Calder PR founder Keir Calder MacKenzie with Legal Week City editor Anna Ward

Finalists: BDO; CILEx Law School; Janders Dean International; LexisNexis; Living Group; Mason & Cook (highly commended); Totum Partners.

Calder PR was unveiled as the supplier of the year for business services, recognising its well-executed campaign to raise the profile of Setfords Solicitors – a consultant-led law firm – in a marketing push to increase the number of high-quality lawyers joining the firm.

Calder's brief was to help redefine Setfords' brand and position it as a more attractive place to work for lawyers who are seeking a better work/life balance and greater earning potential through the firm's fee-share scheme.

Calder used the opening of Setfords' London office as a hook to launch its media relations campaign and to raise its general profile, securing coverage in much of the trade press. It then shifted focus to content that would drive lawyers to the recruitment page on Setfords' website, using sponsored posts on social media and producing blogs and adverts based on Calder research that coupled career concerns (notably happiness, health and relationships) with the benefits of working at Setfords.

The campaign saw year-on-year traffic to Setfords' website increase 341% between October 2016 and March 2017, with applications rising from 10 a month to 33 during the same period.

"A really interesting campaign, an excellent site and huge evidence of success," remarked a judge.