Best Legal Integrated Ad Campaign

GulfCoastDisaster.com was the centerpiece of a national campaign focused on four specific audiences: national media, victims of the Gulf Coast oil spill, referral attorney partners along with government and public interest organizations. Each group was able to use the site extensively as the hub of all legal communications. Within hours of the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon, BCA Marketing (BCAM), relying heavily on its extensive nationwide “media” database and outstanding reputation of leading previous litigation efforts against BP, activated its public relations machine to position BCA (notably, Founder Brent Coon) as the leading expert on BP and refinery explosions. During the first month alone, BCA received over 300 media requests poured in for interviews, appearances, quotes and statements. Brent Coon became a daily fixture on MSNBC, CNN, FOX, CNBC, etc while being quoted in newspaper articles across the country such as NYT, WSJ, Houston Chronicle, etc. Our website, www.gulfcoastdisaster.com, began as a media-centric site reporters could access to review key documents from past litigation against BP, submit media requests, access press kits and review key documents and materials on the recent explosion gained from our inside sources within the labor organizations and “feet on the street” investigations. BCAM continued to prime the media over the coming months as BCA Founder, Brent Coon, became one of the key legal spokesmen of the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. The results of these PR efforts were dozens of appearances on national cable networks and over 100 articles written referencing BCA. http://www.gulfcoastdisaster.com/tv_highlights As a result of these PR efforts, BCA began receiving calls from attorneys around the country who were looking to partner with BCA to acquire cases. With offers from law firms to pay for advertising OF BCA, and then to retain those case in order to send them back to BAC to litigate, it quickly became clear that a JV business model would need to be put in place. Using various pricing structures based on the amount of involvement each JV partner retained insofar as intake, funding, client management, etc, BCAM negotiated deals with over 15 JV partners to form a coalition of attorneys. BCAM created a revolutionary password protected JV website, allowing each JV partner to have access to its own “personalized” version of the website. We held regular marketing meetings with our JV partners, using the JV website as a vehicle for sharing everything from meeting notes and agendas, to confidential marketing and legal documents. Additionally, a client site was developed for clients of our new JV coalition to be able to communicate electronically with his or her lawyer, review pertinent news articles and videos, access key documentation needed to file their claims and even update administrative items such as a change of address. The site has been a vital tool in reducing some of the inefficiencies of client management so that the attorneys were free to litigate. In addition to the PR campaign, which drove a large number of clients to BCA organically, BCAM began to move into direct case acquisition mode. GCD.com received a makeover and began targeting victims of the oil spill (fisherman, loss of business claims, shrimpers, etc.). BCAM also contracted with a leading SEO vendor, who developed over 100 niche websites all leading back to GCD.com. E-blasts went out to our database of referral attorneys and Gulf Coast residents, again driving back to GCD.com. While BCA focused primarily on generating internet traffic and leads, we also joint ventured with attorneys around the country who were interested in working with us to generate cases through traditional means. BCAM produced a dozen TV spots branded with the BCA name for our JV partners to choose from. TV advertisements and billboards ran throughout LA, MS and AL, while BCA attorneys held Town Hall meetings in the affected areas distributing brochures and offering potential claimants tips on how to navigate the claims process. Once again, all traffic was driven back to GCD.com http://www.bcoonintranet.com/site/gcd_resources To date, the integrated campaign has produced nearly 50,000 UVs and over 5,500 signed cases, making BCA a leader in the oil spill litigation.

Contributors:

Director of Marketing & Communications:	Jay Jackson
Production Manager:	Rudy Lomberger
Director of Video/Flash Animation:	Kevin Chatham
Marketing/PR Associate:	Matt Resell

BRENT COON & ASSOCIATES

Location: United States