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A&O Shearman

LinkedIn strategy & growth 

The Challenge

Following the historic merger of Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling, the newly formed A&O Shearman faced a unique digital hurdle: due to the change in legal entity, the firm had to abandon its legacy social footprints and launch entirely new LinkedIn entities from scratch.
The primary objective was to build immediate scale and migrate millions of data points of brand equity into three new hubs, a global page and regional showcases for the UK and US & Americas. 
Starting with zero followers, the firm needed to rapidly establish a top tier presence that matched its new status as a global legal titan.
Strategic Objectives
1
Strategic LinkedIn Framework
Strategic LinkedIn Framework We defined the strategic foundations for A&O Shearman’s LinkedIn presence, setting clear roles for global and regional pages within a unified structure.
Strategic Objectives
2
Follower Growth Strategy
We developed a follower growth approach aligned to priority audiences, markets, and launch objectives, specifically designed to support brand credibility and scale efficiently.
Strategic Objectives
3
Audience & Market Planning
We identified and prioritised key audiences across regions, ensuring targeting and investment decisions were guided by quality and relevance rather than volume alone.
Strategic Objectives
4
Paid Media Guidance
We provided consultancy on campaign planning, formats, and optimisation principles to support effective LinkedIn advertising from launch.
Strategic Objectives
5
Measurement & Reporting Framework
We established clear performance metrics and reporting principles to enable ongoing evaluation, learning, and optimisation.
Strategic Objectives
6
Enablement & Knowledge Transfer
We supported internal teams through training, insight-sharing, and best-practice guidance, helping build long-term confidence and capability.

Our Approach

As strategic advisors, we transformed a "blank slate" into a high performance digital ecosystem by building a LinkedIn structure that balanced global brand consistency with regional impact. 
Rather than waiting for slow organic growth, we deployed a targeted, data driven paid strategy to rapidly build scale and reach the right audiences in the UK and Americas from day one. 
To ensure this momentum lasted, we focused on "enablement" - equipping the internal team with the specific insights and governance needed to manage and grow the new A&O Shearman brand independently.

Results

This collaboration resulted in one of the most successful brand launches in legal history, combining A&O Shearman’s bold identity with a targeted growth engine that propelled the firm from zero followers to the "Big Law" Top 10 on LinkedIn in a remarkably short period. 
By deploying a strategy that significantly exceeded growth KPIs, we delivered a pre qualified, engaged audience during the merger's most critical phase. 

This approach established A&O Shearman as one of the fastest growing global law brands on the platform, ensuring their new identity achieved immediate market leadership and maximum visibility among priority audiences.

Ready to move from now to next?

The brands we work with don’t settle for incremental gains, they look for momentum, clarity, and results that last. Whether you need a fresh strategy, or a world-class team to deliver it, we’re ready to step in.

Let’s talk about your goals, your challenges, and where you need to be next.

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