ISBA’s image ad campaign renews public awareness

The Illinois State Bar Association’s image advertising campaign continues this spring with display ads in more than 260 newspapers statewide and new billboard ads for the Legal Health Checkup. The campaign is designed to improve the overall image of the legal profession and make ISBA-member lawyers the public’s trusted source for legal services.

ISBA members can benefit from the campaign by signing up to use the Member Mark or Member Firm Mark, and by participating in ISBA’s Illinois Lawyer Finder service for referrals.

ISBA advertising in the past three years has used the image of Abraham Lincoln and the message “Illinois Has a History of Some Pretty Good Lawyers.” Current newspaper messages carry the Lincoln image and direct consumers to the ISBA’s public Web site, isbalawyers.com, for information and referral to a lawyer.

Billboards appearing in May will display the cover of the ISBA Legal Health Checkup (Lincoln with a stethoscope) and the Web site address where the Checkup can be viewed and downloaded.

The ISBA Member Mark is currently used by more than 800 members on stationery, business cards, Web sites and other public communication. The mark is available for use by individual lawyers and by firms in which all lawyers are ISBA members.

Market research conducted for ISBA shows a steady increase in brand awareness (public awareness of “ISBA lawyers”) and increasing usage of the ISBA consumer Web site.

In December 2005, the ISBA Assembly voted to institute a paid marketing/image campaign as a permanent and significant part of the annual budget. This action was based on the Strategic Marketing Committee’s recommendation that an advertising program is needed to affect 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 message informing the public of the ethics, professionalism and commitment to serving the public by the legal profession enables detractors to besmirch the profession without effective response.

The legal profession also is noticeably absent from the marketplace at a time when medical associations, real estate organizations, architecture societies and trade unions routinely advertise the value of their members’ services.