I am not a fan of vanity ads for lawyers who serve Fortune 1000 clients. They perpetuate the image of egotistical, narcissistic and self important attorneys, the vast majority of whom are not. Who wants to engage a professional who spends good money to brag about themselves? Not me. And not most people.
What's more, few of the decision makers in major corporations actually thinks that being listed as a Best Lawyer really means that you are the best. Most of them are savvy enough to look for the ad placement that nudged you into the 'best' category. And, more than likely, the ad will contain a lot of self promotional content with words like "I", "we" and "Our Firm". These words howl at a fixation on 'me', not the client.
But I understand the need to publicize attorney achievements. I don't understand the need to do it in such a self serving and self important way. These ads are lazy marketing and don't position the lawyer in any meaningful way. There is a better way to announce these achievements.
Instead of writing an ad which says, "Congratulations to our 15 lawyers who were just named 2013 Super Lawyers", write the ad to say "Our 15 new Super Lawyers would like to thank their clients for giving them the opportunity to do great, interesting work. Without our wonderful clients, and the complicated work they give us, we would never have been able to achieve this honor." It gets the message across while putting the emphasis where the emphasis is due- on the clients.
It's not about you. It's always about your clients.
No comments:
Post a Comment