In a study designed and carried out by Nicolai Rossen, managing partner of PR consultancy Rossen & Company, marketing materials were set up for three non-existent firms. These had the names Andersson & Cooper Associates, Reagan Rove Coolidge and JMM Global. The materials were shown to the 50 global business managers alongside real materials from Baker & McKenzie, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and DLA Piper. 

Terribly bad branding

A parallel study was done in the management consultancy sector but, in that case, the business managers chose the real firms over the fake ones. Mr Rossen said: 'The competition from big US law conglomerates suffers from a case of terribly bad branding. Few can articulate the McKinsey, Bain or BCG of corporate law, and this lack of prior knowledge plays to the advantage of the ambitious law firm seeking to expand using PR.' Source: PR Week