The limousine service where I work recently acquired another limousine service based just outside of Philadelphia, Pa. We also have offices in Northern New Jersey and Westchester, New York.
Because of this, as well as the air traffic control problems, rebuilding of a runway at Newark Airport and United Airlines canceling hundreds of flights in June, I have been driving a lot of passengers to and picking them up from Philadelphia International Airport.
Unavoidable Observation
Every time I find myself driving north or south on Interstate 95 outside of downtown Philadelphia, I can’t help but make the unavoidable observation: I see countless billboards advertising lawyers who are trying to get you to call them if you have been in an auto accident, or been hurt in a slip and fall accident.
Some (but not all) examples of the Philadelphia area billboards are:
- Go Bald or Go Broke
- Philly Law
- Top Dog Law
My Conclusion
Why are there so many lawyers advertising their legal services on the road? Well, if you listen to the traffic reports on the radio (770 AM or 1010 AM), you can bet your paycheck that every single day, there are at least three car crashes – some of them “accident investigations” or fatal crashes reported over the air waves.
What does this mean? It means that these lawyers are “ambulance chasers,” and they know this – daily car crashes that may require legal representation – is a very lucrative business model.
New Jersey Billboards
Here are some examples of New Jersey lawyers advertising their services on billboards:
- Jae Lee Law
- Leonard Law
- Lynch & Lynch
Effective Advertising
The most effective billboard advertising I have seen is from Morgan & Morgan. Their ads state that they are the largest law firm in the country.
An effective approach they use is to show a comparison of what the insurance company offered the victim and what Morgan & Morgan won for their client. This was a huge difference of $100,000 offered by the insurance company and $1 million won for the client by Morgan & Morgan. Usually, the client has to split the financial amount 50/50.
Another law firm just shows their website: “I got hurt in Jersey.com.” Still another law firm simply shows their phone number as: “1-800-NJ LAWYER.”
Note: This article is not meant to be an advertisement for these law firms, it is simply demonstrating to the reader these many “Seen on The Street” observations.
My Recommendation
Some ads use one word (relentless) or phrase (bring it on) to explain their reputation and approach. If I were going to create an ad for a law firm, I would avoid pictures of happy lawyers showing a thumbs up and instead feature these words: “When the verdict is given, you will know you made the right choice.”
Radio Ads
A similar approach is used in a radio ad by an ambulance chasing lawyer. It explains what the situation was, how the law firm did their research to solve the problem and win the case. Again, the ad explains what the insurance company offered and what the law firm won for their client.
The moral of this Street Story is that, since vehicle crashes happen multiple times every single day, chauffeurs should be careful out there on the road and make sure they are not giving any new business to these ambulance chasers.
