As mentioned last month, the Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP holiday card “Blakes Gives Thanks”, which was filmed, edited and produced by Pixelcarve, has been getting a lot of industry attention. Today, the LMA’s announced the Your Honour award winners and they gave Blakes the top spot for Promotional/Collateral Piece Winners — Holiday Cards.

Summary

Blakes wanted to send a unique and memorable holiday greeting to clients that conveyed a message of gratitude. This was accomplished with a short video that captured the spirit of the season as well as the culture of the firm. Blakes also leveraged social media to spread the message and track results.

The upbeat holiday video features an introduction of a typical day which sets up the theme (and features a Blakes partner and her children), and then leads into clips submitted by people from various Blakes offices about what they are thankful for.

From a marketing perspective, the team wanted the eCard/video to be creative, thoughtful, unique, memorable and engaging. Realizing that eCards had become standard among law firms, Blakes sought a new way that lawyers could effectively connect with their wide network of contacts and clients around the globe. The email portion of the card was customizable with a personal message from the sender, and led to the short video message. Following the video there was an invitation to share the message via social media. The entire experience was flawlessly branded as well as completely bilingual (English and French).

Following the distribution of the “Blakes Gives Thanks” eCard/video in mid-Dec. 2011, the firm received over 8,000 views on YouTube, and all our social media properties saw an increase in followers, dialogue and reach. In addition, the video message elicited more direct replies and good wishes to lawyers than any eCard sent in previous years.

The core objective of our holiday eCard was to maintain and strengthen client relationships, and the total budget for this project was comparable to eCard development and significantly less than sending traditional printed cards.

What the judges say:

Classy. Nice results tracking of the card. Good messaging, unique look.

The video was produced in both English & French and has since been viewed by almost 11,000 people.

Pixelcarve is also pleased to announce the release of the Director’s Cut, which features all new scenes including an introduction not seen in the final video.

Let us know what you think!

Holiday cards have become a staple in the legal industry, having evolved into large productions that often feature elaborate designs and even full commercial video production. Blakes, who have over 550 lawyers in cities all over the globe and are frequently recognized as Best Law Firm in Canada, wanted to take the opportunity to communicate their deep gratitude for their clients, partners, friends and family. They turned to Pixelcarve to produce a 1 minute short that showcased “a day in the life of a Blakes lawyer” and all of the things they are thankful for, as well as a compilation of their lawyers giving thanks from around the world.

“Blakes went all out with this video on thankfulness. Extra marks for the heartwarming scene of a lawyer being welcomed home by her pajama-clad children.” says Precedent, after awarding them the Best Law Firm Holiday Card of 2011.

UPDATE: The Blakes Gives Thanks video has been selected as a finalist by the Legal Marketing Association in the Promotional and Collateral Materials – Holiday cards category. There were nearly 235 submissions this year, and the panel of judges was highly selective in deciding which would be recognized from among the many high-caliber entries. Winners will be announced in the Feb. 29 edition of LMA Briefs.

The video was produced in both English & French and was distributed by a large e-mail campaign also created by Pixelcarve.

The following video caught the attention of the entire legal community and ultimately was viewed by over 10,000 people.

Pixelcarve is also pleased to announce the release of the Director’s Cut, which features all new scenes including an introduction not seen in the final video.

Let us know what you think!

Gotstyle

But knowing how to put yourself together is not just for celebrities, so Gotstyle needed an effective and entertaining way to communicate a variety of fashion messages to every guy – an audience known for their dislike of shopping and short attention spans (unless of course it’s the 3rd OT period of a playoff game!).

Working with owner Melissa Austria, Pixelcarve envisioned and executed a short video blog, filmed in HD, in the style of a TV show. Each segment identifies a different essential for every man’s wardrobe, and how best to represent it. Packed with incredibly useful tips and tricks, it’s also short enough that guys will actually watch it.

The videos are promoted on Gotstyle’s blog, as well as through targeted and attention-grabbing eblast campaigns.

Melissa Austria, owner of Gotstyle: The Menswear Store, says “Pixelcarve were one of the first that I told about Gotstyle before I created it. From the very beginning they were able to put together a visual image of what I wanted my brand to look and feel like through the website, eblasts, business cards, postcards, etc. Pretty much anything that had to do with the brand they “got it”. Now as they go to the next level, they’ve brought me there as well with digital multimedia, big concept advertising ideas and full interactive campaigns that are rapidly growing my business.”

Check out Gotstyle’s first video blog, and let us know what you think.