OTLA Trial Lawyer Winter 2021

39 Trial Lawyer • Winter 2021 By Craig Brown T hink for a moment how getting a ride to the airport, renting a place to stay on vacation or having a face-to- face meeting has changed fromwhen you began your practice. While those were forever transformed by advances in tech- nology and shifting consumer behavior, so has advertising. Advertising was so much simpler back then. You could put an ad in the yellow pages with a picture of yourself standing alongside your partners, include a big phone number, sign one contract and be done for the year. The only distressing moment came on the day it finally arrived at your office. You would franti- cally seek out the book, search to find your ad then after some elaborate evalu- ation comparing your ad size and loca- tion to that of your competitors, conclude that theirs would fail and you would be victorious. You might have had a weekly radio commercial where you called in and had light banter with the area’s top morning drive-time personal- ity. He was so warm and engaging that it seemed to his legions of loyal listeners you two were friends. You thought so also and had one of his coffee mugs on your desk. Maybe you put an occasional ad in the newspaper. You know the one. It came out every day, most people sub- scribed, and no one seemed to mind it wasn’t in color. Advertising has undergone a revolu- tion of its own and the myriad of new options has made it very confusing. Let’s begin by simplifying things a bit. Adver- tising is complex but not complicated. There are fundamental principles to guide you through it and like any invest- ment, if you have the discipline to follow the proven practices, your investment will pay a solid return. Ultimately, your goal should be to develop a plan that delivers direct-source leads at a reason- able cost per lead. Over time, you want to optimize efficiencies to decrease the cost per lead. Shiny new objects Let’s start with the first rule. Don’t be distracted by the shiny new object of the day. Like a cat chasing the red dot from a laser pointer, following the bright light can keep you from finding the truth. The options are nearly infinite. You’ve likely heard of or received proposals for email blasts, rich media, video preroll, geo- fenced display, SEO, SEM, podcasts, social media management, Facebook, LinkedIn, reputation management, loca- tion optimization, website design, blog- ging, YouTube, zoned cable TV, com- munity newspapers, transit, high-gloss magazines, sports team sponsorships and much more. The sheer volume of choic- es is overwhelming and the thought that you must understand each enough to make an informed decision is cause for most to do nothing. More commonly, though, the choice is made to hand the responsibility of generating new clients to a lead aggregator like LiveAttorney- Leads or LawyerLine. A straightforward arrangement. You pay a determined amount for a mostly qualified lead. These services can be a reasonable way to gener- ate your bread-and-butter. The problem arises when you don’t want to eat just bread and butter but instead want to build a business that creates a career- building income, employs and develops others, champions causes and provides wealth for subsequent generations. Those goals can’t be accomplished exclusively with lead aggregators. Their model pros- pers from the ferocious and endless competition for new clients so as you work hard to grow your business, your willingness to pay more also grows. Like Tantalus of Greek mythology, the prize is always slightly out of reach. The same could be said for Google Ad Words or search advertising. Often part of a sound strategy but an overreliance on it can lead to paying more and more while receiving Craig Brown Advertising: from Yellow Pages to ATSC 3.0 See Advertising p 40