Intellectual Property (IP) law firm branding, marketing, differentiation, and websites - Keynote...

© 2014 Fishman Marketing, Inc.

ALA Intellectual Property for Legal Professionals Standout From Your Competition: How To Nail Strategy and Differentiation


Tel: 1-847/HEADLINE Web: FishmanMarketing.com Blog: FishmanMarketing.com/blog LinkedIn.com/in/rossfishman Twitter.com/rossfishman


It used to be so easy.


The Good Old Days

  IP lawyers were the earliest advertisers – More IP publications than needed

  No big-firm competition   Name recognition was enough   Keep name in front of referral sources   Didn’t need to talk to anyone



Today’s Reality

  Few boutiques left   Big firms are competitors

– Major consolidation – Referrals dried up

  Every firm wants IP, litigation   Advertising still important

–  It’s no longer enough – Eugene needs to network


Describe This Firm


Is this firm . . .

  Creative –  Fun –  Powerful –  Dynamic –  Smart –  Nice, friendly –  Leaders –  ““A”” quality

  Average –  Typical –  Dull, boring –  Conservative –  Cold –  Lethargic –  Nothing special –  B- / C+ quality


Rate the firm

  1-10 for “Quality of litigation skills” –  1 = Terrible – 10 = High-quality

(Lawyers and marketers typically rate this an average of 3.5.)


Describe This Firm


Is this firm . . .

  Creative –  Fun –  Powerful –  Dynamic –  Smart –  Nice, friendly –  Leaders –  ““A”” quality

  Average –  Typical –  Dull, boring –  Conservative –  Cold –  Lethargic –  Nothing special –  B- / C+ quality


Rate the firm

  1-10 for “Quality of litigation skills” –  1 = Terrible – 10 = High-quality

(Lawyers and marketers typically rate this an average of 7.5.)


Which looks more unique?

It’s the same firm, just before and after the marketing makeover.


You Can’t Do Everything

  Smaller firms, boutiques can’t do much.   Market strategically and efficiently   Stand out, don’t be boring.

– Do it great or don’t do it. – Have fun with it.


More creative is cheaper


“Decide Who You Are. Then Own It.”


You Can’t be “Smarter than Skadden.”

  But you can in a narrow niche. – Boutique expertise – Corporate Finance


Marine Finance


Rail Finance


Aircraft Finance


Your Goal Should be Market Leadership


Not “Get our name out there.”

  Where’s “there?” – How do you measure “out?”

  What’s the ROI?   How do you know if it worked?

  Dominate a market – Own something –  Industry – Sub-specialty practice


What’s your plan?

  What can you dominate?   What makes you unique?   Where are the opportunities at your firm?

– Dynamic practice leader? – Emerging market? – Niche industry?

  Not “telecom” or “medical device”   “Stem cells?”   “Small-molecule IP law?”


SEO and Social Media

  Google “intellectual property law”

  Google “small molecule intellectual property law”


SEO and Social Media

  Need a Small Molecule Blog or Microsite?   Add to bio, LinkedIn, Google+ profiles   Give a speech

– Turn that into 5 articles   Upload them to JD Supra, National Law Review, Lexology, other distribution platforms   Link to LinkedIn

– Becomes 10 blog posts, 50 tweets – Upload PPT slides to Slideshare.net – Answer some targeted Quora questions


Creating the Perception of Expertise

  Q: “What marketing tools do we need?” – Microsite? Blog? Twitter? SEO? – Articles? Speeches? PR? Newsletter?

  A: What would the market leader’s resume look like? The profession’s top practice? – Write that resume – Subtract your resume from it – Whatever’s left, you must create


Emerging market

  Move fast   Passion   Execute

  Memorable, creative


Buzz Building


  Competition is fierce – You see ~3,000 marketing messages per day

  How will you stand out? – Will they remember your marketing, or:

  Your competitors'?   Nike's, McDonald's, Deloitte's, etc.?

  Today, you must fight for their attention – Eye-catching, impossible to miss – Simple, clear, memorable

Is it memorable?


The anonymous firms falter.

…the leading firms, the ones with the best visibility, do best.

In a recessionary economy . . .

Even the best firms need to focus on their name recognition, because they're

competing against other great firms.


Have you ever said. . .

  "I LOVE that campaign!" –  ("What company was it for, again?")

  That's a very common problem – Whenever Energizer runs the "Bunny" campaign,

sales of Eveready batteries also increase.


The best marketing reinforces your name

  Try to associate your name with a tagline prospects can visualize: –  "Nothing runs like a Deere." –  "It's hard to stop a Trane." –  "The Citi never sleeps." –  "Get Met. It pays."


More creative is cheaper

  Every dollar counts.   How can you tell your story better?   Perception of quality, 1-10?


Buzz building


Lawyer trade shows, banners


Which site looks more professional?


Name–related marketing

  The point is, stand out – Use what you have

  Size   Style/personality   Geography   Culture   Name   Ability to be different


Bryant Miller Olive


LOW BALL. HIGH STANDARDS.

LOW BALLHIGH QUALITY

OK, yes, we freely admit it. Low Ball is a funny name. But there’s nothing funny about our high standards. We’re lean and mean. We keeps cases moving along. We don’t waste a client’s time or money. We’re practical, creative and efficient. Those are the things that are high on Low Ball’s list.

More can be found at lowball.com.

LOW BALL. HIGH STANDARDS.

LOW BALLHIGH STANDARDS

OK, yes, we admit it. Low Ball is a funny name. But there’s nothing funny about our high standards. Our trial lawyers are lean and mean. We keep cases moving. We don’t waste a client’s time or money. Our litigators are practical, creative, and efficient. Those are the things that are high on Low Ball’s list.

More can be found at lowball.com.


Does Your Firm Have Something?

  Workman Nyedegger   Millen White   Birch Stewart   Westerman Hattori   Wood Herron   Arent Fox   Davis Wright Tremaine   Greenblum & Bernstein

  Banner & Witcoff   Pirkey Barber   Miles & Stockbridge   Studebaker & Brackett   Ropes & Gray   Harness Dickey   Pepper Hamilton   Schmeiser Olsen & Watts


Drinker Biddle Health Care National firm targets health care industry


Drinker Biddle & Reath

  650 lawyers – 11 offices

  Rapid growth through mergers   Typical big-firm structure, siloes, etc.

– Most full-service firms


Strategic plan

  Create national leadership in: –  Insurance – Health care

  70-100 health care-related lawyers   14 health care-related practice areas


Health Care Challenge

  Lost HC leadership after mergers – Predictable loss in name recognition – Nearly every firm fails here

  How leverage firm’s assets? –  Increase HC name recognition, visibility – Create HC market leadership – Work together, develop synergy

  What’s the plan? – Can it work under existing structure?


What’s the process?

  Interview people from all areas, practices – “Tell me about your practice.” – “Tell me about the firm.” – “Give me 3 adjectives to describe the practice.” – “Who are your competitors?”

  Listen for a theme, message – What did we hear at DBR?


Telling Stories with Passion


Case Studies Rural cancer care, enabled by Drinker Biddle lawyers.

When a large nonprofit health system wanted to provide oncology care to a small rural community, they came to us to put the deal together. No surprise, really, since Drinker Biddle has one of the nation’s largest dedicated health care practices. And the key word there is dedicated. We see ourselves aspart of the mission of providing quality health care to the public. Because we’re not just a law firm, we’re part of the solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.

Helping health care clients do good.

Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP | A Delaware limited liability partnership

CALIFORNIA | DELAWARE | ILLINOIS | NEW JERSEY | NEW YORKPENNSYLVANIA | WASHINGTON DC | WISCONSIN


Case Studies Peace of mind for parents with the most vulnerable children. Prescribed by Drinker Biddle lawyers.

When a major metropolitan health system wanted to improve coverage of their pediatric and neonatal services, they turned to us. Drinker Biddle helped them develop a consolidated arrangement with a single pediatric group to cover all of the system’s hospitals, resulting in reduced financial costs, establishing accountability, and improving the care of pediatric patients. Another way Drinker Biddle is not just a law firm, but part of the health care solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.




Peace of mind for parents with the most vulnerable children. Prescribed by Drinker Biddle lawyers.


Case Studies


Lawyers must see it

  Lawyers have to see it –  If they see it, they want their own

  We created 14 different DBR versions – Started with a few – Showed them to others – Sold them on the idea – Wanted one to use for their own practice


Case Studies Less-invasive proton-therapy treatments for more cancer patients. Arranged by Drinker Biddle lawyers.

Proton-beam therapy is an advanced radiation treatment that destroys cancerous cells while sparing healthy cells just millimeters away. There are only 10 of these centers in the country and Drinker Biddle has been involved in establishing 30% of them. Making deals that help patients with prostate, breast, head, and neck cancers avoid the debilitating side e�ects of radiation. Just one more way Drinker Biddle is not just a law firm, but part of the health care solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.





Safer pregnancies, courtesy of Drinker Biddle lawyers.

A prominent health system was concerned that women covered

under its employee-benefit plan were not benefitting from best

practices in healthy-pregnancy care. We worked with a leading doctor

and the company’s HR sta� to come up with a plan that encouraged

proper treatment. As one of the nation’s largest dedicated health

care practices, we view ourselves as part of the mission of providing

quality health care to the public. We’re not just a law firm, we’re

part of the solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.




Case Studies


The Stories Peace of mind for parents with the most vulnerable children. Prescribed by Drinker Biddle lawyers.

When a major metropolitan health system wanted to improve coverage of their pediatric and neonatal services, they turned to us. Drinker Biddle helped them develop a consolidated arrangement with a single pediatric group to cover all of the system’s hospitals, resulting in reduced financial costs, establishing accountability, and improving the care of pediatric patients. Another way Drinker Biddle is not just a law firm, but part of the health care solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.




Hospital union contracts. Magnetized by Drinker Biddle lawyers.

When a large Midwestern hospital sought ANCC Magnet status, they called Drinker Biddle. We helped them renegotiate their nursing-union contracts to incorporate the necessary benchmarks and standards. Today, the hospital and its nurses proudly display a prestigious honor, and patients receive some of the nation’s best nursing care. As one of the largest dedicated health care practices, we view ourselves as part of the mission of providing quality health care to the public. We’re not just a law firm, we’re part of the solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.




Less-invasive proton-therapy treatments for more cancer patients. Arranged by Drinker Biddle lawyers.

Proton-beam therapy is an advanced radiation treatment that destroys cancerous cells while sparing healthy cells just millimeters away. There are only 10 of these centers in the country and Drinker Biddle has been involved in establishing 30% of them. Making deals that help patients with prostate, breast, head, and neck cancers avoid the debilitating side e�ects of radiation. Just one more way Drinker Biddle is not just a law firm, but part of the health care solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.




Rural cancer care, enabled by Drinker Biddle lawyers.

When a large nonprofit health system wanted to provide oncology care to a small rural community, they came to us to put the deal together. No surprise, really, since Drinker Biddle has one of the nation’s largest dedicated health care practices. And the key word there is dedicated. We see ourselves aspart of the mission of providing quality health care to the public. Because we’re not just a law firm, we’re part of the solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.




Safer pregnancies, courtesy of Drinker Biddle lawyers.

A prominent health system was concerned that women covered

under its employee-benefit plan were not benefitting from best

practices in healthy-pregnancy care. We worked with a leading doctor

and the company’s HR sta� to come up with a plan that encouraged

proper treatment. As one of the nation’s largest dedicated health

care practices, we view ourselves as part of the mission of providing

quality health care to the public. We’re not just a law firm, we’re

part of the solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.




A better EMR system, connected by Drinker Biddle lawyers.

When a prestigious academic medical center needed to re-think its

electronic medical records initiative, they knew where to turn. As one

of the nation’s largest dedicated health care practices, we helped

them develop and execute a financial and legal strategy to navigate

the risks of changing systems and vendors. Now their community

has a better information system to coordinate patient care. Another

way that Drinker Biddle is not just a law firm, but part of the

health care solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.





Case Studies

Hospital union contracts. Magnetized by Drinker Biddle lawyers.

When a large Midwestern hospital sought ANCC Magnet status, they called Drinker Biddle. We helped them renegotiate their nursing-union contracts to incorporate the necessary benchmarks and standards. Today, the hospital and its nurses proudly display a prestigious honor, and patients receive some of the nation’s best nursing care. As one of the largest dedicated health care practices, we view ourselves as part of the mission of providing quality health care to the public. We’re not just a law firm, we’re part of the solution. Learn more at drinkerbiddlehealthcare.com.





Case Studies


Retreat

  Rolled it out, explained it – Taught them marketing, discussed the plan – Showed each ad – Each partner told the story

  Should have videotaped the poignant speeches

  Started the discussion – “I didn’t know you did that.” – “I have a client who might need that.”


Retreat

  Goal is to work together   Increase

–  Internal education –  Internal information flow – Communication – Cross selling – Revenue

  Works for cross-office IP Group marketing


Compare. . .


Ross Fishman, JD CEO, Fishman Marketing, Inc. Work: +1.847.432.3546 Cell: +1.847.921.7677 [email protected] www.fishmanmarketing.com Subscribe to our blog:

fishmanmarketing.com/blog Connect with us:

Twitter: @rossfishman LinkedIn.com/in/rossfishman


Need a new brand or website? A marketing plan or ads? Call us!

Intellectual Property (IP) law firm branding, marketing, differentiation, and websites - Keynote...

Law

Transcript of Intellectual Property (IP) law firm branding, marketing, differentiation, and websites - Keynote...