The Sun Media House
The Best Out-of-Home Ads in Cleveland — Misny Makes Them Pay
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 page (opens in new tab) if interested.
Is he the most famous lawyer in the Cleveland area? I think so. Is he iconic? I asked ChatGPT 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, 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 you to buy shoes. They are just building awareness, and the sales come as the awareness goes up — so if you’re 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 states that at any given time, 95% of 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 be 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 — whatever comes to mind first is what we buy, or at least what we try first. 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-funnel campaign for Tim.
Positioning: Tim Misny will make them pay.
Most billboards no longer mention what Misny actually does.
Against what? Medical errors? Bad accidents? As an observer, your brain will make the connection, since you’ve seen the billboard hundreds of times.
Check this Reddit thread (opens in new tab) and read the top comments — you’ll see the above statement in action.
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 has probably done wonders for Tim Misny. He has also done some TV ads, but I have not seen them on TV — I saw this one on YouTube. Here is a 15-second ad, 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 times when the stakes are high and you need a lawyer for anything.