messaging is a mix of art and science; then visual identity is more art than anything else. Or put another way, it’s a lot more subjective, and there are far fewer ‘data-points’ to orientate debate around.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

DRESSED TO IMPRESS

Developing a new or refreshed visual identity system for a professional services firm requires strong sensitivity to the world in which these brands exist.

Law firms are not breakfast cereals, and management consultancies are not mobile phones – they need to look modern and innovative but at the same time premium and sophisticated.

If you find yourself reaching for the Pantone books in the middle of a meeting to ‘find a colour’, it’s time to retreat and rethink the process.

Most designers have little or any direct experience of the buying process of top-tier professional services. So, to put themselves ‘in the shoes’ of the client, they need super-clear briefing and direction from the brand strategists they’re working with on the project.

In turn, those strategists must be careful to guide but not stifle creativity in the process.

Be wary of hiring agencies that overtly position themselves as ‘award-winning.’ It’s nice that they got prizes but who was handing them out? Clients of professional service firms?

You need designers who can focus exclusively on your brand and not be looking over their shoulders to see what their industry peers are thinking.

GOOD JUDGEMENT

The process should focus on exploring options together in outline form and getting closer to the right ‘fit’ before getting serious about developing the one or two options to take through to final decision making.

“You need the courage of my convictions” (Wally Olins)

The role of the consultants is to guide and advise, not follow. If you find yourself reaching for the Pantone books in the middle of a meeting to ‘find a colour’, it’s time to retreat and rethink the process.

My former business partner and legendary branding expert, the late Wally Olins, would tell his clients that when it came to judging the right visual identity for their brand, “You need the courage of my convictions”, – said for effect and with a smile, but there’s something in it.

I often say to my clients that when it comes to the final stages of approving a new brand identity, you’ll know you’re on the right track if you feel a bit of ‘frisson’ – not sure whether this is wonderful or a dreadful mistake.

If you don’t feel that then it’s probably too safe and a missed opportunity. Once it’s out there the fear part quickly subsides, and you’ll be grateful that you didn’t cut any corners.

Despite the substantial challenges, it’s fair to say that, given the decisions leaders of large professional services firms must make, choosing a new brand visual identity should be one of the least stressful – it can even be enjoyable.