The Illinois State Bar Association's public advertising campaign gets into full swing this month with messages targeted directly to more than 1.3 million Illinoisans.

The campaign, coordinated by the ISBA Committee on Strategic Marketing for Illinois Lawyers, is aimed at building confidence in the legal profession and educating consumers on the value of hiring a lawyer.

A photograph of Abraham Lincoln, probably the best-known Illinois lawyer, with the heading “Our state has a history of some pretty good lawyers. We're out to keep it that way,” leads this effort.

The ad will be part of a 12-page insert that will be included in more than 30 daily and weekly newspapers across Illinois during the last week of April, and in other cities later in the year.

The insert, titled “Legal Health Checkup 2007,” contains brief articles on consumer issues ranging from what to do after an auto accident, buying a home, legal protections for military personnel, divorce, patients' rights in managed care, and estate planning.

In addition to insertion in newspapers with total circulation of 1.3 million and additional secondary readers, copies of the “Legal Health Checkup” will be made available to local bar associations for public events. Bulk copies can be purchased by members for placement in office waiting rooms.

“For the first time, ISBA is making a permanent commitment to taking the legal profession's message to the public, and promoting the value of using an ISBA member lawyer,” said President Irene F. Bahr.

“Our absence from the marketplace cedes influence on consumer decision-making to others, including the purveyors of legal documents and Internet legal services that are not the best sources for dealing with legal issues.”

Surveys of lawyers conducted by ISBA have consistently shown the two top concerns to be the image of the profession and the economics of the practice, both of which are addressed by the strategic marketing campaign.

Other components of the ISBA campaign in coming months will include outdoor (billboard) ads in selected areas of the state, a lighted sign at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield, and coordination with ISBA public relations efforts to maximize public awareness of the campaign.

ISBA selected the Chicago firm, & Wojdyla, headed by David Wojdyla, after an extensive search as its agency to develop and implement the campaign. Public relations services for ISBA are provided by Chris Ruys Communications of Chicago.

To ensure that the campaign is having an affect on public perceptions, a pre-test public awareness survey is being conducted in April. It will be followed by post-testing later in the summer. Periodic measurements will be taken to determine the effectiveness of the campaign.