Just
because
you
know
somebody,
doesn’t
mean
you
appreciate
exactly
what
it
is
they
do
for
a
living.
Take
our
current
interviewee,
a
gentleman
married
to
one
of
my
wife’s
cousins
and
someone
who
I
have
known
for
at
least
20
years.
Yes,
we
have
gotten
to
speaking
a
lot
more
often
in
recent
years
when
he
and
his
family
relocated
from
Memphis
to
New
Jersey,
but
the
reality
is
that
other
than
knowing
he
was
a
lifelong
Saints
fan
and
native
New
Orleanian,
I
didn’t
really
know
much
about
his
professional
life.
That
started
to
change
when
he
would
check
in
from
time
to
time
on
a
random
copyright
question,
but
I
always
chalked
such
queries
up
to
the
fact
that
he
was
involved
in
online
marketing
of
some
sort.
Thankfully,
however,
we
recently
got
to
talking
more
in
depth
about
his
work,
including
the
fact
that
he
is
currently
building
a
website
for
a
leading
patent
litigation
boutique
firm.
Turns
out,
he
has
a
lot
to
share
with
respect
to
the
ever-important
issue
of
law
firm
marketing,
making
him
a
great
choice
for
an
interview
in
our
long-running
“3
Questions
For”
written
interview
series.
So
let’s
meet
Jonathan
Blotner,
the
founder
and
owner
of
Blotner
Mass
Media,
a
full-service
marketing
and
advertising
agency
established
in
1994.
Through
Blotner
Mass
Media,
Jonathan
combines
cutting-edge
digital
strategies
with
time-tested
advertising
fundamentals
to
help
clients
grow,
compete,
and
lead
in
their
markets.
With
over
three
decades
of
experience
to
offer
his
clients,
Jonathan
has
built
a
reputation
as
a
trusted
consultant
and
strategist
across
multiple
industries,
with
particular
expertise
in
legal/law
firm
marketing,
medical
practice
marketing,
and
retail
and
eCommerce
marketing.
His
deep
knowledge
spans
both
traditional
and
digital
media.
He
specializes
in
TV
streaming
advertising
(CTV
&
OTT),
website
design,
SEO,
social
media
marketing,
content
development,
email
marketing,
and
full-scale
creative
services.
His
agency
also
continues
to
deliver
strong
results
in
traditional
advertising,
including
TV,
radio,
print,
and
direct
mail.
As
this
readership
knows,
a
cohesive
and
effective
marketing
strategy
is
a
must
for
every
IP-focused
practitioner
and
law
firm.
And
just
as
IP
practice
is
always
changing
in
response
to
technological
developments,
it
is
without
a
doubt
true
that
what
functions
as
effective
law
firm
marketing
today
is
very
different
that
what
worked
ten
or
even
five
years
ago.
Accordingly,
we
all
should
probably
be
thinking
about
marketing
more
often
than
we
do,
so
I
very
much
welcome
the
opportunity
to
share
Jonathan’s
insights
with
this
audience.
As
usual,
I
have
added
some
brief
commentary
to
Jonathan’s
answer
to
my
first
question
below,
but
have
otherwise
presented
his
answer
as
he
provided
it.
Gaston
Kroub: What
challenges
do
IP
lawyers
have
from
a
marketing
perspective
that
may
not
be
found
in
marketing
fields
of
law
like
personal
injury
and
medical
malpractice?
Jonathan
Blotner:
The
legal
industry
is
incredibly
specialized
—
especially
in
fields
like
patent
law,
where
there’s
often
a
niche
within
a
niche.
This
means
the
margin
for
generic
messaging
is
slim.
In
our
experience,
lawyers
—
especially
in
IP
—
value
precision,
credibility,
and
positioning
above
all
else.
Unlike
other
industries
where
storytelling
and
broad
appeal
may
take
center
stage,
legal
marketing
must
strike
a
balance
between
authority
and
accessibility.
A
well-designed
site
for
a
law
firm
needs
to
capture
a
prospective
client’s
trust
within
the
first
30
seconds
—
both
visually
and
substantively.
Marketing
IP
legal
services,
particularly
in
patent
law,
requires
navigating
a
complex
audience
with
highly
technical
needs.
Unlike
personal
injury
or
medical
malpractice,
where
emotional
appeals
or
client
testimonials
play
a
central
role,
IP
marketing
must
balance
legal
acumen
with
deep
subject-matter
expertise
—
often
across
science,
engineering,
and
software.
The
target
clients
—
startups,
in-house
counsel,
R&D
leaders,
and
inventors
—
are
discerning
and
expect
substance
over
slogans.
Furthermore,
the
confidentiality
of
ongoing
innovations
and
litigation
makes
it
harder
to
showcase
case
studies
or
results
publicly.
IP
lawyers
must
therefore
rely
on
thought
leadership,
speaking
engagements,
technical
content
marketing,
and
carefully
crafted
messaging
that
signals
credibility
without
overselling.
The
goal
is
to
establish
authority
in
both
law
and
technology
without
appearing
self-promotional
—
a
far
more
nuanced
challenge
than
in
consumer-facing
areas
of
law.
GK:
There
is
a
lot
to
like
in
Jonathan’s
answer,
but
the
point
that
I
find
most
interesting
is
his
astute
observation
that
the
confidential
nature
of
the
work
done
by
IP
attorneys
adds
complexity
to
marketing
their
achievements.
Perhaps
that
is
why
IP
trial
lawyers
focus
their
marketing
on
highlighting
big
verdicts
received,
or
cases
successfully
defended,
rather
than
on
the
amazing
work
they
did
helping
their
client
avoid
a
filed
case
in
the
first
place.
Likewise,
IP
prosecution
specialists
tend
to
focus
on
counting
stats
like
numbers
of
applications
filed
when
it
comes
to
marketing,
or
the
types
of
clients
they
represent
–
as
a
proxy
for
actually
discussing
the
quality
of
the
work
they
are
capable
of.
The
problem
is
perhaps
most
acute
for
IP
licensing
specialists,
who
very
rarely
get
to
brag
about
their
deft
negotiation
of
a
contractual
clause
in
a
public-facing
manner.
At
bottom,
Jonathan’s
answer
confirms
that
IP
firms
looking
to
refine
their
marketing
efforts
are
advised
to
work
with
marketing
professionals
in
tune
with
the
realities
of
IP
practice,
as
well
as
the
most
effective
way
of
presenting
an
IP
lawyer
or
firm’s
qualifications
to
the
target
audience.
We
will
continue
with
Jonathan’s
answers
to
questions
2
and
3
next
time,
which
will
center
on
both
his
work
developing
websites
for
IP
firms,
as
well
as
his
thoughts
on
how
IP
firms
should
be
marketing
their
facility
with
AI
tools
–
if
they
have
that
capability,
of
course..
In
the
meantime,
feel
free
to
reach
out
to
Jonathan
for
potential
solutions
to
any
marketing
issues
your
practice
is
facing…
Please
feel
free
to
send
comments
or
questions
to
me
at
[email protected]
or
via
Twitter:
@gkroub.
Any
topic
suggestions
or
thoughts
are
most
welcome.
Gaston
Kroub
lives
in
Brooklyn
and
is
a
founding
partner
of Kroub,
Silbersher
&
Kolmykov
PLLC,
an
intellectual
property
litigation
boutique,
and Markman
Advisors
LLC,
a
leading
consultancy
on
patent
issues
for
the
investment
community.
Gaston’s
practice
focuses
on
intellectual
property
litigation
and
related
counseling,
with
a
strong
focus
on
patent
matters.
You
can
reach
him
at [email protected] or
follow
him
on
Twitter: @gkroub.