True Solicitors | Rebrand

BACKGROUND

True Solicitors is a law firm specialising in providing legal advice and support to clients nationwide. They renamed from Gorman Hamilton to True Solicitors LLP in 2013, but their new name was not recognised, nor understood by partners and clients. They lacked brand definition and their look and feel was outdated.

True Solicitors were facing many internal and external challenges, from the rising costs of intermediaries and case management companies to the diversification into multiple areas of law, as well as being heavily reliant on buying referred work. They needed to stand out from the crowd, make their services more accessible and user-friendly, and be recognised as a go-to for clients nationally; the outdated look and feel of the brand were obstacles to their success.

Recognising the need for a new, defined brand, True Solicitors appointed Drummond Central as their strategic creative agency. Together, they set a new strategic direction and developed a compelling new brand experience that would distinguish them from competitors and define True Solicitors as the award-winning Legal 500 practice they are.

TARGET AUDIENCE

True Solicitors offers an array of legal services from personal injury and clinical negligence to housing disrepair and credit hire, which caters to a large portion of the UK population. The circumstance of each client varies massively, but the two key audiences have common needs: reliability and consistency.

B2B audience – this audience consists of intermediaries and case management companies, who need reliability and consistency on a functional level. Clients contact these companies to seek help, and these companies then refer/sell these cases on to True Solicitors.

B2C – this audience comprises ‘everyday’ people who are mostly from a working-class background. They’re less likely to be in a position of accessing private medical care, and more likely to be renting property. These clients need reliability and consistency from True Solicitors on a more emotional level.

Regardless of the audience, we know that all clients (whether accessing legal services via a case management company or direct) share a common vulnerability; they turn to True Solicitors for help to solve their problem, whilst limiting stress.

Drummond central held focus groups and further research revealed people can often be sceptical to put their faith in professionals, which meant True Solicitors was facing several challenges, including industry-wide scepticism, with their clients.

CLIENT CHALLENGE

True Solicitors had big ambitions to change their business model, but they didn’t have a consistent and compelling way of engaging with clients. They were losing out to larger competitors as they lacked brand experience, personality and authenticity.

The legal competitive landscape is crowded, so True Solicitors needed to stand out and be distinctive. Their existing/old brand identity had significant limitations - it didn’t communicate True’s ‘family-feel’ culture, the branding lacked quality and didn’t represent True’s unique personality. The aggressive colour palette (red, white and black) and the use of stock imagery felt very limiting and stereotypical of a legal firm.

The name ‘True Solicitors’ also came with challenges; it sparked mixed opinions within the company with some feeling it lacked the traditional professionalism of a surname-based name. The tone of voice lacked warmth and personality, and generally felt too straight-talking and professional, which contrasted with the friendly, humble, down-to-earth culture at True Solicitors.

As well as the re-brand, True Solicitors required a new website. Their existing website offered a poor user experience which made it difficult for customers to navigate or get in touch directly. This also hindered True Solicitors’ ability to attract clients organically forcing greater reliance on intermediaries to drive business.

AGENCY SOLUTION

Drummond Central recognised True Solicitors’ brand didn’t reflect the business in any way; True is a firm whose team are warm, approachable, relatable, and genuinely have a desire to help clients get the result they deserve.

Drummond Central’s planning team delved into True’s strengths, ambitions and challenges. We conducted focus groups as well as 1-2-1 interviews with the firm’s Partners as part of the exploration phase. Following this, along with competitor analysis and extensive research, True’s brand strategy was finalised.

The Creative team conceptualised four different creative routes which were informed by the brand strategy and competitor research. The chosen route was developed, and with this came a new brand identity representing True’s character and values, including a new colour palette specifically designed to be reflective of True’s personality; bright, friendly, approachable and optimistic. This was a huge shift from the brand’s original colours which felt out-dated and aggressive.

Our talented in-house illustrator developed a suite of bespoke line-drawn illustrations with a unique style for True Solicitors. This style emphasised how approachable True are as a brand, also helping them stand out from competitors by avoiding the overuse of stock imagery.

Brand elements including brand identity, font family, style, do’s and don'ts, were captured into a single brand document for True to roll out internally, ensuring the new brand was used consistently between internal teams and with external partners.

Through extensive language and TOV exploration, Drummond Central developed a TOV which had more consistency with True’s ethos, demonstrating this through a series of assets including a brand mantra, elevator pitch, character traits and brand communications examples.

There was an opportunity to create a compelling brand story without re-naming True Solicitors, and with the word ‘true’ having many positive meanings, there was merit to hone in on the authenticity, honesty, and loyalty of the brand. Through the brand strategy, our recommendation was to create a strapline ‘on your side’ to further embody the attitude and ethos of the brand, and the people who represent it.

The new website was designed alongside the re-brand, with user experience at the heart of the design and build.

THE RESULTS

The effectiveness and evaluation of the re-brand isn’t currently in the pipeline, but True Solicitors now operates with a clear and well-defined brand direction. This new identity positions them to stand out in a crowded market strengthening their appeal to new clients.

True Solicitors’ Marketing Director shared their enthusiasm:

“The launch of the new brand for True Solicitors has exceeded our expectations.

We’ve received a wealth of positive feedback from our clients, introducers, and our team. The brand has been applied throughout our new office space, which has really brought the brand to life internally and become an integral part of our day-to-day working life.

The new look and feel has enabled a fresher, cleaner look to our external brand and helps us stand out from our competitors in an impactful way.

We’re excited to continue our journey of enhancing our brand offering and will be forever grateful for the support of the team at Drummond Central in helping us to achieve our objective.”