Marks Paneth launches new brand positioning and ad campaign

New York-based accounting and consulting firm has launched a new brand positioning and ad campaign entitled ‘Success is Personal.’ The positioning focuses on client relationships and the firm’s dedication to helping clients reach their unique goals.

Founded in 1907, Marks Paneth provides a full suite of audit, accounting, tax, and consulting services, with particular expertise in forensic accounting, litigation support, financial advisory, and international tax. The firm has been shifting more resources towards its advisory function (as is the general trend in professional services), recently launching a cybersecurity offering to help clients secure their operations from digital threats. The company offers accounting and consulting services to a wide range of clients stretching across industries, from public sector to manufacturing to the legal services industry.

Marks Paneth’s over 650 professionals work from offices located in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. The company is the 34th largest accounting firm in the US, and the 8th largest in the Mid-Atlantic region.The firm’s new brand redefinition and campaign – ‘Success is Personal – was informed by extensive research of stakeholders. The research uncovered three central parts of the firm’s service philosophy: the personal and caring nature of Marks Paneth’s professionals, strong client relationships, and a deep understanding of the clients they service. The firm has used the findings as the core of a new brand image based on client-centrism.

“We recognize that success varies among clients, based on their life and business stages,” said Diane Paoletta, Chief Marketing Officer. “This recognition was the basis for our new advertising campaign, Success is Personal, which is written from the client perspective and focuses on their needs above promotion of the firm itself. This unique approach, including limited copy and client personas, speaks to the heart of what we value most – the clients themselves.”

According to Marks Paneth, the new campaign will be rolled out on radio, commuter trains, and in print and digital media. The company also revealed a new brand video, available on their website, and described below:

Visuals: Black and white clips of people in various workplaces (factory floors, kitchens, offices).

Music track: Black Keys soundalike instrumental, similar to ‘Gold on the Ceiling,’ but with lead organ/synth replaced by guitar.

Superimposed words in orange font as in the Marks Paneth logo, changing at roughly 2 second intervals.

‘We are accountants
But let’s not talk about what we do
Let’s talk about how we do it
Our expertise in you
Your dreams
Your foundations
Your future
Your passions
Become our passions
So let’s make them count
And let’s start
Now’

The spot explicitly shifts the focus from the firm to the client, emphasizing that the firm’s identity is client-focused and client-centered. Rather than emphasizing Mark Paneth’s specific capabilities (technological, operational, etc.) or history (100 years of growth and success), the focus is more on being experts in their clients, caring about them, sharing their passions – client empathy and expertise, in short.

According to the firm's website, “The campaign defines our Marks Paneth brand experience as a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses, a commitment to their unique goals and a relentless determination to help them reach success.”