Marketing Partner Forum Awards

Marketing Director of the Year: Ed Schechter, CMO, Duane Morris, Philadelphia.   (In November the firm's marketing program was ranked No. 1 by Marketing The Firm.)

During Ed's tenure, the firm created 50 client teams, it was the subject of a Harvard Business Review study, all marketing activities were pursued on the basis of what produces the best ROI, and the firm actively surveyed clients about their satisfaction. Sheldon Bonovitz, Chairman of the firm said, “our increasing revenue is also, in part, attributed to our marketing and business development personnel."

Marketing Partner of the Year: W. Scott Sorrels of Powell Goldstein of Atlanta, GA.

During his two-year term, the firm doubled the size of its marketing staff to 12, marketers were given a career path and they were protected by him from abusive lawyers.  The firm trained 72 partners in business development in 2006.  Powell Goldstein's marketing focuses on face-to-face contacts, leadership (not mere membership) in client organizations, plus writing and speaking for reputation building.

Marketing initiative of the year: video podcasts by Torys LLP of Toronto and New York.  Stuart Wood, the Director of Strategy and Business Development, said the firm launched several 4-5 minute podcasts in May 2006 on merger and acquisitions topics.  "The videos were a convenient and new way to deliver content on a broader scale," he said. 

Visitors to the firm Web site can watch the podcast, listen to only the audio or download a PDF transcript. The videos, which showed partners answering predetermined questions,were filmed on site by a professional videographer.

The podcasts picked up widespread publicity, including the Globe and Mail which headlined their story "Torys Tunes in to Latest Pop-tech Craze."  Bloggers offered many comments.  Positive opinions complimented the brevity, professional quality and simplicity of the podcasts.  A negative opinion was that the podcasts were a cure for insomnia, which got a hearty laugh from the Marketing Partner Forum attendees.