Advertising in newspapers across Illinois, paid for by the Illinois State Bar Association, will begin appearing in late April.

This is the start-up of an ongoing marketing campaign to improve the image of the legal profession and to remind consumers of the value of having professional legal advice (see the first two print ads on page 17).

The ISBA Assembly voted in December to begin a paid advertising campaign this spring on behalf of members, and to make such marketing a permanent part of the ISBA budget.

The ads will direct consumers who need help in finding a lawyer to the ISBA's on-line or telephone lawyer referral service, “Illinois Lawyer Finder.”

The campaign is overseen by the ISBA Committee on Strategic Marketing for Illinois Lawyers. In its report to the Assembly, the committee offered this explanation of the need for a marketing program:

“Bar associations have been slow to come to a realization that an advertising program is needed to effect public tendencies to seek out the services of a lawyer when faced with legal situations.

“Alternate methods of dealing with legal situations are readily available and are heavily advertised to the public...

“The absence of a consistent message concerning the benefit of relying on a lawyer to handle legal matters has the effect of ceding a sizeable share of the market to the purveyors of legal forms and kits, one-size-fits-all and do-it-yourself software programs or Web sites.

“The absence of a message informing the public of the ethics, professionalism and commitment to serving the public by the legal profession further enables non-lawyers to ply their products and services unimpeded.

“The legal profession also is noticeably absent from the marketplace in which medical associations, (real estate) organizations, architect societies and trade unions routinely advertise the value of their members' services.”

The ISBA has conducted periodic paid advertising campaigns in the past, most recently a brief television spot placed in local news programming during 2003.

“What has been missing is a commitment to stay in the marketplace with a positive message that is repeated over and over,” said Carl Draper of Springfield, co-chair of the Strategic Marketing Committee.

“The advertising professionals tell us that what we are trying to do - attract consumers at the point in time they need a service and improve the profession's image - needs to be viewed as a long term undertaking to produce long term results.”

Committee co-chair Richard Zuckerman of Peoria added that , “Advertising is not cheap, but it works. As resources devoted to this campaign grow, we will be able to expand into other media such as radio, television and the Internet.”

The ad messages, dubbed “On the Bright Side,” make the point that consumers need lawyers on their side in common legal situations. The messages urge consumers to “Be Sure. Talk to a Lawyer,” and direct people who need help in finding a lawyer to Illinois Lawyer Finder.

ISBA members can be listed at no cost on the Web-based illinoislawyerfinder.com or, by paying $50 a year, can have premium listings that includes more details about their practices and inclusion in the phone referral system.

The limited budget for this spring's campaign will produce ads over a four-week period in about a dozen daily newspapers covering most of Illinois. Visits to the Illinois Lawyer Finder Web site and phone calls to the referral system will be monitored to gauge any immediate effectiveness of the ads.

“We understand that generating traffic for the referral service will be only a partial measure of the success of this campaign,” said Draper. “Results will become more apparent after sustained advertising has occurred.”

Other research tools will be used as the campaign proceeds, to ensure that the messages are hitting the target audience and producing a beneficial result. Messages and themes also will change over time.

ISBA members are asked to watch for public reaction to the ads. In particular, comments from clients who have seen the ads and other observations about the campaign can be forwarded to the ISBA Committee on Strategic Marketing for Illinois Lawyers, 424 S. Second St., Springfield 62701.