Binder & Binder Ups TV Spending 170%

Binder and Binder, the firm that specializes in Social Security Disability cases, has put an advertising blitz on the national airways in 2008 and the first two quarters of 2009.

The firm has long played second fiddle to Jim Sokolove for network cable advertising (i.e. advertising that is aired across the country on the cable networks). For several years, Binder & Binder has been averaging about $125,000 a week on network cable advertising (in comparison to Sokolove who was spending close to $400,000 a week).*

But beginning in 2008, Binder & Binder upped its weekly budget to around $190,000 a week and then, in the first two quarters of 2009, to around $335,000!!! This figure represent a 170% increase in just a year and a half and puts Binder & Binder in position to challenge Sokolove for the top spot in national advertising.

Most importantly, it signals a new phase in the firm’s attempt to establish a national Social Security Disability brand and capture a much larger market share of available cases. It may also signal the introduction of new equity into the firm.**

Given the economic downturn, it may have been a perfectly timed play for the Binder brothers.

Here are the two questions I will be asking as we move into 2010:
Will Binder & Binder attempt to use their brand to move into other areas of the personal injury market?
Will Binder & Binder’s play embolden any fast followers to make a move for a strong second position in this niche market?

*All figures are based on Nielsen data.
**An intriguing possibility is that the firm has determined that a social security practice, in the proper form, is NOT subject to the same restrictions on non-attorney ownership and has, thus, brought in private non-attorney investors.