Unless you heard Addleshaw Goddard’s recent Perfect Harmony thought leadership campaign, the answer is probably ‘never’. But that's exactly what Addleshaw Goddard did, achieving 80,000 video views and generating over 50 business conversations.

The real story isn't about the music, however: it's about how creative approaches can amplify serious research and drive commercial outcomes.

Sitting down with Meridian West for a recent webinar, Brian Macreadie, Head of Marketing at Addleshaw Goddard, shared insights from the award-winning campaign, discussed the role of creativity in professional services marketing, and gave some insightful pointers on how marketeers can overcome a cultural resistance to change in professional services marketing.

The Perfect Harmony Campaign

The Perfect Harmony campaign grew from a desire to understand how General Counsel add value to their boards. To understand on a human level how the role and importance of the legal function is perceived, Addleshaw Goddard partnered with Meridian West to conduct research among over 100 GCs and board members working in large organisations.

"We found some electric insights," explained Brian. "There was this amazing strength of feeling from board members about just how important GCs are to them and to the success of their businesses. We thought, well, we should do something with this."

That 'something' turned out to be translating key research findings into original songs, professionally recorded in a music studio, for publication alongside the more traditional longform report. The response was remarkable: "We had CEOs, mayors and GCs say, 'oh my God, that's genius,'" Brian recalled.

Beyond the attention-grabbing videos, however, lay substantial research that tackled real business issues and showcased AG’s understanding of the needs and priorities of those in the GC role. Within months, it had led to eight new pieces of work for the firm.

Why creativity matters – even for professional services firms

Creativity is a vital tool for firms to rise above the AI-generated ambient hum of background noise that exists on any social media platform. It adds the style necessary to draw the audience to the substance.

The Perfect Harmony campaign exemplified this approach. The videos had a purpose: to draw attention to substantive insights about the relationship between General Counsel and their boards. "The creative angle and the voice that you can deliver things with is so key," notes Bertie Heppel, Associate Director at Meridian West. "But what sits behind that is the authority of voice that is lent to the report by the the research that was undertaken, as well as AG’s expertise."

This balance between creativity and substance is crucial. Brian emphasises: "We're not doing it to pull the wool over somebody's eyes. We're doing it because we want better response rates and we want clients to love it."

There is a tendency in professional services to default to a risk-averse communications style. But firms would do well to appeal to the human side of their audience. As Brian points out: "I go to events with our partners and meet clients—incredible good fun, casual conversations, people are laughing. Then it becomes quite robotic sometimes when it's written down."

After all, professional services firms don’t just compete with each other for the attention of their peers. As Bertie observes, "When it comes to competing for attention, you're not only competing against other professional services firms—you're competing against all the other suppliers that might be trying to reach that senior person, from tech providers to telecom to financial services. Frankly, a lot of these are producing content which is more engaging than what your average professional services firm is producing at times."

How marketeers can overcome resistance to change

So, how can marketeers convince their firms to push the creative boundaries? The journey requires careful navigation. "You don't just turn up in a job and suddenly you're recording stuff in a music studio," Brian notes. "It takes years to build trust and respect. Start small, do pilots. Use A/B testing. Get a few champions on your side. When others see that the wheels didn't come off, they'll ask what you can do for them." He emphasised using data as an ally, demonstrating how more creative approaches typically generate better engagement metrics.

"I don't win every battle," he admits. "When I started my career I might win one in ten battles, now I'm probably up to about five in ten, maybe six or seven out of ten."

The reward of taking risks

The success of Perfect Harmony – and Addleshaw Goddard's broader marketing efforts – shows that professional services firms don't need to choose between being creative and being credible. Their marketing team's recent recognition as runners-up for Marketing Week's Marketing Team of the Year demonstrates that even the most traditional sectors can embrace innovation without compromising professional standards.

As Brian puts it simply: "You can't stand out from the crowd if you are identical to the crowd." Finding a different way to speak to the wider market can risky – but the bigger risk is perhaps not to be heard at all.

If you would like to hear more insight about Thought Leadership, take a look at upcoming Meridian West events on the topic. Meridian West is conducting research on thought leadership best practices across professional services and the wider B2B market. To learn more about this, get in touch.