Past law firm marketing norms don't cut it anymore! Commercials on linear television channels were dramatic and often hammy — they kept law firms top of mind and made their names recognizable, but they had several drawbacks.
Today's technology hasn't just made those old styles of ads outdated; it means the entire experience of how prospective clients interact with your ads and your law firm has changed.
Don't let your law firm get caught up in the transition away from linear advertising tactics. In this article, we discuss why traditional advertising tactics no longer apply and how you can get in front of modern audiences with OTT/CTV advertising.
OLD LAW FIRM ADVERTISING
Corny law firm ads are such a well-known shtick that AMC's Better Call Saul parodied them to flesh out the main character. Seemingly every city has their renowned local attorney who is instantly recognizable on traditional broadcasts and plastered on billboards — Jim Adler, The Texas Hammer; Frank Azar, Colorado’s Strong Arm; the list goes on and on.
In the years before ubiquitous smartphones, these messages made sense. A catchy phone number and instant name recognition in the middle of a crisis meant a client was much more likely to call you.
But that's not how target markets act today. In the event they need an attorney — in any situation — they can search for "[event] lawyer near me" to find top-ranking law firms, phone numbers, and reviews. Name recognition, brand recall, and strong ad campaigns still have a role to play, but they're no longer the exclusively dominating factor in law firm marketing.
OTT/CTV: Not Your Father's Advertising
Instead, it's better to take a more nuanced approach to advertisements. Back in the day, older ads would be broadcast to anyone and everyone whether or not they needed legal services. But your specific prospects are looking for attorneys who can help with their unique problems. So, rather than repetitive, untargeted messages that cast as wide a net as possible, you can now create separate campaigns that have more fine-tuned targeting around personal injuries, medical malpractice, collisions, and each of your practice areas.
Along with more specific services, you can use more specific calls to action, encouraging viewers to learn more about a relevant legal issue, schedule a consultation, and take other steps. Through each campaign, you can drive (and measure) web traffic, calls, and revenue.
How OTT/CTV Can Benefit Attorneys
To better showcase their benefits, let's explore how one of our recent law firm clients engaged with OTT/CTV ads for the first time. This client was primarily motivated by driving more leads to grow their business. In addition, they wanted to receive more online and over-the-phone traffic, so their campaigns need to be structured around both web traffic and encouraging more calls. The law firm had a lot more creative freedom because of these specific goals and the ability to customize their messages to different OTT/CTV ad audiences.
Thus, the firm offers legal services for personal injury lawsuits and creates specific messages around common scenarios for a given geographic area, age range, and interest group. For example, motorcycle enthusiasts are more likely to be injured while riding a motorcycle.
These ads would be delivered to motorcycle enthusiasts directly. In traditional television ad space, that audience may or may not have been reached — the law firm would have kept their messaging universally generalized.
OTT/CTV marketing goes far beyond basic market segmentation. For example, the same law firm can also sort audiences based on recently visited auto body repair shops. They can then create and send messages that are most (or even exclusively) relevant to this audience.
By zeroing in on a hyperspecific audience, the law firm could create equally specific messages that actually address the viewer's needs.
This has two core benefits:
- You're not paying for views from audiences that don't want the particular service or don't need you at this time. Those ineffective views also don't drag down your conversion rates.
- Your message is much more engaging for those who receive it, leading to much higher conversion rates. Because this law firm was focused on conversions via calls and web traffic, they can immediately see better results.
Make the Switch By Partnering With Strategus
OTT and CTV advertisements let you switch from overly generic, hammy messages to tightly crafted messages with specific calls to action that appeal directly to audiences most likely to convert.
Strategus is here to help you manage your campaigns, purchase media strategically, and analyze your results for even better ROI. Contact us today to get started!
Andy Dixon
