Legg Mason Launches Corporate Branding Ad Campaign

Having completed the integration of the money management group from Citigroup, Legg Mason is now trying to showcase the resulting merger with a $4 million corporate print ad campaign, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Following the merger, Legg Mason now runs seven money management firms, and the company realizes that not only don’t consumers understand the upshot of the merger, but even those who sell its funds don’t know that the firm includes Western Asset, Clearbridge Advisors, Legg Mason Capital Management, Brandywine Global, Royce & Associates, Permal and Batterymarch. Hence, the campaign.

Running in newspapers and trade publications, one ad in the campaign shows a gold pocketwatch, with the tagline, “Independently impressive. Together, extraordinary.” Another features a violin with the tagline, “Built to win.”

“We really want to highlight that we have a very unique structure, this affiliate structure,” said Donald Froude, head of U.S. distribution for Legg Mason. The firm’s affiliates “are all well-known names that have been around for decades in the investment business, and we’ve got them all under one umbrella,” he said.

Other “outdoor” ads will appear on digital screens in elevators in cities where Legg Mason financial advisers and brokerages are located. Going forward, Legg Mason is considering online advertising.

The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.

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