The holiday season is quickly approaching. Just step into any major retail store, and you will be reminded that the season of giving, spiced eggnog, gingerbread, pinecones and the like will soon be upon us. For us legal marketers, that means holiday e-cards are of top priority.
Over the years, we’ve seen a major shift from paper cards to e-cards. E-cards have a modern, tech-savvy feel, and they streamline the distribution process, which makes our jobs easier…most of the time. With instant, global and cost-effective delivery, the case for e-cards is strong.
While we don’t see e-cards going anywhere soon, the law firm approach to them has evolved, so I’ve asked three experts what they identify as major trends for 2016 law firm e-cards. In no particular order, here’s what they had to say:
- The E- and Print Card Dual Approach
Grant Tschudy, a sales representative from All-State Legal, says, “What is old is new again. A lot of firms are coming back to print cards. We are bombarded by emails and social media, [so] the printed card has become fresh again.” For Grant’s clients, this means a combination of the two. Firms complement their custom e-card with a coordinating paper card. While the e-card offers instantaneous client contact, the paper card serves as a memento.
Tim Derian, President of Vivid Graphics, adds, “The trend towards e-cards has continued over the last five to six years, but we’re finding a slight blimp the other way, back to [incorporate] print. [Law firms] find [that] the value is pretty good. [The print cards] sit in front of a client for a month. This year in particular, more firms are embracing print plus e-cards.”
Greeting Card Collection is, “definitely noticing a growth in print sales,” says Michael Howard, VP of Digital Content for GCC Portfolio. He comments, “Firms really want to support their e-card with a matching print card to reinforce branding and [provide their clients with] a keepsake. It allows them to touch [their] clients twice…In our tech[-focused] world, to have something come in the mail is becoming the novel thing.” Michael, in part, attributes this to the technological advancements in print cards, such as laser cutting and lenticular printing.
- Brand Consistency
Brand consistency is nothing new, but, for many firms, e-cards didn’t really apply…unless perhaps their logo colors were red and green. Following the thought processes behind omni-channel marketing, firms now recognize that a clients’ interaction with their e-card is an interaction with their brand. Audiences engage with a firm’s brand in many different ways and across many different platforms, so there needs to be a certain level of consistency in that customer experience.
“Law firms, right now, are spending a bit more time to make the e-card appropriate to them,” comments Tim. Between front-and-center logo placement, color scheme and overall look and feel, firms aim to incorporate a sense of their brand. From a branding standpoint, the e-card should have a cohesive look and feel, flowing seamlessly to and from firm’s website and other marketing materials.
“The e-card is an integral part of [the firm’s] communications,” says Tim. Firms are using e-cards to communicate significant news, such as an office move or opening. The key is to make sure the card is balanced. Grant’s clients lean towards keeping it simple, and Tim warns that clients will see through a marketing ploy. You’ll run the risk of getting dismissed if your e-card is too long or informational, so it’s best to be brief, stick to the firm-approved holiday message and slip in any news or marketing content subtly.
- Short and Sweet
Each year, the movement towards shorter, more precise e-cards continues. Michael encourages e-cards to fall between 25-35 seconds, but prefaces that it is most important to tell the story. Grant leans towards the longer side with a recommended 30-45 seconds, and Tim rounds out the other end of the spectrum with a 15-25 second recommendation.
While there is some variation from our experts’ recommended sweet spots, there is a definite consensus that the audience’s attention span is short, and the one to two minute e-card is a thing of the past. “Firms are aware that a 90-second e-card will not be viewed in its entirety,” says Michael. “No one does over a minute,” adds Tim.
- Humor?
Last year, Bloomberg Law recognized Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld for poking fun at political correctness in their article, “Ho Ho Ho…’Tis the Season for Law Firm Holiday Cards.” Above The Law featured several chuckle-worthy cards, including Manatt and Akin Gump as well as Proctor Heyman Enerio as finalists, in their seventh annual holiday card contest.
I was excited (and quite amused) to see law firms stepping out of the box by incorporating humor into their e-cards – and to report this as a trend for 2016! However, the experts were a bit hesitant to call this one a “trend.”
Grant says, “The IP firms [are more likely to] do the cheeky, off-the-cuff, creative stuff, [but] a lot of the big firms stick to traditional messages.” Tim admits that a few are humorous, but he stresses that most of his law firm clients are more concerned with getting the branding correct for both their external and internal audiences.
Michael has seen firms’ desire to step up their creative game and think outside traditional. For his law firm clients, that means more elaborate animation and ways to engage the viewer in different ways with interactive e-cards. The biggest concern he sees for firms trying to incorporate humor is the fear of offending someone. Michael comments, “The goal with humor is not to be outrageous or offend. [It’s] mostly self-deprecating or based on the season.”
In case you missed them, here is Proctor Heyman Enerio’s 2015 e-card, Manatt’s 2015 e-card and Akin Gump’s 2015 e-card.
My Two Cents
I love to see firms take a personal approach to their e-cards. This will mean something different to each firm, which is kind of the point. Law firms that don’t want their e-cards to look or feel like everyone else’s are taking a creative approach based on the firm’s individual culture and values.
Last year, Levenfeld Pearlstein produced a video featuring Chicago’s Community Kitchens, a charity near and dear to the firm and the city where they are based. This e-card combines a physical element, taking the customer experience to new heights with a clever interactive component.
Cozen O’Connor’s Scott Tarbutton, a member in the firm’s Philadelphia office, discusses Cozen’s annual Soldier Drive, which provides care packages to deployed United States service men and women.
Proskauer Rose involved their employees in the design of their e-card, which features a montage of photographs depicting happiness submitted by the firm’s attorneys and staff. For an extra personal touch, most of the photos highlight the firm’s employees and their family and friends.
From the knee-slappers to the tear-jerkers, it is refreshing to see firms’ attorneys and staff getting involved in the process. The result is a much more impactful and memorable experience.
In the meantime, ‘tis the season to be flexible, provide creative options and, of course, be jolly. Then again, when isn’t it?
By Ashley Smith, Marketing Coordinator, Gordon Feinblatt LLC, for the September/October 2016 issue of Capital Ideas.