International law firm Bird & Bird has been on an incredible journey of growth over the last 25+ years. Although there has always been a strong sense of firm identity, their values had never been communicated. So, in anticipation of their ambitious 2025 One Firm strategy, we articulated their unique values and developed a striking employer brand with global resonance.

The previous 25+ years had been a period of significant growth and international expansion for Bird & Bird, now with 32 offices in 22 countries and 3200 colleagues. Their 2025 five-year strategy was to be the most ambitious yet, and an important success factor would be having a shared ‘One Firm’ culture. We partnered with them to develop their employee value proposition (EVP), and define their culture and core values, which would come to be known as their ‘DNA’.

We set out to discover what defines Bird & Bird at its best. We wanted to get to the heart of what makes working for and with Bird & Bird so special for its people and clients.

• 35 senior stakeholder interviews to understand key themes and life at Bird & Bird.
• 15+ focus groups with colleagues from around the world to verify these themes and better understand cultural nuances.
• Developed the strands of DNA and employer brand creative, working with the core project team.
• Tested these outputs with colleagues and recruitment agency partners to test the approach and see how the concept might need to be adapted to different audiences.

For values to be understood and lived, they need associated behaviours. The five traits identified through our work with Bird & Bird colleagues were underpinned by a set of behaviours developed by our Occupational Psychologist.

This was a project where HR and Marketing worked seamlessly together through our partnership, enabling us to develop an EVP that was not only aligned with the brand identity, but went to the very heart of Bird & Bird’s purpose: ‘To make it possible.’

The horizon line elicits that sense of adventure, new frontiers and future possibilities; it speaks to the global and connected nature of the firm; and draws the thread through every part of the brand by elongating the curiosity line – an integral part of the corporate brand identity.

We developed the concept and advised on the launch day – a 24-hour digital celebration starting in Sydney and ending in Los Angeles. Using a ‘metaverse’ concept, every member of the firm could enter a Bird & Bird world to learn about the DNA, employer brand, hear stories, watch videos and connect with colleagues around our international network.

Viva Engage was the main channel for engagement and encouraged colleagues to post photos from their office celebrations using the office ‘props’ provided in advance. The results on the day went beyond our working group’s expectations:

Internal engagement

• 32 offices and 3200 employees participated
• Nearly 2000 active on Viva Engage on the day
• 250 messages and 80k impressions across Viva Engage posts

External engagement

• 30k impressions
• 458 reactions
• 14k+ plays of the launch video

Now, whether you step into the Swedish office or Singapore, Los Angeles or Poland, you’ll experience the unique Bird & Bird culture. The One Firm approach has enabled seamless international teams to serve complex client needs, confident cross-selling and a rare global comradery.