Lawyer Billboard Wars! How Is That Still a Thing?

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We take a break from what most of us think is the all-inclusive digital advertising world of law firm marketing to visit a technique from days gone by. Or so you would think.

In a recent conversation with a prominent personal injury attorney, I reminisced about the pain of meeting with the Yellow Pages sales representative. As much as I disliked those encounters, I had no choice but to listen to pitches of what to bold, double-trucks, inside front covers, magnets and stickers—all with a serious six-figure price tag. Over the years, I was able to slowly minimize the ads and the spend, until one day—poof!—the importance of being in a huge paperback book tossed on my front step was gone. I will give a thank you and an amen to the internet for that! Thanks, Google, Yelp and anyone else responsible.

Some days I must remind myself that reaching a consumer audience, for some, still goes beyond the digital world. Daily, I review campaigns that flow through Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, among the various channels.

Just yesterday, my son and I were trying to figure out the lyrics from some irritating rap song on the radio that turned out to be a lawyer ad for a particularly annoying “law firm” (and I use quotes, because I consider them little more than a referral shop, not potential representation). Of course, radio and television advertising is still going strong as well. Most radio spots won’t reach me, protected by Sirius satellite. And most TV spots won’t reach my use of streaming—and the ability to fast-forward through ads—except for those that sneak through because I’m too “economical” to go ad-free on Hulu, Max and the like. However, I’m told daytime talk shows and sitcom reruns still exist and provide a route to get access to potential clientele. But billboards? Yeah, I see them every day.

In a Digital World, What Makes a Billboard Still Effective?

Unless you are so put off by them that you stay off major thoroughfares, you are assured an audience. It has been some time since I did any billboard media buys—so I can’t attest to cost these days. Most of my interactions with billboards are in reviewing them for ethics compliance. But much like a pay-per-click campaign, you will pay based on traffic and interest and competition.

I travel a great deal and often note the law firm ads on billboards and busses and stadium signage in different cities—but nothing compares to the insane inundation that hits me on a near-daily basis on the I-95 corridors in the Philadelphia region. And, trust me, you don’t need to be a lawyer or a marketer (or both), to know that attorneys have taken over the billboard business like nothing I’ve seen before.

According to an April 2024 white paper published by the American Tort Reform Association, spending on outdoor advertising in Pennsylvania increased more than 62 percent when compared with spending in 2019 on legal services ads, far outpacing inflation. These typically run the gamut from motorcycle, vehicle and construction accidents to workers compensation and product liability lawsuits. In Pennsylvania alone, $84 million was spent on lawyer billboards in one year! They range from the understated “brand awareness” billboard by the personal injury (PI) “elite firms” to what I will call the undignified messaging that borders on aspects of personal “demographics.”

Some big spenders in the PI/workers’ compensation space still tell me that most of their work comes from referrals—because of great past success and accomplishment. However, the uptick in advertising dollars allocated to the consumer-on-the-street (the prospective client who does not know or have access to a “referral” by friend or relative—says otherwise). 

For those Mad Men in the advertising business, you know that it takes a certain number of repetitive “touches” to register with the consumer. Thus, you need that combination of see the billboard, see the commercial, see the social media post, see the in-arena messaging, etc. to sear enough recall in a person’s brain to pick up the phone or jump on the internet to engage.

Granted, many of us know that some of the lawyers on billboards are terrible. We’ve seen them. They are referral farms. Or will almost definitely settle—since the sight of a courtroom would shake them to the core. A promise of “big money” by a face or voice on an ad does not tell you the actual credentials.

Like the reasoning that the best TV ad buy today is live sports, because it is one of the rare programs people need to watch in real time (and a huge factor in the increased value of sports franchises in general), billboards are tough to skip. Some other advantages include:

• You can often better target certain audiences, such as a billboard for a particular region, locations near DUI checkpoints, hospital ER entrances, airports and cruise ship docks.
• In many instances, the billboard reinforces a law firm brand that then gets triggered by other forms of advertising. Ideally, a combination of digital and traditional marketing efforts should complement and reinforce one another.
• Although I see billboards that violate various Rules of Professional Conduct all the time (and often try to take pictures to then include in my ethics CLE presentations), there are rarely disciplinary proceedings to address them. It is more likely that there will be a dispute between competitors that might range from trademark infringement to false advertising, antitrust and trade secrets.
• While rules and regulations addressing (improper) solicitation are still relevant, you can “reach out” in a billboard, whereas you could not communicate directly with a prospective client who may still be in an emotional state. With the significant increase in digital billboards, you could get a message out—practically on-the-fly—that would not have worked with the traditional billboard that could take weeks to create and place.

Eating Our Lunch/Shrinking the Market Share

Now I’ve written about the Morgan & Morgan effect (see the January/February 2024 issue of Law Practice), and it is one of the key drivers of the lawyer billboard takeover. But in the City of Brotherly Love, it goes way beyond that. I would say that I’ve never heard of half the law firms advertised. But they either are feeling the competition pinch or follow the well-known lawyer adage of “if they are doing it, we have too as well.” An occasional billboard alone, for a firm with little name recognition, and no overarching strategic campaign is not much more than litter on the side of the highway. However, there is a real understanding that the market share is shrinking, and some of these firms (often from out of town but now are “national” in scope) are getting business that used to reside locally.

Of course, the massive billboard equation in Philadelphia is not solely by accident either (pun intended). It is considered a plaintiff-friendly place with some huge awards, and loosening rules that make it a fun place to litigate! Whether it is a fender-bender (probably because you were reading the billboards and not paying attention), slip-and-fall or massive mass tort, there is some dotted-line connection between the ad dollars and the courthouse. Toss COVID into the mix, and I’m sure that plays some role as well—although if you are work-from-home, I’m not sure how you get “hurt at work” either. There is also the intended consequence of suggesting you sue someone to get what is yours, when perhaps you might not have considered going that route.

And competition goes well beyond one law firm or another. In Arizona, where I’ve seen plenty of billboards along I-10, there are the alternative business structures. There are litigation funders, lead generation companies and a litany of “competitors” for the client or matter—that are then resold, repackaged or referred to a law firm. These businesses use billboards too.

So, if you visit the home of the Super Bowl Champions anytime soon, flying into PHL, be sure to enjoy the scenery of billboards from I-95 and I-76 along the way. Some are entertaining, but for the most part it is like counting sheep to fall asleep . . . it feels never-ending, but that is only because it is.