James Batt - Director of BCL Legal - on the firm's rebrand and what it means for the future
Why is BCL Legal re-branding now?
BCL Legal has been established for almost 10 years. Not only has the business grown in this time it's also experienced significant change. We operate differently, we've improved and honed our skills so that the service we provide to our clients and candidates is second to none. Consequently, we wanted our brand to reflect these changes; especially as we are so proud of what we do and how well we do it. It can be very easy to become complacent by continuing to do the same things time and time again, we wanted to elevate our brand and the service offering we provide.
What was the inspiration behind the new overall brand concept?
It’s important a brand is not seen simply as a logo or strap line; instead it should represent how we want to be perceived. It's the expression of our character and personality, our vision and our values - the foundation upon which we build our entire brand.
To do this we needed to understand who we are and what our values actually are. We encapsulate these values and personality as a brand theme – driven to deliver. This theme sums up everything BCL Legal stands for. It gets over the passion and focus the company brings to anything it does, from organising an event to interviewing candidates.
What’s different about it?
As I say, the new brand has been developed to reflect our vision and values. Be it via the website or in person, we want everyone to experience the same user journey that is both professional and approachable. The entire brand has been re-worked to represent a confidence that communicates what we do. We’ve also freshened up the look and feel so that the brand is much more stylish and current. The bottom line is that our clients and candidates receive a dependable and focused service that delivers real results.
Tell us a bit about the new website. What’s unique about it?
The new website is where many of our clients and candidate will experience first-hand the changes we’ve made. We’ve developed a site that is more focused than ever. It has been designed with the user firmly in mind giving them relevant and appropriate information. For example, we understand that information people want varies significantly depending what point they are at within their career. The new site allows the user to tell us what level they are and we deliver what’s appropriate to them. The whole site is far more intuitive and really takes into consideration the user journey by making information available in a simple and concise manner.
Are there any key areas that people should look out for?
The Brief is a fantastic area of the site that we will be updating on an ongoing basis. We’ll provide up-to-date information and news on all things legal.. We’ll also continue to offer our opinion on the current affairs that have implications across the legal industry; including much more video content - all recorded in one take of course!
Are there more plans/ services in the pipeline to make it even better?
Our on-line and digital strategy is one we are always reviewing and evolving. There are new developments happening all the time and it’s important to be aware of these and use them to our advantage. Just look at the impact social media has had over the last few years and this is now very much part of our on-line activity. We will also be developing certain sections of the website that will allow people to manage the information they receive.
What other initiatives have you launched or are planning to launch for both the clients and candidates you work with?
As with our online strategy it’s also essential we continue to improve our off-line presence. We’ve worked tirelessly over the years to refine this process but there is always room for more improvement! The main focus will be for us to ensure the same creative and strategic thinking runs across all our communication platforms.
You obviously think it’s important for the company to have a strong brand. Why is that?
A strong brand is essential for any company; it’s what makes you unique. The brand epitomises who we are and what we do, what we say and how we say it. When people talk about companies and about their experience they base these opinions on the brand:
• What was the customer service like?
• Were they dependable?
• Did they deliver on their promises?
The list goes on and on but we want our brand to be successful in these essential areas. Of course the logo is a vital element of our identity as it represents our promise of service and quality, but our brand is so much more than this.
From a more commercial perspective a brand helps us define our position in the market place and creates differentiation over our competitors. A strong brand also helps us communicate our business internally. If we get our team to believe, understand and enjoy what we stand for they will deliver it consistently. Our people are our biggest asset so it’s vital they are passionate and champion it whenever they talk about us as an organisation - be it at work or down the pub.
Do you see BCL Legal’s online presence as its most important platform?
The online platform is vital especially when you consider that for many this is their first port of call to either find information and / or apply for a job. Therefore, the website needs to be spot on - both for our candidates and clients.
Any words of wisdom for readers of The Brief who may be thinking of investing in their brand or online marketing?
Think about the bigger picture. It can be very easy to jump straight to the final result. Consider your brand and online offering as a house; you need solid foundations before you can even think of building. You’d never consider putting a roof on a house before you’ve built the walls and you certainly wouldn’t decorate would you? A brand is very similar, make sure your core thoughts and rationale behind the brand is spot on, and make sure it represents who you are as a company or how you want to be perceived. Then you can build with confidence!
