Case Study: Grant Thornton
Building Brand Awareness from Eighth Place

Situation:
It seemed as if hardly anyone knew of Grant Thornton before the accounting and management consulting firm came to Landrey & Company. Even though it was a global firm, it was stuck in the shadows of its larger, more assertive competitors.

Solution:
Grant Thornton builds its business on the referrals that flow from its relationships. With that in mind, we designed a strategic advertising and public relations campaign to increase local awareness of Grant Thornton among its target audiences.

Landrey & Company created a two-tiered print advertising campaign to reach the business audience. The first phase directly addressed Grant Thornton's lack of brand awareness using two color print ads in targeted business publications. The second phase used smaller ads to allow Grant Thornton to publicly acknowledge the successes of its marquee clients. The strategy strengthened current relationships and let prospective clients know of Grant Thornton's work with some of the most respected companies in the Northwest.

Then we moved to establish a strong relationship between Grant Thornton and the local Business Journal. The paper brought its entire staff to Grant Thornton for a seminar on how to decipher financial reports. Grant Thornton strengthened its partnership with the paper through sponsorships of special events and special sections, a strategy that also raised awareness of the firm in the business community.

Outcome:
The campaign kept Grant Thornton's name in front of its prospective clients. Business Journal writers began turning to Grant Thornton's practice managers as sources of expertise and the firm's managing partner was profiled in a lengthy article.

How successful was the campaign? We found out from one of Grant Thornton's competitors. Not realizing Landrey & Company was Grant Thornton's agency, they called us to ask for help with their brand recognition. Their request, "We need a campaign just like Grant Thornton's."

Advertising Campaign