Simply because someone, doesn’t imply you admire precisely what it’s they do for a dwelling. Take our present interviewee, a gentleman married to one among my spouse’s cousins and somebody who I’ve identified for not less than 20 years. Sure, we now have gotten to talking much more typically in recent times when he and his household relocated from Memphis to New Jersey, however the actuality is that apart from figuring out he was a lifelong Saints fan and native New Orleanian, I didn’t actually know a lot about his skilled life. That began to alter when he would verify in on occasion on a random copyright query, however I all the time chalked such queries as much as the truth that he was concerned in on-line advertising of some kind. Fortunately, nevertheless, we lately obtained to speaking extra in depth about his work, together with the truth that he’s at the moment constructing an internet site for a number one patent litigation boutique agency. Seems, he has quite a bit to share with respect to the ever-important situation of regulation agency advertising, making him an amazing selection for an interview in our long-running “3 Questions For” written interview sequence.
So let’s meet Jonathan Blotner, the founder and proprietor of Blotner Mass Media, a full-service advertising and promoting company established in 1994. By way of Blotner Mass Media, Jonathan combines cutting-edge digital methods with time-tested promoting fundamentals to assist purchasers develop, compete, and lead of their markets. With over three a long time of expertise to supply his purchasers, Jonathan has constructed a repute as a trusted advisor and strategist throughout a number of industries, with explicit experience in authorized/regulation agency advertising, medical follow advertising, and retail and eCommerce advertising. His deep information spans each conventional and digital media. He makes a speciality of TV streaming promoting (CTV & OTT), web site design, web optimization, social media advertising, content material growth, electronic mail advertising, and full-scale inventive providers. His company additionally continues to ship sturdy leads to conventional promoting, together with TV, radio, print, and unsolicited mail.
As this readership is aware of, a cohesive and efficient advertising technique is a should for each IP-focused practitioner and regulation agency. And simply as IP follow is all the time altering in response to technological developments, it’s surely true that what capabilities as efficient regulation agency advertising immediately could be very totally different that what labored ten and even 5 years in the past. Accordingly, all of us ought to in all probability be occupied with advertising extra typically than we do, so I very a lot welcome the chance to share Jonathan’s insights with this viewers. As standard, I’ve added some transient commentary to Jonathan’s reply to my first query beneath, however have in any other case offered his reply as he supplied it.
Gaston Kroub: What challenges do IP attorneys have from a advertising perspective that is probably not present in advertising fields of regulation like private damage and medical malpractice?
Jonathan Blotner: The authorized business is extremely specialised — particularly in fields like patent regulation, the place there’s typically a distinct segment inside a distinct segment. This implies the margin for generic messaging is slim. In our expertise, attorneys — particularly in IP — worth precision, credibility, and positioning above all else. In contrast to different industries the place storytelling and broad attraction might take middle stage, authorized advertising should strike a steadiness between authority and accessibility. A well-designed web site for a regulation agency must seize a potential consumer’s belief throughout the first 30 seconds — each visually and substantively.
Advertising and marketing IP authorized providers, notably in patent regulation, requires navigating a posh viewers with extremely technical wants. In contrast to private damage or medical malpractice, the place emotional appeals or consumer testimonials play a central function, IP advertising should steadiness authorized acumen with deep subject-matter experience — typically throughout science, engineering, and software program. The goal purchasers — startups, in-house counsel, R&D leaders, and inventors — are discerning and anticipate substance over slogans. Moreover, the confidentiality of ongoing improvements and litigation makes it more durable to showcase case research or outcomes publicly. IP attorneys should due to this fact depend on thought management, talking engagements, technical content material advertising, and thoroughly crafted messaging that alerts credibility with out overselling. The aim is to ascertain authority in each regulation and know-how with out showing self-promotional — a much more nuanced problem than in consumer-facing areas of regulation.
GK: There’s a lot to love in Jonathan’s reply, however the level that I discover most fascinating is his astute remark that the confidential nature of the work finished by IP attorneys provides complexity to advertising their achievements. Maybe that’s the reason IP trial attorneys focus their advertising on highlighting huge verdicts obtained, or instances efficiently defended, somewhat than on the wonderful work they did serving to their consumer keep away from a filed case within the first place. Likewise, IP prosecution specialists are inclined to deal with counting stats like numbers of purposes filed in the case of advertising, or the forms of purchasers they symbolize – as a proxy for really discussing the standard of the work they’re able to. The issue is probably most acute for IP licensing specialists, who very not often get to brag about their deft negotiation of a contractual clause in a public-facing method. At backside, Jonathan’s reply confirms that IP companies trying to refine their advertising efforts are suggested to work with advertising professionals in tune with the realities of IP follow, in addition to the simplest approach of presenting an IP lawyer or agency’s {qualifications} to the audience.
We are going to proceed with Jonathan’s solutions to questions 2 and three subsequent time, which can middle on each his work creating web sites for IP companies, in addition to his ideas on how IP companies must be advertising their facility with AI instruments – if they’ve that functionality, after all.. Within the meantime, be happy to succeed in out to Jonathan for potential options to any advertising points your follow is dealing with…
Please be happy to ship feedback or inquiries to me at [email protected] or by way of Twitter: @gkroub. Any matter strategies or ideas are most welcome.
Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding companion of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an mental property litigation boutique, and Markman Advisors LLC, a number one consultancy on patent points for the funding neighborhood. Gaston’s follow focuses on mental property litigation and associated counseling, with a powerful deal with patent issues. You may attain him at [email protected] or observe him on Twitter: @gkroub.
