Don’t Forget the Setting.

In our attempts to make our messages more relatable, thus successful, we find that a lot of the rules for writing good stories apply to good copywriting.

One of the elementary basics to writing a story is the setting.

The setting is the time, the place -whether real or fictional, present, past, or future.

This came to my mind while creating a campaign for a new client Counsel Hound dot com.

Counsel Hound is an attorney referral service. The user visits the web site, fills out the questionnaire about what their needs are. They are matched with an attorney who has been personally vetted by a panel of established trial attorneys. To qualify as a Counsel Hound attorney, one must have a record and excellent reputation for zealous trial advocacy. These are attorneys who have a track record of trying more cases than just settling out of court.

This service is unique in this market. Therefore, it shouldn’t be hard to position.

However, there are key marketing challenges.

Statistics show that Birmingham is in the top 10 revenue markets for personal injury law. Alabama juries have a reputation for being very generous in monetary compensation during personal injury trials. Therefore, big insurance companies have an incentive to settle out of court. This has attracted big mega corporate law firms who also push for out of court settlement. That gives the firm decent cash flow.

These big law firms have huge marketing budgets. Almost all seven of Summit Birmingham stations have at least one, and in some cases, two personal injury lawyer commercials per stopset, around the clock.

That’s in addition to the firms’ television, social media, and billboard advertising.

For Counsel Hound, it’s David versus Goliath.

Counsel Hound dot com ran a schedule with iHeart for three months and did not receive a single visit to their website or a phone call. Here was the message iHeart developed for Counsel Hound.

“Hi, I’m Richard Frankowski with Counsel Hound dot com. There are hundreds of good attorneys you don’t know about because of big law firm advertising budgets. Let us match you with the perfect attorney. We personally vet each attorney with a reputation of outstanding service and trail experience. Go now to Counsel Hound dot com and let us get you the representation you deserve. (disclaimer)

The spot states the facts. Yet, it opens with a general, cliché’ opening. On introductions, I like to use those after an attention-getting opening statement. The spot does try to position Counsel Hound. But there’s not enough emphasis on the brand’s benefit. Therefore, there’s no incentive to go and try it.

How can we convince the target to at least consider using Counsel Hound as opposed to immediately contacting the big corporate law firms who are fighting for top-of-mind awareness?

While brainstorming with AE, we decided to use an endorsement by our number one rated morning show, Rick and Bubba. That will add credibility. The question remained, what would be the message.

That’s where the story’s setting came in, time and place.

Hey, it's Rick. Just within this hour, you've heard several lawyer commercials. Chances are good, there’ll be another one before we get back to the show. Fact is, there are hundreds of other decent attorneys overshadowed by mega firm marketing. Take my advice. Go to Counsel Hound dot com. Counsel Hound dot com is a legal referral service that matches you with the perfect lawyer. Each attorney has been personally vetted for a reputation of zealous trial advocacy and not just selling out for quick cash. Get representation, not hype. Go to Counsel Hound dot com (disclaimer)

The setting: the present. We’ve reminded the listener where they are and only moments earlier, they heard a personal injury law commercial –and oh, by the way, there’s another one around the corner. That opening allows us to quickly transition to position, and then the endorser sells the brand’s benefit –get a lawyer who goes to trial and doesn’t sell you out for quick cash.  

We don’t mention that there is a caveat. Going to trial does take longer. Our job is to create the traffic to their website. The attorneys with Counsel Hound dot com’s job is to convince their potential client that the benefits of waiting for a trial are exponential. 

If you have any thoughts, please share. I’d love to hear them.

Please know, I’m always here to help.

Sincerely

Mike -The Reel Architect