Lawyer TV Commercials: When They Make Sense for Injury Firms and How to Make One Work

Television is the most familiar kind of lawyer advertising. Most people can name an injury firm from its commercials before they have ever needed one. For some firms TV is the backbone of their growth. For others it is a large commitment that never pays back. This guide covers when a lawyer TV commercial makes sense, what a good spot says, where and when to air it and how to tell whether it is working.

What a TV commercial actually does

A commercial does two jobs at once. It builds recognition, so your name is the one people remember when they or someone close to them is hurt. And it can prompt a direct response, a call or a search, from viewers who need a lawyer right now. Most firms get more of the first than the second, which is why TV works best as a sustained presence rather than a short burst. The guide to law firm branding covers how recognition fits into the wider picture.

When TV makes sense

• You can stay on air. Recognition builds through repetition. A few weeks of spots followed by silence rarely adds up to anything.
• You are focused on a market. Broadcast reaches a whole region. It pays off when you can take cases from most of the area the signal covers.
• Your intake can handle the calls. Responses arrive in spikes right after a spot airs, including evenings and weekends. Missed calls during those spikes are the most expensive calls a firm can lose.
• Your online presence backs it up. Many viewers search for the firm before they call. A thin website or few reviews undercuts the commercial.

What a good lawyer commercial says

Viewers give a commercial a few seconds before deciding whether it is for them. The spots that work tend to share a few traits:

• One clear message, such as the case type you want, for example car or truck accidents or work injuries.
• The firm name, said and shown more than once.
• One easy way to reach you, a short phone number or simple web address, on screen long enough to remember.
• A consistent face, voice or visual style, kept the same across spots so they build on each other.
• A plain call to action that tells the viewer exactly what to do next.

Avoid long lists of practice areas, fast scrolling disclaimers that crowd out the message and anything that tries to say too much in too little time.

Where and when to air it

Placement should follow the people you want to reach. Daytime and local news slots are traditional choices for injury firms, but the right mix depends on your market and audience. Streaming and connected TV let you target narrower areas and audiences than broadcast, and can be a lower commitment way to test a market before buying broadcast time. Frequency matters more than any single placement: a spot seen many times does more than one seen once in a prestige slot.

How to measure a TV campaign

TV is harder to measure than search ads, but not impossible:

• A dedicated phone number used only in the commercial, so calls to it can be counted.
• A simple, unique web address that points to a page only the commercial mentions.
• Matching call times to airtimes, since responses tend to cluster in the minutes after a spot runs.
• Asking every caller how they heard about the firm, and recording the answer consistently.
• Watching branded search for your firm's name in that market before and after the campaign starts.

Judge TV on signed cases over a meaningful period, not on calls in the first few weeks. The guide to law firm KPIs covers the numbers worth tracking across every channel.

Stay inside the advertising rules

A commercial is lawyer advertising, and the same rules apply as anywhere else. Rules based on ABA Model Rule 7.1 prohibit false or misleading statements, and rules based on Model Rule 7.2 generally require advertising to include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or firm responsible for its content. States adopt these differently, and many add their own requirements on dramatizations, actors portraying lawyers or clients, past results, testimonials and disclaimers. Check your state bar's rules before a spot is produced, not after. The guide to lawyer advertising covers the rules in more detail.

TV in a wider marketing plan

Because TV builds recognition over time, it works best alongside channels that capture people at the moment they are looking for help: search, local listings and lead campaigns. A firm that viewers already know, and that is easy to find when they search, gets more from both. Billboards play a similar recognition role on the road, and the guide to lawyer billboards covers them. The guide to a law firm marketing plan covers how to balance brand and direct response spending.

Common mistakes

• Short runs that end before recognition can build.
• Trying to say too much in one spot.
• A phone number or web address that is hard to remember.
• No way to tell which calls came from the commercial.
• Producing a spot before checking state bar rules.
• Buying airtime while intake still misses calls after hours.

The short version

A lawyer TV commercial builds recognition in a market and can prompt calls from people who need help now. It makes sense when you can stay on air, focus on a market and answer every call it brings. Keep the spot to one message, the firm name and one easy way to reach you. Give it its own number or web address so you can measure it, check your state's advertising rules and pair it with channels that capture people when they are searching.