How to Choose a Law Firm Marketing Ad Agency That Works
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:
- Has the agency been able to grow calls and cases?
- How’s case quality? Getting some large cases too?
- What’s the average cost per case? (Should be $2,000 or less)
- How quickly does the agency react when calls and cases decrease?
- Is the billing process transparent? Does the agency provide TV station invoices upon request?
- Ask how they track cases. Some law firms still have no solid tracking metrics in place.
- 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:
- Where can I view your ad portfolio?
- 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.
- Who writes the ads?
- Where are the ads shot? Is it possible to see the studio and talent of the typical crew?
- Who picks the attorney takes after the shoot? (Editors should not be picking takes.)
- 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:
- What demographic do you buy?
- Are they buying DR rates?
- How do you determine the necessary frequency to break through with ads?
- Do you post your buys? Do you buy ratings books? When do you reconcile invoices each month?
- Do you have Kantar or MMP in house?
- 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!
Saturday Night Live Parodied Our Cellino & Barnes TV Ads. Business Boomed.
“Say Anything You Like About Me, But Spell My Name Right.” P.T. Barnum
Some law firms are terrified of publicity. And understandably so. They’re concerned about being portrayed in a manner that does not reflect well on the profession, their firm and their skills. But the fact is, even less than favorable “Publicity” can increase awareness of brands, and drive revenue. That was certainly the case when Saturday Night Live parodied the TV ads we produced for Cellino & Barnes. Viewers had a good laugh at our expense. But after an accident, they called Cellino & Barnes. Business boomed! Then, Tariq from Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show did a hilarious two minute segment about the Cellino & Barnes jingle. He even sang it! And again business boomed.
Take a look at the videos and laugh. Then scroll down to see the original Cellino & Barnes ad along with the jingle. And remember, as the renowned showman P.T. Barnum noted, all publicity isn’t bad.
The MONSTER Ad That May Change Lawyer Advertising Forever…
Imagine a lawyer ad that reaches out and grabs your audience. An ad that entertains with striking visuals, humor and a dash of sophistication. A TV ad that breaks through the sea of homogenous lawyer ads like a monster in a china shop. Stop imagining and hit the play button below. Lawyer advertising is about to change forever.
Call us today and reserve your monster campaign before another firm in your market beats you to it. And stay tuned for more. This ad is only the first in a series of industry rocking commercials from BDAA.
NFL Viewership Scored a 10% Gain in 2021. Should Your Law Firm Pay a Premium for It?
Like a group of weary hikers gathering around a campfire, Americans embraced the warm glow of NFL football in 2021 like never before. The crowds and sizzle were back. There was enough hot, delicious controversy to keep us all shaking our heads in disbelief. It was enough to warm the collective souls of America and distract us from a cold, sterile period of Covid seclusion.
But with the audience growth comes significant increases in ad costs. And NFL football was already priced at a premium, charging multiples of what most personal injury law firms pay for ads in regular programming. Is it worth paying the premium?
For most law firms, the answer is NO. Most personal injury law firms are advertising in highly competitive markets. The majority are badly outspent by the market’s leading law firm advertiser and don’t have the ad frequency to break through the clutter. Any available funds should be deployed to become more competitive in basic dayparts, Early Morning, Daytime, Early Fringe, Early News and weekends. Remember, the cost per rating point and cost per spot for Sports programming is multiples higher than normal programming. And NFL ads take the sports premium cost to a whole other level.
One tactic we use at BDAA to circumvent NFL premium pricing is buying low cost rotators on Weekends and in Prime. Our clients ads often end up in NFL games and other sports premium events at a fraction of the cost. One BDAA law firm client recently ran in the World Series for $150. The station was asking $40,000 per spot.
HIT 2022 LIKE A MACK TRUCK WITH THIS AD
Most people have no idea insurance companies send investigators to tractor trailer accident scenes to protect their financial interests. But this TV commercial exposes the practice in dramatic fashion and could be key to making your law firm’s 2022 one of the best years ever.
Turn the volume up as you view the ad. Note the custom musical scoring with nefarious tint. And the documentary feel, as if a curtain has been pulled back to reveal an insurance company practice never meant for public consumption.
Want to see the rest of the ad campaign? Email Brantley Davis BD@JBDAdAgency.com or call us at 202-775-8181. We’ll get your law firm trucking for 2022.
Law Firm Holiday Ads Put a Jingle in Your New Year. See for Yourself.
The same law firm TV ads that worked throughout the year can become laborious around the holidays when car crash messaging seems at odds with the spirit of the season. That’s why there’s no better time of year to add some holiday joy to your TV rotation. A fresh shot of localized commercials will add depth to your brand and bring a smile to your target market’s face. And that will make for a very prosperous new year.
Give your law firm the gift of gorgeous ads for 2022. Hire Brantley Davis Ad Agency. It’s the one gift that pays for itself! Contact us or give us a jingle at 202-775-8181.
Want to see more? Visit our Youtube page
Trial Lawyer Provision in Biden’s $2 Trillion Spending Package Could Be A Boon for Accident Victims
Last week the House passed President Biden’s $2 Trillion dollar spending package. According to The Wall Street Journal,
the bill contains a provision that could benefit plaintiffs and their attorneys if the bill passes the Senate and is signed into law.
“Trial lawyers got language that permits them to deduct certain expenses for cases taken on a contingency basis.”
Most plaintiff’s law firms already level the playing field for accident victims by charging no upfront costs and only charging clients a fee if they win the case. But the new provision could allow trial lawyers to take cases they may have rejected in the past.
Brantley Davis, President of Brantley Davis Ad Agency, a marketing firm specializing in law firm marketing, commented “If this bill becomes law, personal injury lawyers will accept more cases and that will pressure insurance companies to settle plaintiff's accident claims for more money. Good for accident victims and trial lawyers, but not good for insurance companies.”
The senate will take up the bill in coming weeks but the odds of it passing remain low as Senator Joe Manchin (D) WVA and Kyrsten Sinema (D) AZ continue to object to various aspects of the legislation.
A Truck Ad That Delivers for Personal Injury Lawyers and Average Americans
https://vimeo.com/639175158
Accidents involving tractor trailers can be some of the most devastating. It’s simple physics. When a truck weighing up to 80,000 pounds slams into a 3,000 lb car at sixty-five miles per hour, the results are typically tragic. That’s why within hours of a serious accident involving an eighteen wheeler, insurance companies will dispatch a team of highly trained investigators to the accident scene to search for evidence to protect the insurance company’s financial interests. But who protects the car accident victim’s interests? Americans earning average incomes don’t have the resources to send their own team of trained investigators to the accident scene. Besides, they’re most likely being treated for serious, life changing injuries. Fortunately, personal injury lawyers level the playing field for average Americans involved in big rig accidents. And that’s the point of this Brantley Davis Ad Agency truck ad.
The ad employs dramatic footage and customized music, stylized to create a nefarious mood at the start of the ad. Tension increases as the camera pans in on the undercarriage of an overturned eighteen wheeler, revealing a team of investigators videotaping the accident carnage and looking for clues to defend the insurance company against a claim. As the ad concludes, the music reaches a crescendo and stops as attorney Nelson Baez delivers the final line, “Because we look out for your interests, not the insurance company’s.”
For more ads that deliver, subscribe to our Youtube page. Send comments to comments@jbdadagency.com.
Personal Injury Lawyers. Balancing the Scales of Justice.
Let’s face it, the public is not fond of personal injury lawyers. You’ve heard the jokes. And some personal injury lawyers deserve ridicule, hanging around emergency rooms trolling for clients or handing out business cards at car accident scenes. But the fact is most personal injury lawyers have their clients best interest at heart and serve an essential purpose in our system of justice. Imagine life without personal injury attorneys. You can check my source here to get a lawyer and get help with injury cases. Who would keep greedy insurance companies from lowballing car accident victim’s claims just to please their Wall Street investors? Who would hold large corporations accountable when defective products like Talc cause cervical cancer in women? Who would take on callous employers that take advantage of workers injured on the job? And who would stand up for children harmed by negligent landlords that exposed kids to toxic levels of lead paint?
The fact is, without personal injury lawyers, working class Americans would have nowhere to turn when large corporate entities with endless resources take advantage of them. Personal injury lawyers should be proud of what they do. They balance the scales of justice for average Americans.
To Jingle or Not to Jingle? That IS the Question
Shakespeare’s Hamlet was contemplating life versus death when he pondered “to be or not to be.” Ironically, many attorneys would choose the latter before creating a jingle for their law firm. But history and science argue in favor of jingles. Studies show that music stimulates the cerebellum and limbic system more profoundly than mere words. That’s because music triggers the brain’s pleasure centers, releasing dopamine making us feel happy. Combine a catchy tune with the warm familiarity of the same jingle repeated hundreds of times per week in TV ads, and a brand suddenly becomes very “sticky.” But that should come as no surprise. The world’s most powerful brands have relied on jingles to help them break through for decades. Remember Oscar Meyer’s “my bologna has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R” and Alka Seltzer’s, “Plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is.” Even PI law firms have relied on jingles. Cellino & Barnes rode their throwback jingle sound to unrivaled success, becoming so well known, Saturday Night Live parodied them in skits. However, jingles don’t have to sound like they were created in the 1950s to be effective. Contemporary jingles break through too. And isn’t breaking through what it’s all about? Which brings us to this: To jingle or not to jingle. It’s a question only you can answer.
Mooney Law
Jingle plays off “Money, Money, Money”. Unprompted, consumers sing the jingle to Mooney attorneys.
Hawk Law
Client told us to make this jingle break through. Actor concurred, brand took flight.
Loyalty Automotive
Check out the music that's driving this mega car dealer's growth.
Custom Music
Country music created in Nashville. Pushed recycling rates up across the U.S.