LETTER FROM EDITOR

I want to thank everyone for their input on our inaugural issue.  We received some really good ideas that we are looking into incorporating.  Starting with next month's issue, we will be adding a column entitled "People You Should Know" that will feature profiles of people in the industry you should know including show management, consultants and media personnel.

Your input is important to us, so please let me know what you want to know! Please send any comments, suggestions or requests for articles to me at jf@envisionevents.com.

Thanks!
JoAnna Forshee
Envision Events
Editor, Legal Marketing News

GENERAL MARKETING

Marketing Mini-Bites

Add Up

By

Molly George

We are living in the age of the TV “sound-bite,” the five-word tagline, the photo “op,” the slash of a logo.  Every television ad must have two versions, the 30-second and the 10-second.  As the business world moves faster, we marketers have to design our tactics to be delivered “at the speed of business” – seconds instead of minutes. I used to think that high-speed exposure to create instant recognition was effective only for companies with ad budgets in the millions that they could use to blanket the market.  I was wrong.

Legal marketing is primarily in the realm of print, so I will use the term “mini-bite.”   Marketing mini-bites can be a low cost way to make your company a household word in law firms and corporate legal departments.  The keys are frequency and reach.  Frequency is how many nets you cast.  Reach is how widely you cast each net.  

A number of years ago, a litigation support vendor printed thousands of small cards printed with their name, logo and what they do.  The company blanketed New York Legal Tech with them.  The cards, in bright colors, were everywhere.  The company even dropped off a stack in each of the conference rooms by the course material.  Did the cards have an impact?  You bet.  The company, which was building awareness, is now well known.

Legal publications often print “mini-bites” from press releases, usually one or two paragraphs about a new product/service in a “New Releases” column.  These are very valuable. People don’t take the time to read much text. They can skim through these mini-bite paragraphs quickly and absorb the basic message.  The more publications you send your press releases to (reach) the better.  If a prospect reads about your product/service in more than one publication, he/she is more likely to remember you.  Also, send out press releases at least once per month.  (Two per month is the maximum).  Repetition (frequency) is another important way to build awareness.  Often, the legal publications will print your logo with your mini-bite.

To save on marketing costs, build your materials in layers like the TV advertising people who must design ads for 30 and 10 seconds.  Use the same tactic with your print advertising.  Create headlines that are mini-bites.  Be concise and to the point. If the prospect reads only the headlines, he/she will know your company’s name and what you do.  Don’t be so cute with your headlines that you don’t identify your product/service.  The reader who is a qualified prospect (has a project) will take the time to read the full-text and get the detail.  Do not create an ad with a lot of copy and diagrams.  This is the opposite of a mini-bite.  Readers are not going to take the time to absorb the content.

You can take the “mini-bite” headlines and the design of your print advertising and use them to create postcards for mailings and flyers for trade shows and sales pieces. 

Blanket the industry with your mini-bite message through user cards and flyers, press releases, mailers, newsletters and emails.  Remember that frequency and reach are the keys to recognition.  Then when a lawyer reads a seminar program with one of your company experts speaking, the lawyer recognizes you and is far more likely to be attracted to your more in-depth marketing presentations.

Molly George is president of LegalVoice, Inc.  (www.legalvoice.com). She can be reached at mgeorge@legalvoice.com or 952-974-9573.

For a list of all the major legal shows, visit www.envisionevents.com/links_legal.htm.  For a complete listing of legal shows including regional shows, visit www.nathanslegalmarkets.com.  While you're there, sign up for Nathan's Legal Report.

EVENT MARKETING

Time to Go

the Extra Mile

By JoAnna Forshee

With the fragile state of the market today, it is imperative that companies work harder to ensure that their tradeshow dollars deliver solid return.  Companies are beginning to compete more for the attention of the attendees instead of sticking with the “Build a Booth and They will Come” attitude.

The first step is realizing that trade shows should function as an integrated part of your marketing plan and not be expected to function on their own.  One of the number one ways that the law community interacts with brands today is in exhibit halls, and yet often companies neglect to integrate their branding and communication strategy with their trade show plans.  Booth design and graphics, collateral, messaging, giveaways and booth presentations should all be integrated with the brand identity you have built through your advertising and corporate identity programs.  Carry this through to your pre- and post-show promotions as well as onsite sponsorships and you will have a well-rounded trade show plan that will add to your marketing plan.

Do you have a pre-show strategy to draw traffic to your booth?  There are many avenues to attract attendees to your booth before the show even begins.  Examples of these are direct mail campaigns, email and telemarketing campaigns, “register to win” programs and supplying free passes to your existing clients.  Once again, make sure whatever avenue you choose, it matches your branding and strategy for the show.  For example, if you send a pre-show mailer, make sure it matches the graphics on your booth.

Sponsorships can also be an excellent way to increase your participation at a show and draw traffic to your booth.  There are usually sponsorships at all price levels so you should be able to find one that will help you achieve your goals.  When selecting a sponsorship, call upon your show representative.  They can let you know what they have available and what might help you meet your objectives.  When it comes right down to it, use your best judgment.  A $1,000 sponsorship that puts your logo on 1,000 napkins is probably not going to be worth the investment!

Since your booth staff can determine the success or failure of your entire tradeshow program, make sure you have clearly communicated your plan and goals for the show.  Also make sure your staff is delivering the message you want to the attendees.  This sounds obvious, but all too often companies assign employees to work the booth and they will not let you know if they are unsure.  Listen to their delivery without letting them know and see if you need to work with them more.

Of all the things you can do to improve your trade show return, adding a post-show follow-up program might very well yield the most results.  It is all too common for an attendee who registered at a company’s booth to never receive a follow-up call.  Are you making sure your staff follows up on every lead you worked so hard to get?

JoAnna Forshee is President of Envision Events (www.envisionevents.com), a marketing firm specializing in the legal industry. She can be reached at 850-671-4798 or jf@envisionevents.com.

UPCOMING SHOW SPOTLIGHT

Corporate Legal Times SuperConference

By Russ Crockett

More than 300 in-house counsel attended the Inaugural Corporate Legal Times SuperConference in 2001, and we expect more in 2002!

The 2nd Annual Corporate Legal Times Super Conference is on June 20-21, 2002, at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago. This year’s SuperConference focuses on leadership in times of change. The SuperConference is designed solely for in-house counsel, and primarily attracts attendees who are General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel and Assistant General Counsel. Our speakers and panelists are among the nation’s most respected in-house counsel, and they will share their best ideas and strategies with our attendees.

Because we want to enhance opportunities for our exhibitors and promote an appropriate environment for our high-level attendees, the SuperConference will have a relatively small exhibit hall limited to approximately 30 exhibiting companies. For the 2002 Super Conference, Jaguar has agreed to sponsor the exhibit-hall giveaway. Attendees will have a chance to win a one-year lease of a 2002 Jaguar XK8 convertible!

All exhibiting companies will receive an 8’ x 10’ booth, 3 full-conference passes for your staff and 5 full-conference passes for your corporate counsel clients, and numerous opportunities to talk with attendees during breaks and receptions held in the exhibit hall. The exhibit booth cost is $7500. Because our exhibit opportunities are limited, call now to reserve your space.

The Corporate Legal Times SuperConference is owned and produced by Corporate Legal Times LLC, the publisher of Corporate Legal Times. You can count on the SuperConference to deliver the same type of high-level law department management advice and guidance that we’ve provided to Corporate Legal Times readers since 1991.

For more information on Corporate Legal Times SuperConference, visit www.CorporateLegalTimes.com/SuperConference, or contact Russ Crockett, Director of Conferences, at 312-651-0365 or _{rcrockett@cltmag.com}.