TOTO, WE’RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE! – TORNADOES, SUMMER 2011 AND TURNING 90!
I was sitting here reflecting on the natural disasters of the past month – the tornadoes that have greatly affected the south east, especially those in Alabama, and the releasing of the levees by the Army Corps of Engineers along the Mississippi River to reduce the flood waters. I am struck by how many people have lost not only their homes but everything that they have spent their entire lives and the lives of their families working to build. I realize that this could very easily have been me and my family. Then I gave some thought to the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Hitler of my lifetime. Since his death, I have come to learn that the son of a close family friend, a Navy SEAL team leader killed in the line of duty, would, had he lived, have led the SEAL team that killed bin Laden. Again, I am reminded of how closely we are all connected to one another. Read more…
WEATHER & MARKETING
The violent weather and tornadoes we have seen across the U.S. this spring got me thinking about the role of marketing. LMA exists to help law firms with their marketing. But how is marketing impacted by a natural disaster or other crisis? When it comes right down to it, marketing takes a back seat to people. If your employees or clients are impacted, then your business must adjust. This is generally a temporary shift—at least during and immediately after the event.
Depending on the specific situation and how you are directly or indirectly affected, it may make sense to postpone some of your marketing efforts (why run your TV ads when 80% of your target audience is without power?) or perhaps redirect your marketing efforts toward assisting victims by placing a radio ad promoting a food drive. Some other ideas: offer employees a paid day off to volunteer their time to assist recovery efforts; offer some number of hours of legal services pro-bono to aid victims; or arrange for the Blood Mobile to come to your office for people to donate blood. There are so many ways to help out.
We have talked in the past about how community service can be a public relations and marketing tool. That’s fine when it’s business as usual, but a tornado or similar disaster changes the rules. It’s not about marketing—it’s about giving back because it’s the right thing to do.
Logo provided with permission of the American Red Cross.
NOW PLAYING | THE SSDI HEARING VIDEO
Lawyers Marketing Agency (LMA) and vitalink®have developed a new product for law firms that handle Social Security disability cases. The SSDI Hearing video helps consumers understand what might happen at a disability hearing. The video explains the process and may help ease client’s fears going into a hearing.
This video can be licensed “as-is” or customized with your logo. We also offer the option for you to add an introduction specific to your law firm. You may purchase a DVD-only license or a license to allow the use of the video on your website, YouTube, Facebook, etc.
Click here for pricing and to learn more.
Video NOT available for use in the Louisville, Kentucky television DMA area.