Radio Advertising for Law Firms

How Does Radio Fit Into A Law Firm’s Marketing Strategy?

Lawyers that invest in radio advertising are adding another touchpoint to connect with potential clients. By doing this they are increasing both the reach and frequency of their branded campaigns. This makes both TV advertising and OOH (billboard) advertising more effective together than when they run alone. Media mix modeling–advertising jargon for a multivariate regression model (academic jargon), for relatively simple math that estimates the most effective media allocation for your firm. Media mix modeling is rarely the bottleneck, as the culprit is typically ineffective creatives or poor execution rather than misplaced allocation.

What Are the Components Of A Good Attorney Radio Ad?

A great radio advertisement is able to capture attention, have high recall, and have a clear call-to-action. This is often best done in the form of high frequency jingles. Jingles often have far higher recall than other forms of advertising (sometimes even becoming ‘cult classics’ in their local regions). The best jingles often incorporate the firm name and a branded repeater or vanity phone number into the jingle. See below for this example of a radio ad we created for our client, DFW Injury Lawyers.

Digital Radio vs. Traditional Radio:

Both traditional radio and digital radio have a place in a law firm’s marketing strategy. Traditional radio has the advantage in terms of cost effectiveness and unit economics while digital radio like Spotify, Pandora, etc have advantages in terms of targeting.

Let’s put this into some real world context –

Traditional radio advertisements can be purchased at rates of $1.75-12 CPM ranges – we know, a wide range!

Digital radio in comparison is crazy expensive at a whopping $20-30 CPM! So how can that ever make sense to buy?? I’ll give you an example and a few hints. It makes sense when you can target the exact audience you want instead of mass advertising like you would with traditional radio spots. The most common, and easiest to implement, example of this would be retargeting. Wouldn’t you like to add additional touchpoints to potential clients that came to your website but didn’t fill out a form or call your firm? That is one example of how paying 4-5x per earball listening to your ad may make sense. When you know with HIGH certainty that the person you are targeting is likely to become a client.

Direct Response vs. Branded Radio Ads:

There are often two schools of thought on advertising. Those that run advertisements that need near immediate response from potential customers and those that are looking to develop branded differentiation.

The truth is that these terms are not nearly as black and white as most marketing teachers or white papers make them sound. At MeanPug our style of advertising follows a Brand Response Model incorporating the best aspects of both branding and direct response all into one ad. Most effective legal advertising from the most successful firms mirrors this process as well.

What Are The Primary KPIs For Law Firm Radio Advertising?

Branding KPIs

• GRP
• Reach
• Frequency
• Share of Voice
• Branded Recall
• Ad Recall

Direct Response KPIs

• Cost Per Call
• Cost Per Qualified Client
• Cost Per Client
• Cost Per Open File

Common Radio Media Buying Strategies And Tactics For Law Firms:

• Buying high frequency low duration spots (15 second jingles)
• Reinforcing brand with compelling stories (30 second spots)
• Retargeting with digital radio spots with long duration spots (60 second spots).
• Sponsoring radio influencers that can often say things that wouldn’t be valued if it was in a traditional advertisement
• Buying bookend placements (first ad within a break & last ad before program content resumes)

Which Radio Stations Can You Advertise Your Law Firm On?

There are hundreds of radio stations in the US. Each local market often has 20+ stations that have advertising placements that could be purchased. Which ones should you buy? With limited marketing and advertising budgets this is often a very hard question to answer.

What Practice Areas Work Well For Radio Advertising?

• Personal Injury
• Mass Torts
• 1st Party Insurance Disputes (For Mass Events like Hurricanes and wildfires)
• Mesothelioma / Asbestos Litigation
• Sexual Abuse

What Case Types Does Radio Advertising Not Work Well For?

• Class Actions
• Mass Arbitrations
• Business Litigation
• Workers’ Compensation
• Criminal Defense
• Immigration
• Estate Planning
• Transactional Firms
• Securities Fraud Class Actions
• Investment Loss & FINRA Arbitrations
• Qui Tam / Whistleblower / False Claims Act

Factors That Can Influence The Stations An Attorney Would Select:

• What demographic are you looking to target?
• What are their rates per spot?
• What are their CPMs?
• What dayparts do they have available inventory in?