Client: Bingham McHale
The Backstory: Network, Network, Network
Bingham McHale, now known as Bingham Greenebaum Doll following a January 2012 merger, is one of the largest law offices in the state of Indiana. In 2011, the firm was home to 140 attorneys with specialties including Business Litigation, Government Services, Intellectual Property Law, Environmental Law and more. Like many firms, however, business development was not as strong as it could be, especially for newer associates. Bingham McHale needed a more concrete strategy for how the associates could better network in and out of the firm, build their client base and promote their peers.
Silver Square Action: Super Hero Business Development Game
We wanted to make business development training more engaging and enduring than spending eight hours in front of a projector. Using a super hero theme, we approached networking and communication challenges with a game. Played over 8 weeks, the game allowed associates more time to fully engage with old and new business development practices. Three teams with a dozen or so players per team competed for a grand prize awarded at the end of eight weeks. The objectives of the game were designed to allow associates to get to know each other and expand their network of referrals and clients. While the game was in play, we were available to answer questions and provide further context for the game in the associates’ business practices.
The game was a foundational success to Bingham McHale’s marketing strategies. It established the base for which the associates can continue to grow their business practices and networking skills. For example, every attorney at Bingham McHale now uses LinkedIn. For many, it was the first time they thought about all the ways they could grow their business and successfully network. In the future, the game can be played with additional or modified elements to continue to build on their marketing efforts.
The Backstory: Control the Content
In order to be recognized as an industry leader, a company should display its expertise to the public. Bingham McHale is well respected in many fields of law, but wants to gain more recognition and clients in particular specialties. One such area is the clean energy industry. With an energy team in place to represent a range of stakeholders in clean energy matters, Bingham McHale is poised to grow its client representation. The challenge was that they needed a tool to help demonstrate their depth of knowledge and bring to light opportunities for potential parties to get involved in the business of alternative energy sources.
Silver Square Action: Utilizing Guides
Guides are often an overlooked medium for effective content marketing. By demonstrating your knowledge to the public, potential customers come to you. To further Bingham McHale’s reputation as a leader in clean energy, we created a guide to further potential clients’ and other audience members’ understanding of the topic, focusing on the major players in the industry and what is at stake for each of them. By displaying the “Clean Energy: What’s Your Stake?” guide on the firm’s website, visitors immediately recognize Bingham McHale as a trusted authority in the field and a go-to resource for information. The guide is also serving as a marketing tool that attorneys can share via email or their LinkedIn pages. In digital ads for Bingham McHale, a call-to-action to download the guide has led readers to the firm’s site to learn more about the energy team. We continue to build on the guide’s initial success. New ways to repurpose and share various pieces of the guide are constantly in the works.
