Media Buying

From October 1^st – 3^rd, Network Affiliates hosted a convention in lovely South Beach, FL at the Ritz Carlton.  The focus of this convention was mainly on emerging media and its affect on traditional media.

The first speaker was Frank Palumbo from Nielsen who presented on the three screens: TV, PC and mobile.  The point of the presentation was to show that TV is still the dominant force in the media world, but video on the Internet and mobile devices are certainly emerging forces.  Internet and mobile video viewing have increased overall video consumption as opposed to taking viewers away from TV.  Frank also spoke at length about how Nielsen collects its data and selects candidates in order to best represent every demographic possible in their ratings surveys.  All in all, it was a very informative presentation that really showed where we are heading in terms of our media consumption and how all three screens have a place in the consumer’s life.

The next presentation dealt with mobile marketing and was presented by Joel Morrow of Mobile Fusion, Network Affiliates’ mobile partner.  Joel spoke about how mobile marketing can be used by a lawyer to help generate cases and give potential clients another way of contacting the firm.  Joel went on to explain how mobile technology works and the rules and regulations for texting clients.  Another portion of Joel’s presentation touched on how smart phones will outnumber regular phones by next year and how mobile websites are just as important as having a texting platform when trying to reach potential clients.  Joel made a compelling case that mobile is an attractive medium for law firms and could help lawyers reach clients that they historically have had trouble reaching.

The final presentation on Friday was give by Network employees Justin Holderness and myself (Clay Frickey) about social media and reputation management for law firms.  Justin spoke at length about the best practices for Facebook and Twitter and how to acquire more fans and followers on these social networks.  Justin also showed how to schedule publishing content on these networks and what type of content to put on these social networks.  I spoke about reputation management, how to manage your reputation online and why it’s important to be active in these social spaces.  The key is to listen, respond and engage in a timely and professional manner on social media outlets.  Social media also ties together a firm’s marketing efforts and gives law firms another way to communicate with its clients and potential clients.  These social networks are here to stay and knowing what is being said about your firm and how to respond is more important than ever.  We received great feedback and interaction from the audience and enjoyed the enthusiasm the topic elicited.

On Saturday, Network Affiliates released its new creative concepts for 2010.  The new Network creative covers a wide variety of topics and has many different, easily customizable commercials for use by lawyers.  The new commercial concepts appeal to every demographic and have components for personal injury, worker’s compensation and social security.  There was also new creative produced to promote Network Affiliates’ new mobile marketing campaign.  The ads were warmly received and add to an already impressive library of over 1200 television commercials.

Last and certainly not least were the roundtable discussions that brought a close to the convention.  The conversation was lively as always and provided actionable ideas to take back to everyone’s firms and implement right away.

All in all, the convention in South Beach was a huge success and we from Network Affiliates would like to thank everyone that attended and the Ritz Carlton for being great hosts.  Our next convention will be in March 2011 in Las Vegas and we are looking forward to it as always.

People watch the news and they consistently watch the same news programs on a regular basis. Viewership of other programs will fluctuate. Even with the availability of online news, television is still by far the most popular news source. More than half of all Americans claim to watch TV news on a daily basis. Local news is the most popular on TV, followed by network news.

Placing your law firm’s television commercials in the news does more than get your name in front of a large audience. First, it has the benefit of targeting a different audience than some of the daytime programs you may already be advertising in. It also keeps your name in front of these prospective clients, because people tend to watch the same local news programs every day.

Advertising in a news program may also lend an air of credibility to your ads – particularly if you develop ads with the fact that they will be running during the news in mind. When people watch the news they are of the mindset to be informed rather than entertained. They believe that what they are watching is more serious and real than the shows they watch for fun. If you produce ads to appeal to people with this mindset, they will associate your advertising with the news, making it feel more like information and substance than fluff.

Another option is a news sponsorship. Since only one advertiser can sponsor a segment, it has the benefit of cutting out your competition. Your prospective clients see your ads during the news, but not your competitors’ ads. This makes your commercials even more powerful. They are not watered down by other ads for the same type of service. If a prospective client remembers seeing the ad and is waiting to see it again so he can write down your phone number, it will be your commercial that airs.

To learn more about media planning for lawyers, and the best placement for your commercials, please contact Network Affiliates today.