Chris Joy of Methuan, Massachusetts wants to know how she can promote her client, an old and well-established law firm that merged with another firm. The new firm is celebrating its fifth anniversary.
From Nicole Lipson of Marietta, Georgia:
“To celebrate five years, each lawyer could pledge five hours a month for the next year to do pro bono work, and announce the first client(s).”
From Paul Furiga, former editor of the Pittsburgh Business Times:
“It’s a law firm, but it’s a party, so have some fun. Instead of invitations, issue invitations that look like a summons. Then summon people to an event that celebrates survivorship. Survivorship is a legal concept used frequently in real estate–especially in marriages or partnerships. So it could be a true Survivorship Celebration. The trick when celebrating something like this is not to take it too far, especially since it’s lawyers. The best celebrations of this type poke just enough fun at the sponsoring organization that people want to be a part of the fun.
“You can go the whole Survivor route, picking and choosing from the detritus (there’s a legal term) that comes from the TV show. The party can be on the island, and the celebration can be to vote people onto the island. The island can have a name. The name can relate to the law firm’s name or whatever theme its partners find appropriate.
“Or make it a business story. This has the danger of being boring (and reducing journalistic interest and attendance), but you can do a Millennium Milestones celebration. The merger occurred before the year 2000, so you could say the merger created a firm designed for the 21st century. Then the firm decides what benchmarks define a 21st-century firm, play up the firm’s accomplishments (milestones), and note that surviving into the new millennium and being able to celebrate it is what defines success.
The Publicity Hound says: How about compiling an experts directory listing all your attorneys, their areas of expertise, and day and evening contact information. Send the directories to the local media along with five story ideas about trends the firm is seeing in a variety of areas, and list appropriate contacts who can comment. Or donate $5,000 a month for one year to 12 local charities.
I teamed up with Paul Furiga a few years ago to host a teleseminar called”How to Use Local Business Journals to Tell Your Story.” We’re both former editors of business journals, and we shared our best secrets on how to rub elbows with the top editors at these publications, establish strong relations with the beat reporters, and position yourself as such a valuable source that the reporters keep coming back to you again and again.