#BehindtheBrandManager: Tereza Correia of Yolk on rebranding Andersen in SA

Tereza Correia of Yolk

Correia has been in the field of marketing and branding for the legal industry for many years, working with the likes of Exigent, STBB, and Deneys Reitz (which later merged with the Norton Rose Group).

Here Correia gives us some insight into the recent rebrand of Tabacks into Andersen in South Africa and their focus for the future...

Tell us a bit about Yolk and your journey in the industry...

Yolk is a digital consultancy working with corporate & commercial law firms, legal tech providers and professional services organisations covering strategy, brand, creative and marketing disciplines.

Yolk was founded in 2000, with two of the top 5 law firms in SA as clients, which really defined our niche at an early stage. It’s been a fascinating journey as digital and technology have developed as a primary elements driving strategy, with the most progressive and innovative firms achieving top recognition in global rankings.

You have a long history working in the marketing and communications space within the legal industry. How did you get into that?

When we started Yolk, there was a substantial innovation gap in legal marketing, creating opportunity to help firms build a more modern approach to marketing. Initial projects lead to long term client partnerships and work referrals in the industry.

You were involved in the recent rebranding of Tabacks into Andersen in South Africa. That's quite an endeavour. Please tell us more about what the process of turning Tabacks into Andersen SA entailed?

Prior to the rebrand, Tabacks was a collaborating firm of Andersen Global for two years. Firming up the association with the global brand through a more definitive structure, they became a full member firm from 1 January 2021. Paramount to the decision to completely rebrand as opposed to a dual brand model, was brand equity, shared expertise and recognition and reach into global markets, a strong differentiator for the firm as their presence in top tier economies as well as developing countries and regions is unmatched in the Legal, Tax and Advisory sector.

A key focus group of colleagues considered the implications of both models as relevant to brand, growth and globalisation. Since these components were already a focus of the firm’s strategy, a complete rebrand was quickly recognised as the best fit.

Our pre-launch campaign focused primarily on the structural and strategic thinking behind the re-brand, and was well received in the commercial marketplace so a complete changeover didn’t challenge brand continuity or confidence. What we did need to consider was clarity on positioning, with potential confusion around Andersen (the founding organisation based in the US), Andersen Global (the global association of independent member and collaborating firms) and Andersen in South Africa (the South African representative firm of Andersen Global).

The timelines were pretty tight, we had a two-month lead time to coincide with Andersen Global’s Africa launch in mid-Feb. It must be said though that implementing an existing brand definitely supports a much quicker turn-around than branding from scratch. The biggest component was that we needed to build a new custom website, but fortunately Andersen in South Africa's team is exceptional and we had super support on every level, form content creation to strategic, practical and tactical input.

What media or social media channels do you use for brand communication and why?

Primarily LinkedIn for business engagement and paid content promotion, with Twitter serving as a global content collaboration channel and Facebook just really a contact point for lateral communication. LinkedIn offers the most relevant targeting and segmentation, with the content structure an opportunity to build service line and industry verticals. Their innovation in terms of formats and tech which makes a viable paid channel option.

Digital communication seemed to have become almost channel agnostic, but recent developments in data privacy regulation (and concerns) mean a closer consideration of channels and their privacy efficiency.

Having just launched Andersen in South Africa in February, as we head into Q2 we’re focussing on media and publishing partnerships, building and strengthening owned channels, connected networks and exploring new niche networks.

What’s on your wish-list for brand objectives for 2021?

Definitely brand development. Technology is also a focus, spanning operational, management, CRM and marketing automation and content delivery solutions.

How do you plan on building the Andersen brand going forward?

Andersen is a global company with a cohesive and clear identity. We are looking forward to establishing brand unity across the firms on the continent through a centralised branding and marketing strategy to position the firm and strengthen its offering. We’re collaborating with regional firms to craft clear communication around their unique offerings, differentiators and collective expertise.

What is it you love about the legal industry and your role in it?

It is an amazing industry to work in. I love its complexity, challenges and constant motion. We work with incredible people; I love the immersive collaboration.

What are some of the biggest lessons you've learned from your experience in the sector?

Working with multi-jurisdictional organisations in regulated industries requires a deeper consideration of global markets specifically around segmentation and regulation.

Also an understanding of technology, platforms and how they integrate (or not in the case of legal solutions) - a clear tech strategy is mission critical.