Capitalising on a name change to invigorate a brand
16 August 2022
Since its founding in 2010, Murphy & McGonigle had developed a strong reputation as a boutique law firm specialising in financial services, regulatory counseling, and enforcement defense. But even with its recognition as "Law Firm of the Year" for Securities Regulation two years running, an alignment of the firm’s brand positioning and messaging ‘wouldn’t hold up in court.’
With the departure of founding partner James A. Murphy, the firm decided it was time to revitalise its brand along with a review of how its website could further bolster its stance as a specialised leader – with the goal of driving revenue growth while attracting more talent to its ranks.
Living was engaged to build a new brand and guide the firm through a naming process as it confirmed an embrace of its new moniker, McGonigle. We then sought to expand upon the new brand attributes that would be most relevant to the firm’s target audiences. We undertook our in-depth discovery process, involving multiple partners in a vigorous dialogue about how they wish the firm to be perceived and admired.
As result of our findings, we developed a new firm logo, using the crisp bold typography of the Kiona font family, supported by a colour palette that emphasised green, black and cool gray. Within the brand name itself, we called out the “ON” of the uppercase lettering in support of a brand messaging that leans into the concepts of “Always ON”, “ON Your Side”, “RespONsive”, etc. We also provided McGonigle with a full set of brand positioning statements, brand values, and taglines, all aligned in a distinctive tone of voice, reflecting their authority, accessibility, and empathy.
With the brand now feeling fresh, aligned and relevant, we moved onto developing a new look for the firm’s website, with a particular focus on improving its IA and UI in order to deliver an elevated user experience overall. We collaborated with McGonigle’s internal creative teams to reimagine and deliver a stunning and effective new website.
Opening a new chapter
Shortly after the brand launch in July 2022, McGonigle combined with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and our innovative visual identity was no more. It 'shONe' briefly and helped the firm open a new chapter in its impressive history.
Does your brand need to do a better job?
If you feel your brand needs to do a better job of punching above its weight – especially online, please contact Duncan Shaw in New York, Greg Hobden in London or Gigi Yung in Hong Kong.
