Posted on 28 June 2011
Innovation, Integrated Marketing, Social Media
I was really excited when I saw a tweet pop up on the Legal Week feed that announced: “Mishcon de Reya launches three digital TV channels http://t.co/aEPmYLD”. As last, I thought, a large law firm sticking their neck on the line and doing the work that matters. How wrong could I be.
Back in 2010, I wrote an article called Law Firm Social Media, in which I set out a model for law firms that would allow them to capitalise on the currency of the modern internet - attention. I suggested that instead of spouting out marketing cliches, firms should focus their attention on creating compelling content that other people would want to share. I suggested that video was one of the best way to do this and even provided a sketch layout that firms could adapt for their own uses. Mischon’s new ‘Digital TV channels’ could have been like that.
Mischon de Reya have decided to implement their TV channel in partnership with yourBusinessChannel.com. The format is blog style with short clips from a wide variety of business personalities. There are some seriously high-profile people giving tips and advice on a range of business issues. All the videos are tagged by subject, company, and person and the clips can be filtered by clicking on the categories names. So far so good.
We all know that a good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. We need to have the scene set for us in the form of an introduction and we need a summary to helps us consolidate what we have just learned. The Mishcon’s effort gives us only the middle. The clips dive straight in to a topic without giving us the wider picture and, as viewers, we have to work hard just to understand what we are seeing. A TV channel should be a curated experience. We need an Evan Davis to pull it all together.
Obviously running a TV channel is not part of most law firm’s core business and Mishcon’s effort should be viewed in that context. Marketing budgets don’t stretch to hiring high-profile BBC presenters or long days in the edit suite stitching videos together. There needs to be a compromise that respects the operational needs of the firm’s marketing budget but still brings value to viewers.
Mishcon’s have made some attempt to organise clips into distinct channels: Deal and Dealmakers, Digital Economy, and London Influence, but I think they need to go further. Although it may be too expensive to edit the clips into a single cohesive film, ‘programmes’ could be made by creating pages that hold groups of clips which together tell a story. Lawyers could be set the challenge of curating videos from those available and producing written narrative that explains how they work together. This result of this human involvement would be a true expression of the firm’s expertise and deliver real value to viewers.
Dumping content on an audience without explanation reduces it to data. Law firm marketing should deliver knowledge, value, and intelligent insight, for which there is no shortcut. Congratulation to Mishcon’s for trying something new, but now it is the time to do the hard work of turning a good idea, and a bold move, into a great one.
Posted on 17 June 2011
Design Planning, Innovation
Many of the newest and most exciting development in digital communications emerge through consumer markets and it can be difficult to know when and how to apply them in the corporate environment commercial law firms operate in.
By maintaining an systematic innovation pipeline, law firms can ensure they keep ahead of the market while avoiding expensive mistakes that arise from investing in cutting edge technology that may turn out to be a nothing more that a fad. In this post I’d like to share a model you can use to make sure your pipeline keeps your firm ahead of the curve.
1. Awareness building
Build an maintain a list of emerging technologies and concepts. We recommend a simple glossary style list that can be shared as a resource for every member of the firm. Ideas will typically be added to the list as soon as the emerge and usually before they have reached any market.
2. Repurposing
Monitor for signs of emerging technologies hitting the market place. Task your best thinkers with writing short proposals for how to repurpose these new ideas to meet the needs of law firms and their clients. At this stage, proposals should be written with an open-mind and do not necessarily need to be completely realistic.
3. Evaluate
As new technologies show signs of success, add a dose of realism to the ideas generated in stage 2 and work out the challenges that would need to be overcome in order to bring them to life.
4. Prototype
As new technology prove market appeal, develop prototypes that apply the technology to the law firm setting. If you have followed the pipeline this far you should be months if not years ahead of most other law firms who only to considering ideas at this stage. Circulate prototypes internally to gather feedback.
5. Realise
Successful prototypes can be shared with the firm and presented for approval. It is easier to build consensus when you have something for people to interact with, rather that asking them to sign-up to vague concepts. Those that gain approval can be launched as new products and services.
6. Monitor and Review
Establish goals and work out how to monitor success. Review new services weekly to begin with tapering to monthly or quarterly as they become more established.
7. Refine or Withdraw
Refine ideas when your review process shows they are no longer meeting the needs of clients or other stakeholders. Kill ideas quickly when their cost is greater than the earned benefits they achieve. Cost saving made by withdrawing under-performing services can be invested back into product development.
