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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING INSIGHTS

| 12 minute read

CMO Series EP160 - Erika Galarneau of Cades Schutte on Bringing Local Culture into Your Firm's Marketing

Law firms are an important part of the communities they serve and, as such, should reflect the local culture in their brand and marketing. 

In today’s episode of the CMO Series Podcast, Charles Cousins is lucky enough to sit down with Erika Galarneau, Marketing and Business Development Manager at Cades Schutte - Hawaii's largest law firm. Together they delve into a specific campaign that uncovers the importance of incorporating local culture into your marketing efforts.

Erika and Charles Cover:

  • The role local culture plays in a firm's marketing efforts and why it should be something marketers have on their radar
  • Erika’s career journey and how she arrived at her current role
  • Examples of incorporating local culture into campaigns and initiatives 
  • The impact of bringing local culture to that campaign
  • Guidelines that others should follow to ensure that they are bringing their own local culture into their marketing efforts
  • Advice for others who may not have as clear a culture as Hawaii
  • Tips for those looking at their current campaigns and thinking about bringing their local culture to them
Transcription:

Law firms play a vital role in the communities they serve. And today we're exploring just how impactful that connection can be. We're thrilled to have Erika Galarneau, Marketing and Business Director, lead at Hawaii's largest firm, Cades Schutte.  

Charlie: The CMO Series Podcast is brought to you by Passle. Passle makes thought leadership simple, scalable, and effective. So professional services firms can stay front of mind with their clients and prospects when it matters most. Find out more and request a demo at Passle.net. Now back to the podcast.  

Charles: Erika, welcome to the podcast.  

Erika: Thank you so much for having me, Charles. 

Charles: And is Hawaii just like it's made out in the film, like rolling beaches and volcanoes in the background, lush and green?  

Erika: Well, I'm on Oahu, so we don't have any active volcanoes. But yes, I will say I can't complain. And you're just driving, and you get that beautiful panorama of the ocean and the mountains. So it definitely is a beautiful place to live.  

Charles: Wonderful. So to kick off today and set the scene, it's quite a cool topic to chat to you about actually. But why does local culture, or why is it so important in a firm's marketing efforts? Why should it be something that marketers need to have on their radar?  

Erika: Well, I would actually say local culture. And this is probably especially true for us as a firm that is in Hawaii, which is such a unique place to be located. But I would definitely say it's the main part of our marketing efforts. And I think it should be for a lot of firms. I think local culture is definitely a way to connect with the community in which the law firm serves and where we are a part of. So I feel like it's definitely something that both helps us connect to our clients but also a way to show our characteristics, our personality. So we're always mindful of the rich history and culture that Hawaii has in all of our marketing efforts, I would say.  

Charles: Yeah. And correct me if I'm wrong, but you've not always been on the island in Hawaii. How did you end up in this current role? What was the journey behind that?  

Erika: Yes. So I actually traveled quite a bit in my legal marketing career. I actually started in Tokyo, Japan. I was working as a paralegal and got my first marketing job at a big law firm in Tokyo. I ended up working at Orrick in Tokyo actually, and it was there that the manager that came to train me at the time had an opening. He was from New York but had an opening there, so he asked if I was interested in coming to New York to be his coordinator. I was looking for a change and gladly accepted, so I was working in New York supporting the energy and infrastructure department until I transitioned to Withers Bergman, where I was supporting really interesting practices like art and immigration and private client law. So I was in New York for, I want to say, at least six years before moving to Hawaii. And I've now been in Hawaii for just around four years.  

Charles: What was that like? Was that a bit of a change of pace going from New York over to Hawaii?  

Erika: Oh, yes, definitely. I mean, I think first off going from Tokyo to New York was different because, you know, many people hear that Tokyo is a city where everyone is just working until extremely late hours of the night. You know, that's the norm. I remember if you're late for work, you had to get a permission slip from the station saying that the train was delayed and that was why you were late. You had to present that to the office. So it was definitely different going into New York where, you know, people definitely work hard in New York too, but I feel like it was not as strict and monitored as it was in Tokyo. And then, of course, going to Hawaii, it's very different yet again. I will say, you know, people are generally out of the office by four, I want to say. They come in earlier though; they are all in the office by eight, but they want to take advantage of the beautiful weather and enjoy their family time. So I do really appreciate the work-life balance here.  

Charles: Yeah, it sounds quite healthy, actually, getting out after a day's work and enjoying the day when it's still nice out. So bringing things back to local culture and its place in marketing, is there a single campaign or initiative that illustrates how important this is—something you've done or something you've worked on where this has been a prominent consideration?  

Erika: So when I joined the firm, which was in 2021, I immediately was tasked with redesigning our website. It was a project that was actually very overdue. I think the last time we had updated it was 2016. Also, in 2022, we were celebrating our centennial year. The firm has actually been around since before statehood. So it was just a time when I was told like, just do it—the whole shebang, make it a beautiful website, retake everyone's photos, please do everything. So when approaching this, I did want to make sure, you know, our firm is a full-service firm, which means that we work with many of the large national and international firms. We just handle a lot of the local aspects of transactions together. And we also do represent a lot of local companies and, you know, single individuals, mom-and-pop shops. So I did want to make sure that we showed we were a full-service firm but also where we were—that we are in Hawaii, that we really embrace our home, and we are part of our community. So we worked with Clockwork Design Group, and we emphasized that we really wanted to show this. So we wanted to make sure that it really came through in the design. And I feel like, yeah, the finished result, a lot of what we wanted, they were able to show.  

Charles: Can you think of any particular examples of where local culture presents itself in your website and what you've done there?  

Erika: Yes. So I actually have a few examples. I think the first, you know, the imagery and just little accents we use. The main page, we use this beautiful image of Kahana Bay that I really think, you know, the second you open it, it really speaks to how beautiful Hawaii is.  But at the same time, we countered it with a more dark-scale website in general, which I think still shows the professional polish look we wanted. They also were able to have little design elements like ferns in the background for each attorney biography, which I thought was a really nice touch to still show the island aspect of where we are.And then just continuing on the conversation of bios, I think a big debate we had when we approached this was how we were going to dress the attire for the attorneys.For our last website, we took the adamant stance that they should be in suits because they are attorneys. This is especially for the gentlemen. And I actually pushed back saying that because we are a firm in Hawaii, and that's not how everyone dresses, especially our transactional attorneys that don't necessarily need to go to court. You know, they'll be in Aloha wear, they'll be in Aloha shirts. So I strongly said we should just have everyone dress as they would to a client meeting, whether that's Aloha or a suit. So that is what we decided to do. And I would say maybe a third of the gentlemen decided to wear Aloha wear, whereas two thirds decided to wear suits. But I honestly think the mix and match in the final matrix of all of our attorneys really looked nice. And it really showcases who we are as a firm. So I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Charles: Yeah, it looks great. And when we were just having a look through your website before we jumped on the recording for this, it's quite cool seeing the attorneys in their beautiful shirts rather than the plain suits that I guess a lot of law firms, they go down that route.

Erika: Definitely. 

Charles: So you've worked across, I guess, three really distinct areas, if we take Tokyo, New York, and Hawaii. Do you think there's any guidelines or points that folks should follow to make sure that they're bringing their own sort of local culture into the marketing efforts or what would those sort of guidelines be?

Erika: I would say first is finding a champion within your firm.For ours, we actually have one attorney who I always know I can call on to get her opinion. She does everything from proofreading language.We try to use a lot of Hawaiian language in our marketing. For example, our newsletter is called ke kemu, which means the source in Hawaiian. So we try to sprinkle Hawaiian language throughout our marketing efforts, but we do want to make sure we use it right and tastefully. So she is always kind of by sounding board for, do you think this would work well, is this correct? Are the accents, the diacritics we use, are those right? So I think it's really important to find a champion within your firm.I guess another thing is, you know, I was lucky that my first project was this website redesign since joining the firm, because that meant that we were able to start with a brand audit.So I think I got a lot of understanding about how our firm is perceived, both within and outside. We did interview a few clients too, because that definitely was a determining factor in showing how much of local culture we should be using in our marketing efforts. And I take some of the learnings and takeaways from that in marketing initiatives I'm doing right now as well.

Charles: And Hawaii has such a strong cultural identity, but do you have any advice or tips that maybe for others that are in areas that maybe don't have such a clear culture? What would you recommend? 

Erika: Yes, so I definitely agree. For us, location and history are a big part of the culture.I feel like even for firms that don't feel like that's as big of a driving force, there still are unique aspects or identities that a firm can draw on to showcase its culture. Like I said, the brand audit really does help, especially if you're new to a firm. But yes, I think things like some firms have won a Best Places to Work award, so they might showcase their work-life balance. Or if you're a firm that is known for catering to the rich and famous, maybe showcasing yourself as a luxury brand could be helpful. But I feel like regardless, even if it's not your location that you could highlight, there is going to be something. So it's just a matter of identifying what it is and being able to make that the voice of your firm.

Charles: Yeah. And I guess part of that is probably looking at your client base and who you're working with and obviously location is a part, but the answers are probably in front of you if you go and ask some questions and do a bit of looking about. We're now at that point in the podcast where we do a quick fire round. We're going to ask you a couple of questions, Erica, to find out a bit more about you. First question is, what are you reading or listening to at the moment? 

Erika: So I honestly don't have a lot of time to read or watch or listen to anything because I have small children, so I've got to say I've been being forced to watch a lot of Winnie the Pooh lately. That's the trend in my household right now.

Charles: That's fantastic. I love that it's made its way all the way to Hawaii. What is the one thing you couldn't live without in your working life? 

Erika: Coffee. I drink a lot of coffee every day, so it would definitely be that. It keeps me going.

Charles: Are there any habits you think helped you particularly in your career?

Erika: I am not shy, and I make friends easily, which I think has been very helpful. I definitely am not shy in a networking event to go over and introduce myself, and I think that just generally has helped me get to know people and speak to attorneys that maybe are not as willing to open up. 

Charles: I think that's how we met, wasn't it, at the LMA? 

Erika: Yeah, probably. I wouldn't be surprised.

Charles: What's your favorite way to unwind?

Erika: Honestly, and that's a big reason why I moved here, but I just like to sit on the sand and listen to the waves. I don't need to go in, but that's kind of my zen moment, just listening to the waves hitting the sand.

Charles: Fantastic. Yeah, I love that as well. Where I used to live was about 10 minutes from the beach. Although it wasn't that sandy, it was like a rocky beach, but you still get that amazing sound of the sea coming in and pulling the rocks out.

Erika: Yes, for sure, for sure.

Charles: So to finish off, we ask the same question to all of our guests: If you could offer one piece of advice to those looking at their current campaigns and thinking about bringing in their local culture, what would that one tip be? 

Erika: I would say my biggest piece of advice, and I know this is part of something I've answered previously as well, but making sure to find your champions within your firm that can really speak to that culture. I know I mentioned that there's one particular attorney that I lean on the most. It also happens to be because she's across the hall for me. But I do have a running list of people that I can ask for various things, all attorneys at the firm. It especially helps if they're part of the partnership because they are more invested in marketing efforts at the firm and how we portray ourselves. So I would say definitely make sure to find those champions and to be able to work with them.  

Charles: Yeah, that makes sense. And probably those folks are better suited if, for you, for example, you've come across from New York, and actually finding some champions who have been around for a bit is useful.  

Erika: Yes.  

Charles: Well, Erika, thanks for coming on today and sharing about your experiences and how your firm has weaved in the Hawaiian culture into your website and what you do day-to-day. I think it's really interesting. And although firms in other regions might not have those strong locational cultures, there's definitely things that they could be using in their campaigns for promoting what they're up to. So thanks again for coming on, and we look forward to catching up in person if I can ever get across to Hawaii. But more likely, it's going to be at an event on the mainland of the U.S.  

Erika: Thank you so much. Yes, hoping you can make a trip out here soon. We'll be waiting. 

Charles: And when you finish off work today, are you going to do what you said and hit the beach and listen to the sand and the sea?  

Erika: I will try. I don't know if I can. It's always hard to make that detour, but I will try for you, Charles.  

Charles: Wonderful. All right. Well, thanks again, Erica.  

Erika: Thank you.  

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cmoseries, passlepod, e2e, marketing, professional services