Choosing an ad agency to market your law firm can be overwhelming, time consuming and difficult. As an ad agency veteran, I’ve seen clients struggle through the agency search process for years and end up choosing the wrong marketing partner! The results in some cases have been disastrous. One law firm hired an ad agency that told the partners up front they had legal issues. What happened? The law firm paid the ad agency for TV media but the ad agency never paid the TV stations. That’s why it’s so important to take your ad agency search process seriously and thoroughly vet your potential marketing partner. Here’s a checklist to help make your ad agency search a success.

HIRE AN AD AGENCY WITH EXPERIENCE MARKETING LAW FIRMS
This sounds like a no brainer but we frequently get calls from personal injury law firms that purposely hired ad agencies with no experience marketing law firms. They rationalized that an ad agency with no law firm marketing experience would be able to deliver a fresh take on law firm marketing. The results are typically dreadful from creative to paid media. Ad agencies new to personal injury law firm marketing simply don’t know what messages and hooks drive calls. And they have no idea how to buy the high frequency media required to stand out from the competition and make phones ring.

Hire an ad agency that’s been marketing multiple personal injury law firms for five years or more. Veterans of law firm marketing will already know what works and what doesn’t so there’s less experimentation with your law firm’s ad dollars.

SPEAK WITH CLIENTS THAT HAVE BEEN WITH THE AD AGENCY FOR 5 YEARS MINIMUM
If the ad agency you’re considering is highly effective, they will have at least three law firm clients that have been with the agency for five years or more. Ask for their phone numbers. Clients with tenure will have valuable insight into the ad agency you’re considering hiring: Ask about the following:

  1. Has the agency been able to grow calls and cases?
  2. How’s case quality? Getting some large cases too?
  3. What’s the average cost per case? (Should be $2,000 or less)
  4. How quickly does the agency react when calls and cases decrease?
  5. Is the billing process transparent? Does the agency provide TV station invoices upon request?
  6. Ask how they track cases. Some law firms still have no solid tracking metrics in place.
  7. Have there ever been any issues with the ad agency not paying TV stations?

MAKE SURE THEIR ADS ARE AS GOOD AS YOU ARE
There’s a ton of cheesy law firm advertising on TV these days. And that has implications for your firm’s reputation as well as the profession. Judges, juries and even steering committee selections can be impacted. The last thing you want to do is hire an ad agency with a creative product that dumbs down your firm and its partners. And contrary to what some say, lawyer ads do not have to be cheesy to work effectively. Here’s a list of questions to ask your potential agency:

  1. Where can I view your ad portfolio?
  2. Who directs the attorneys on camera? Most people are not good on camera as they haven’t got much experience. It takes a solid director to make an amateur look comfortable.
  3. Who writes the ads?
  4. Where are the ads shot? Is it possible to see the studio and talent of the typical crew?
  5. Who picks the attorney takes after the shoot? (Editors should not be picking takes.)
  6. Who edits the ads? How long have they been editing law firms ads?

HIRE AN AD AGENCY THAT KNOWS LAW FIRM MEDIA
Media is often an afterthought for law firms. But it’s extremely important. After all, if nobody sees your gorgeous ads, nobody is going to call. Additionally, if your law firm’s ads don’t hit the frequency tipping point, you could be throwing your money away. That’s why it’s important to rely on media pros that have been planning and negotiating law firm media for multiple firms for at least five years. That level of experience will deliver a much better chance at success. To get a better feel for your potential ad agency’s media acumen, ask a few questions:

  1. What demographic do you buy?
  2. Are they buying DR rates?
  3. How do you determine the necessary frequency to break through with ads?
  4. Do you post your buys? Do you buy ratings books? When do you reconcile invoices each month?
  5. Do you have Kantar or MMP in house?
  6. What percentage of your buys are dedicated to OTT?

If you follow the steps above, your agency search should result in hiring a fabulous marketing partner that can help your law firm increase its calls, cases and profitability. If you have any questions, just write me at BD@JBDAdAgency.com. Now, let’s get out there and kick some ads!