2. Thought Leadership
How Media Relations and Other Paid, Earned and Shared
Tactics Can Position Your Firm for Success

3. Erin S Watson, APR
Director of Communications &
Marketing
Motley Rice LLC
•6 person in-house agency
•10+ years of marketing/PR
agency experience
Stefanie Marrone
Senior Consultant
Bernero & Press
•14 years at top Am Law
firms in senior
communications roles

4. 4
EARNED
Media
PAID
Media
SHARED
Media
OWNED
Media
Brand Message
Created after the Brand Workshop.
Media
SEO and paid search
Paid social advertising (Facebook)
Content
Website
Photography
Video
Email newsletter
Direct mail
Surveys
Events
Publicity / Exposure
Media relations
Speaking opportunities at business and
community organizations
Partnerships with charitable organizations
Ambassador program (word of mouth)
Social
Media
Content strategy:
Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn
Leadership team’s
LinkedIn profiles

5. Think END GOAL First
• What do you want
people to:
– Think
– Do
– Say about your firm
– Remember
• What are you trying to
achieve?
– New business
– Reputation
enhancement/growth
– Media coverage of a
major issue or case

6. Then AUDIENCES & MESSAGING
• Who are they?
• What do they care
about?
• What annoys them?
• How & when do they
like to receive info?
• Remember/do/say
about you?
• Attention span?
• How valuable?

7. Essential Elements of Thought Leadership
• Connect to a core firm or practice business goal
– Value messaging and survey learnings are integrated into the fabric of
EVERYTHING the practice group does:
• New business proposals
• Client meetings
• Seminars
• Blog posts
• Thought leadership is an interactive process; requires active
engagement with the target audience
• Packaging/platform must differentiate “thought leadership” from
general content
• Requires long-term commitment to continuous effort
• Find and leverage existing seeds of brilliance
• Integrate thought leadership into business development and
communications initiatives

8. What is Good Thought Leadership
Content?
• Client alerts
• Blog posts
• Published articles
• Case studies
• Surveys
• Books
• Recaps of events, CLE programs, webinars, conferences (ex:
10 Takeways from the ABA Antitrust Conferernce)

9. Leadership, for Thought
• Show, don’t tell
• Provide, don’t promote
• Depth, not breadth
• Seek inspiration from your competitors (and outside the
industry)
• Open a dialogue, not a monologue
• Repurpose and reuse
• One size doesn’t fit all: Tailor content for each audience and
distribution platform

10. 10
EARNED
Media
PAID
Media
SHARED
Media
OWNED
Media
Brand Message
Created after the Brand Workshop.
Media
SEO and paid search
Paid social advertising (Facebook)
Content
Website
Photography
Video
Email newsletter
Direct mail
Surveys
Events
Publicity / Exposure
Media relations
Speaking opportunities at business and
community organizations
Partnerships with charitable organizations
Ambassador program (word of mouth)
Social
Media
Content strategy:
Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn
Leadership team’s
LinkedIn profiles
Then TACTICS

13. EARNED
• Media
Relations/Influencers
– Relationship building
– Get specific to each
reporter/outlet
– Invest time to learning
about them, knowing
what they would be
interested in, etc.
• Thought Leadership
• Interviews/Talking Head
Broadcast
• Op-eds
• Article publication
• Speaking opportunities,
etc.

14. OWNED
• Invest in a powerful website that will work for you, and is
easy to manage
• Invest in a content engine, whether that’s a full-time person
or a vendor
• Use imagery that is powerful and attention getting
• Don’t be the same as everyone else

15. SHARED
• Show some personality
– what does your firm
stand for?
• Engagement is OK
• Element of reputation
and issues management
sometimes
– Negative comments
should ideally not be
deleted

16. Implementing a Successful Thought
Leadership Content Marketing Strategy
• Create a content/editorial calendar
• Know your audiences and tailor content to best reach them
• Be authentic, memorable and creative
• Look outside the industry for inspiration
• Repurpose content multiple times using social media. Email,
etc.
• Promote content via social media and encourage lawyer and
staff engagement
– Train all employees on the do’s and don’ts of social media and how to
share content on the major social platforms
• Use analytics to track success of content

19. CASE STUDIES

20. • 1 in 7 cars affected in U.S.
• Don’t have enough replacement
airbags for all of the cars right now
• Originally weren’t recalling all of
the cars they needed to
• Shrapnel, burns, face and arm
breaks some of the injuries
“Airbags are meant to help you, not
hurt you” ~ Client Angelina Sujata,
Capital Hill Press Conference

21. Takata Recall
• GOAL: Raise awareness of the issue, identify more clients that need our
help
• AUDIENCES: Media, all consumers, co-counsel
• ADVANTAGE: Testing video replicating the airbag ruptures that no one
else has done or has shared (including Takata!)
• CHALLENGES: aside from the recent GM ignition switch, Motley Rice
wasn’t known for leadership in vehicle defects and recalls – plus recall
fatigue
• TACTICS: Media pitches, media relationship building, press releases and
interview offers, website and social media content nearly daily, radio
PSAs, partner outreach (including NHTSA)

23. Takata Results
• CBS Evening News lead feature
story
• 70+ additional articles (an
estimated 135 million in
impressions) in other major
national, state and local
publications
• Represent 30 injured clients
• Client invited to speak at Capitol
Hill press conference and hearing
• Recall expanded multiple times

25. Source: Seeking Alpha

26. What We Did
• Talked to VW owners about
their views on the
consumer fraud
• Made attorneys available to
talk about the implications
– Economic loss
– Environmental damage
• Named to PSC and as co-
lead negotiator of the $15 B
settlements

27. Thought Leadership
Examples

28. PwC CEO Survey

29. PwC CEO Survey

30. PwC CEO Survey – Social Media Campaign

31. Proskauer Value Insights Survey

32. Proskauer Value Insights Survey – a Gift
That Keeps Giving

33. Value Insights Survey – Bringing to Life via
Social Media

34. Proskauer IPO Study

36. Use Visuals to Stand Out

41. Key Takeaways
• Plan!
• Success doesn’t happen overnight. Be patient but persevere.
• Don’t be afraid to cheerlead – you need buy in.
• Think visually – visuals are powerful engagement tools
• Reuse vs. Repurpose
• Show vs. Tell