It’s no longer a surprise to see a law firm or medical practice marketing itself.

What stands out now is when one embraces marketing to grow its business — in this case a law firm advertising on sports radio station ESPN New York 98.7 FM.

That’s worth a deeper look.

Cordell & Cordell is a nationwide law firm that “levels the playing field for men in family law cases.”  They operate in 29 states, with more than 100 offices and a team of 170+ attorneys.

I like the fundamentals that underpin the Cordell & Cordell go-to-market and growth strategies.

1.  Sharp Business Focus.   There’s no room for misunderstanding.  Cordell & Cordell is “the law firm for men going through divorce and/or related issues such as child custody.”

2.  Clear Positioning and Defined Target.  Cordell & Cordell are “advisors and advocates for men before, during, and after divorce.”  Take a look at this TV commercial:

3.  Easy-to-Understand Services and Benefits.  Spend less than 30 seconds on their website and you know exactly what the law firm does and whether it matches what you’re looking for.

4.  Content Marketing Practitioners.  

a.  Cordell & Cordell has a robust media relations program that generates substantial earned media coverage, which is posted on its website.

b.  The firm produces its own weekly video news recap.

c.  Besides its well-developed website, other owned media properties include three micro-sites: dadsdivorce.com , mensrights.com, and mensdivorce.com.

d. Cordell & Cordell has activated social media platforms on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

e. You can even engage with a lawyer via Skype!  The firm launched video consultations in July 2014.

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Cordell & Cordell’s ESPN radio advertising is perhaps a blueprint for how they tackle local market business-building.

In this case, given the geographic reach of the New York radio station, the objective is to build awareness and boost business across three offices in central and southern New Jersey:  East Brunswick (opened January 2015), Mount Laurel (2011) and Freehold.*

* (New Jersey is the target since there are no offices in Connecticut and the only New York offices are up-state in Albany and Saratoga Springs.)

The marketing mix also includes sports endorsers, which fits with the customer target and sports radio advertising platform.  Cordell & Cordell added former NFL star and Hall of Fame member Barry Sanders as spokesperson in December 2014.  Radio ads started in January.  In previous years, the firm worked with baseball Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith.

Harvey Chimoff is a marketing and business team leader who drives performance in consumer products and manufacturing companies.