If you live in Cleveland, you cannot get away from Tim Misny, and if you are not from Cleveland, you have no Idea what I am talking about. I lived and worked in Cleveland, so I am definitely aware of his presence there. I also know he also runs ads in Akron and other areas too.
Quick introduction: Tim is a Personal Injury lawyer from the suburbs of Cleveland. Here is his Wikipedia if interested Wiki Page
Is he the most famous lawyer in the Cleveland area? I think so. Is he Iconic, I asked Chat GPT what it means to be iconic, and here is what it said:
“Something becomes iconic when it rises above being ordinary and becomes a widely recognized symbol with lasting impact.”
Is Tim a Cleveland Icon? Yes, he is.
Last year, I met a lady who worked for the State Attorney General’s office. Her daughter, who was in middle school, came home and asked her where she works. She replied: Ohio’s highest lawyer’s office. The daughter responded Oh you mean Tim Misny?
Every year Tim runs multiple Out-Of-home ads. Whoever does the campaign understands the TOP of Funnel (TOFU) marketing. Let me explain in the marketing funnel (my post) at the very top; we have awareness. Top-of-funnel ads are emotion-based ads and generally don’t have a CTA (call to action). Think of Nike showing athletes in their ads and not actually asking to buy shoes or anything else. They are just building awareness, and the sales come as the awareness goes up, so if you are an athlete or aspiring athlete (who doesn’t have six-pack abs, right :), you associate Nike with sports. And if the ad has your favorite athlete in it, you will strongly prefer Nike.
Why is that even important for marketing?
Fair question: The 95/5 rule, at any given time 95% of the people are not in the market to buy whatever you are selling. So, if you run an awareness campaign, they will keep you at the top of their minds when it’s time to decide to buy. The best thing that can happen to any brand is to have it as an option when people are about to make a purchase.
I have been taught that when a customer makes a buying decision, they only use two brain cells for it, and how we decide is whatever comes 1st to your mind is what we buy or at least we would try them. So, seeing Tim’s face plastered over billboards has become iconic for Cleveland.
The campaign basically checks all the right marketing boxes for a Top of the Funnel campaign for Tim:
Positioning – Tim Misny will make them pay.
Most Billboards no longer mention what Misny does.
Against what? Medical Errors? Bad Accidents?
As an observer, your brain will make the connection, since you have seen the Billboard 100’s of time
Check this Reddit thread and check the few top comments, you will see the above statement in action – Reddit Thread.
The campaign brilliantly builds the brand. Misny had a personal brand before most people knew what a personal brand was.
In the ever-increasing digital marketing era, this is one of the campaigns that I have seen and probably done wonders for Tim Misny. He has also done some TV ads, but I have not seen the ad on TV. I saw it on YouTube. Here is a 15-second ad, which was based on a real story.
Will I ever need his service? I hope not. But if I ever need a personal injury lawyer, I know he is there.
I would also like to mention that his online reviews are not the best. I found two profiles on Google maps with 3.6- and 3.4-star ratings. Seems like he is very selective with his cases and wouldn’t take just any case. As always, marketing aside, we need to do our due diligence before buying into any brand, especially in the times when the stakes are high, and you need a lawyer for anything.
