Networking & Business Development

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I feel like such a nerd saying this, but I LOVE commercials. 

Not all commercials, mind you, but commercials that are really well done make me very happy. I have been known to *not* skip through the commercials while watching a show that I’ve DVRd. Really.

So, although I like football (I mean, it’s not hockey or anything), what I love most about Superbowl Sunday is the commercials. And maybe the cake I made in the shape of a football field. 

Last year, I was really disappointed in many of the choices that brands made, and I remember wondering why they would spend so much on ad space for a commercial that was so-so, or downright offensive. I didn’t feel that way this year – there were so many spots that were just brilliant, clever or funny, so I know I’ll have a hard time of narrowing it down! 

Since I’m just coming home from judging weekend for the Legal Marketing Association’s Your Honor Awards (for which I was a judge), I’ve got all of those conversations and criteria swirling through my head at the moment. So that with likely make me hyper-critical of the messages of these ads and hopefully able to narrow them down to just my top five! All right…top ten – but I’ll split them into two posts for you!

Continue Reading Superbowl Commercials – The Good 2014 (Part I)

While traveling to Chicago today (an adventure in and of itself, due to delayed and cancelled flights and two trips through security – a story for another time), I had the opportunity to read a fascinating in-flight magazine article in American Airlines’ American Way magazine.

The article, titled “The Brand Challenge,” by Kristin Baird Rattini, discusses how private labels in grocery stores are gaining some real traction against national brands. Since I was already contemplating a post that focused on how brands outside of the legal industry can teach us lessons, I was particularly attuned to how the article is relevant to lawyers and legal marketers.

Let’s look at a few of the quotes that struck me, first, starting with the idea behind the article:

It’s called the Publix Brand Challenge, and it’s as close to a callout as you’ll find in the grocery industry. Several times a year, the Publix Super Markets chain in the Southeast pits three to five of its store-brand products against their national-brand equivalents…If customers buy one of the featured national-brand products, they’ll get the Publix store-branded version for free. ‘Buy theirs, get ours free,’ the ad trumpets. ‘We think you’ll prefer Publix.’”

Continue Reading Lessons from Outside the Industry: Grocery Store Brand Challenge

For the last few years, I’ve reviewed the hot topic of Superbowl commercials – as a marketing gal, I LOVE the commercials more than the game (especially when I don’t have a horse in the race, as they say). The Superbowl is when some of advertising’s most creative minds come together and create some sheer brilliance…or sheer disasters.

But what I’ve been noticing lately, is that there have been a number of new, big, flashy ads lately, during some other highly-viewed television events. Some of them are a preview for what will be revealed during the big game, while I think others are taking advantage of a large audience, with cheaper ad rates. 

Whatever, the reason, I’m one happy camper. And last night, while watching the Grammys, I saw a new favorite ad. To kick off next week’s discussion of what I see as the good, the bad and the ugly in Superbowl advertising, I thought we’d take a look at Pepsi’s "Halftime Show" ad last night, and what law firms can learn. Continue Reading Let the Commercials Begin! What Law Firms Can Learn from Product Advertising

Let’s talk networking.

Merriam-Webster defines "networking" as: 

the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically : the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business"

My favorite part of this definition is "the cultivation of productive relationships." That’s exactly what I like to focus on, cultivating relationships. There are many, many ways to do this, but today, I’d like to talk about something we’ve adopted here at the ILN that might work for other organizations and firms. We call it "Speed ILNing"

Speed ILNing is a business iteration of speed dating – for those of you not familiar with what speed dating it, it’s a matchmaking system, whose purpose is to help you meet a large number of people in a  short time. A speed dating event normally consists of an inner and outer ring of seats, facing each other. At the start, individuals are paired up, given a few minutes to introduce themselves, and then when the time is up, a bell rings, signalling that one of the rings of people gets up and moves to the next person. 

Continue Reading Best Practices for Networking – Speed ILNing