Grant Thornton (GT) is one of the top tax, audit, and advisory firms in the industry. GT offers a differentiated client experience, marrying the expertise of a big firm with the personalized customer focus of a boutique. In 2020, when the business landscape was disrupted by COVID-19, companies sought a professional services firm that could deliver a personalized experience during a time of uncertainty. Grant Thornton wanted to capitalize on this time of increased interest with a campaign that would show how GT truly understood their clients’ needs in this very unusual time, with the goal of increasing brand awareness and consideration.

The team’s research insights on business leader sentiment formed the foundation for the campaign concept. Called “Ready”, it focused on the idea of Grant Thornton helping its clients get “Ready” to go from a defensive position to seizing opportunity.

The media campaign was crafted to better reach the target audience, who was mostly working from home, by utilizing digital and social channels, streaming podcasts, connected TV, and programming for the one sport still in full swing – golf.

The digital campaign used a series of compelling visuals and copy that inspired the audience to be “Ready” to transition from “weathering the storm to storming the market,” or to “go from expected thinking to refreshing strategies”. The campaign videos used two different approaches – one that used visual effects to demonstrate how GT could help weather the storm, and one with humor, utilizing golfer Rickie Fowler to encourage business leaders to take their next shot.

The theme of being “Ready” was extended to many other GT communications during this time, including CFO survey thought leadership pieces and GT’s website. Additionally, parts of the US campaign were adapted for use in other global markets, like the UK