Schlapprizzi Law is one of the St Louis area’s leading personal injury and medical malpractice firms. Founded by a terrific trial lawyer Don Schlapprizzi (Shluh-PREE-zee), the firm had done very well.
Personal injury is one of the legal profession’s most-competitively marketing practice, with small firms spending millions of dollars per year on mass-market tools like TV commercials, billboards, and online keyword marketing. Others spend similarly targeting local lawyers for referrals. We wanted to target an area that was true to their firm’s culture, but targeted a smaller, more focused demographic where they could seek to become the go-to firm.
Some firms have focused on certain types of cases, like birth-related injuries, dog bites, or motorcycle accidents. After interviewing the Schlapprizzi professionals at length, we saw that not only were they terrific lawyers, they had an interesting marketing opportunity, the region’s Catholic community.
The firm was a family business. The three principals are a father and his two children. The mother was the firm’s business manager and a prominent member of the church, including hosting a popular 30-minute weekly program on the local Catholic radio station. This wasn’t simply an opportunistic marketing idea; the family is deeply dedicated to their faith, which made them an especially good option for people with similar beliefs. They had something in common with this audience, a set of values that would help them understand their needs more intimately. They truly did understand them better.
We wanted to help “Schlapprizzi” mean “outstanding injury lawyers who are committed to representing those of the Catholic faith.”
We developed a multi-media approach, including print ads targeting the local Archdiocese weekly newspaper and bi-monthly magazine, supported by online banner ads, and 30-second radio spots read by Mrs. Schlapprizzi. We also developed a small, inexpensive microsite (CatholicInjuryLaw.com), illustrated with the same visuals.
The firm’s unique name is challenging but memorable. To support the primary print campaign, we also designed some extremely inexpensive but impactful bright red, 1.5” tall strip ads, which leveraged the name, including a phonetically spelled version, for added interest and name recognition.
We also tweaked the logo to give it an ethereal aura.
