OUT-LAW gains superbrand status

Press release: 16/03/2006

The Superbrands organisation, the global independent authority on branding, has announced that legal service OUT-LAW has joined an elite group of brands awarded eSuperbrand status. It is the only legal brand to gain this accolade, alongside brands including eBay, Google, bbc.co.uk and Friends Reunited.

Founded in 2000, OUT-LAW is the IT and e-commerce service from international law firm Pinsent Masons.  The firm recently acquired the highly sought after Outlaw.com URL for US$25,000, a deal which protects and consolidates the OUT-LAW brand, which will remain at www.out-law.com.  OUT-LAW.COM currently has more than 28,000 registered users, and experiences nearly 100,000 unique visitors every month.

OUT-LAW will also appear in a book featuring the honoured eSuperbrands, launched today at Embassy, London. This publication forms part of a programme that was founded with the aim of paying tribute to the UK’s strongest ebrands, whilst also providing insight and guidance into the best brands and sites within the huge online market.

Struan Robertson, editor of OUT-LAW and a senior associate with Pinsent Masons, said, “OUT-LAW has been a huge commercial success for Pinsent Masons. It is our global calling card for IT and e-commerce legal information and issues impacting technology businesses. OUT-LAW has helped position Pinsent Masons as one of the UK's leading IT legal advisors.”

“In our six years of operation, we have produced more than 6,000 unique, plain English articles, covering every development in technology law, from intellectual property and privacy laws to outsourcing, e-commerce and employment,” Robertson said. 

A dedicated eSuperbrands council was formulated in 2005, consisting of eminent individuals who are well qualified to judge which are the nation’s strongest ebrands. Each brand featured in the book qualified to do so based on the ranking of this council. The book includes full case studies on 46 of the 300 qualifying eSuperbrands; the full 300 appear in a comprehensive index within the book. More than 3,000 brands were initially considered.

Commenting on the launch of eSuperbrands a spokesman at the Superbrands organisation said, “eSuperbrands is fascinating as it explores a diverse range of brands, from different industries and of difference sizes. The interesting thing is the success and strategy employed by the mix of traditional brands, that we have known and loved for years, with other younger pure e-brands that have been developed more recently. With the proliferation of websites both reputation and brand image are becoming ever more important in aiding consumer choice. Those brands featured in the eSuperbrands publication are a suitable benchmark of those that truly

Ends.

For further information please contact:

About OUT-LAW:

OUT-LAW is an award-winning technology and e-commerce support service, run by law firm Pinsent Masons, one of the most highly regarded law firms specialising in technology, telecoms, outsourcing and information law.

OUT-LAW is a free service which includes a quarterly magazine, a weekly e-mail news bulletin and the out-law.com website, offering free information and checklists to help businesses.  With more than 28,000 subscribers and 6,000 pages of content, OUT-LAW.COM is believed to be one of the largest and most popular law firm websites in the world.

For further information, see: http://www.out-law.com/ and http://www.pinsentmasons.com/

About eSuperbrands:

eSuperbrands

1JOB.co.uk,192.com, 50connect.co.uk, 888.com, allcures.com, Auto Trader, Avon, bbc.co.uk, Betfair, Boys Stuff, British Airways London Eye, confetti, crocus, DatingDirect.com, dubit, eBay.co.uk, Faceparty, Firebox, Friends Reunited, Google™, HalifaxHomeFinder, JobServe, Jobsite, Littlewoods even more, MAXIM, moneynet, Moonfruit, MyTravel.com, myvillage.com, Nectar, NetNames, OUT-LAW, PhotoBox, Primelocation.com, River Island, Streetmap, teletextholidays.co.uk, ThomsonLocal.com, Times Online, tiscali, TOPSHOP, toptable.co.uk, Totaljobs.com, UpMyStreet, What Car?, Yell.com

eSuperbrands Council 2006

• Wayne Arnold, Managing Director, Profero
• David Day, European Managing Director, EMEA Region Nielsen / NetRatings Inc
• Jody Haskayne, Director of PR & Communications, Tiscali UK Ltd
• Brent Hoberman, Co-founder, lastminute.com
• Rachel Johnson, VP Marketing Europe, Ask Jeeves inc.
• Lisa Jones, Editor, .net
• Michael Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, Friends Reunited
• John Owen, Chairman of the IPA’s Digital Marketing Group
• Steve Perry, Marketing Services Director, NTL
• Timothy Ryan, Brand Marketing Director, AOL
• James Sanderson, Joint Managing Director, glue London
• Rory Sutherland, Vice-Chairman, The Ogilvy Group, UK
• Simon Waldman, Director of Digital Publishing, Guardian
• Donna Price, Chairwoman, eSuperbrands Council

How are eSuperbrands chosen?

• The eSuperbrands are chosen solely by the eSuperbrands Council. This is a group of 14 industry specialists, who are either experts in marketing, managing, creating or reviewing Internet brands.
• The entire population of brands is initially considered for inclusion in the shortlist sent to the council. Council members score each brand based on their opinion of the brands strength and credentials. These scores are the basis for qualification. The council is only concerned with each brands status within the UK. Council members are unable to score any brands that they have an association with or which is competitive to one that they are associated with.

The Superbrands Organisation (www.superbrands.org)

• The Superbrands organisation is the independent authority and arbiter on branding. The organisation promotes the discipline of branding and pays tribute to exceptional brands in over 55 markets. Over 670 of the most high profile, experienced and well known experts in the marketing and business community currently sit on its councils; these judges represent the largest and most highly regarded source of knowledge on branding to be compiled in the industry. These renowned figures come from respected agencies and successful brands, as well as from key media organisations.
• The organisation has earned the right to trade under ‘The Brand Council’ name within the UK following permission from the Secretary of State at the Department of Trade & Industry.
• The organisation has produced over 5000 case studies on brands identified as high achievers. These unique stories and insights have been published in 77 branding bibles.
• The organisation’s publications, the centrepiece of its programmes, enjoy momentous reach. For example, over one million consumers have read the 18 European publications launched in 2005. The books are endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and the British Brands Group.

Superbrands has produced over 100 global branding events reaching approximately 30,000 delegates. These high profile events celebrate branding success whilst also providing brand guardians with insight and inspiration during their on-going brand presidency. The organisation’s events range from Tribute Events, often referred to as ‘Branding Oscars’, to business breakfasts. Networking amongst senior peers is always an important element as the Superbrands can cross-fertilise ideas or discuss partnership marketing opportunities. Speakers at its events have represented companies as diverse as Coca-Cola and GE through to Greenpeace. In many countries Superbrands operates events in partnership with other relevant bodies and organisations.