Ahmad Zavitsanos Anapakos Alavi Mensing, or AZA, is one of the most unique law firms you’ll ever come across. They’re bold, and have never shied away from forging their own path. When AZA came to us, they were still going by their former name, which they knew was a bit of a mouthful. Aside from shortening that to the more-manageable “AZA,” all they knew was that they wanted to stand apart from other firms. It was left to us to figure out exactly what that would look like. How did we do that, and how can we help other businesses that find themselves in the same situation?
When building a brand for any organization, our first step is to find out as much about your team, your culture, and your business as we can. This is both an internal and an external process. There’s no better way to learn about you and your business than by talking to you and those you do business with.
Internally, our questions are geared toward how the organization sees itself, how it likes to market itself, and its place in the marketplace. Externally, they’re geared toward why potential clients would hire you, and what the experience of those you’ve worked with has been.
Once we have that information, we look for the ideas and themes that stand out. It usually doesn’t take long for these to begin rising to the surface. In AZA’s case, we found that their clients loved how smart they were, and how aggressive they were in pursuing their clients’ cases. Another word that stood out: bold.
From the information we gather, we take key themes and use them to help define your business’s personality. How will you present yourself to the world? How will you communicate to your audiences and go after new business? Once that foundation has been laid, we develop marketing materials that will amplify your distinct positioning.
As it turned out, what AZA’s clients valued most about the firm and what AZA wanted people to know about itself aligned in a big way. The job then became to keep those qualities and characteristics at the forefront as we built their image.
We wanted people to know that when AZA was brought onto a case, they were ready to take charge and get the job done. In that regard, our messaging was as direct as possible. One of AZA’s greatest assets is its irreverent sense of humor. As we discussed this with the firm, their mandate was: lean into it. Wherever we could use it, they wanted to see it.
When we talk about developing a personality for your business, we mean it. And that personality is something that’s reflected in more than just your advertising. It’s a design language that can be seen in your logo, business cards, website, and other materials. It’s the tone in which you communicate not only with clients, but to your friends and colleagues. AZA’s tone is edgier than most, and that’s reflected in the way they talk.
Ask their clients, or anyone else who’s worked with them, and they’ll agree that AZA is one of the most unique, most refreshing, law firms they’ve ever worked with. We were able to identify traits the firm exemplified inside and outside the courtroom, and make sure those were amplified in the way AZA talked about itself. That, in addition to a fresh graphic identity has helped to cement the firm as a legal powerhouse and a leading voice in its field.
But AZA isn’t the only organization we’ve helped. And what we did for them, we can do for you as well. We’re excited to learn more, and to help your customers learn more, about you.