Lawyers turn marketing into customer benefit

BOULDER — Sometimes the best way to freshen the air in a room is to open the doors and the windows. Holland & Hart, LLC did just that by allowing the creativity and services of its marketing division to circulate further than the usual confines of an in-house support department.

The recently launched marketing service agency, Imaginate, embodies Holland & Hart’s innovative approach to customer service. This new focus infuses the marketing agency with a competitive edge, thereby increasing the level of service it delivers. It also broadens the definition of ?customer.?

Imaginate regards the 260 lawyers of Holland & Hart as clients in similar ways a stand-alone agency would. The twist? Affiliates and clients of the attorneys also can use Imaginate’s services. And since law firms can’t charge for anything other than legal services, the marketing services are provided on a pro bono basis.

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?Holland & Hart has encouraged the different parts of the law firm to develop their own business lines,? said Mark Beese, director of marketing. ?We had an organizational meeting in November 2001, and this concept came up — to focus on client service, shared values and meaningful work. This agency model works.?

Imaginate enhances the creativity and quality services of the marketing staff by encouraging the group to think like a small business in terms of managing costs and teamwork, said Beese. Benefits include the provision of high-level services to the firm’s clients and special interests.

?The Denver Museum of Contemporary Art came to us last year, looking for help with a fund-raiser they were putting together,? Beese said. ?We developed the invitations, planned the event and then hosted it in our Denver office.?

Holland & Hart has a Boulder office and manages offices in five other states.

Other marketing services Imaginate has done includes Web design and consultation for the Western Environmental Trade Association, and graphic design and marketing support for New Born Hope, a support network for parents of premature babies.

Media training, business development, customized marketing materials, assistance with marketing and client research are other additional services available to Holland & Hart lawyers, clients and affiliates.

The Holland & Hart affiliates included in Imaginate’s range of service are CaseShare, Persuasion Strategies and the Holland & Hart Foundation. CaseShare enables the review of shared documents over the Internet with the goal of efficiently managing paper, cases and work. Persuasion Strategies focuses on developing the early stages of a client’s litigation proceedings with services that include case merits assessments, mock jury trials and focus group research.

?The Foundation was formed to serve the community inside and outside of the firm,? Beese said. ?It’s helped 50 to 60 groups over the past five or six years.?

The hands-on services include assistance in building Habitat For Humanity houses and raising money for various causes. The concept of the Foundation came from a book written by a tax attorney, who stressed the importance of lawyers having lives outside the office, Beese said.