Croftons Solicitors LLP Accident App
Objectives
Croftons Solicitors LLP are a specialist firm of Personal Injury (PI) Solicitors dealing with all types of personal injury cases on a nationwide basis. They have a long history of providing high quality PI and other legal services to their clients.
Croftons developed a mobile application to respond to the effect digital communications - especially the advance in mobile technology - was having on how people bought products and services, including interaction with consumer-facing law firms.
The firm is in the vanguard of developing easy-to-use interactive channels of communication with clients and launched the ‘The Accident App’ to provide support for PI claims on the road and in the workplace.
Croftons briefed Souter PR to develop a campaign to support the launch of The Accident App. The campaign period was three months and the main objectives for Souter PR were:
- To increase awareness of The Accident App among potential claimants on the road and in the workplace UK-wide and to provide a platform for lead generation
- To enhance corporate reputation by positioning Croftons as an innovator – a solid, traditional firm with a 21st century modus operandii
Planning
- We researched existing apps to find our more about how the technology was being used, particularly within the legal sector
- We created a feature comparison document with details of The Accident App and three other market leading PI apps which could be used for benchmarking
- We set up a team meeting with Croftons and digital agency 3 Sheep, who had developed the App
- We created a PR launch strategy that was two fold - 1) consumer facing to attract potential claimants, and 2) business/sector focused to ensure that the firm was positioned as a traditional, reputable firm – not an ‘ambulance chaser!’
- We worked closely with the core team to agree strategy, activity roll out and ongoing analysis
Implementation
2011 is a momentous year for the legal sector as it faces deregulation and an increase in competition for skills and services. Croftons have recognised this and have been proactive in defining a position for itself in PI.
We identified key sectors to target including legal, claims and insurance, motor, manufacturing, retail and technology. The Accident App Launch press release was tailored according to these audiences, and positioned as a force for good and to show the firm’s commitment to moving with emerging technology and harnessing it to improve the claims process. A detailed Q and A document was drafted and circulated to the core team to support media inquiries.
Following the launch press activity, we created a series of follow up stories that demonstrated how the App could improve the claims process. This included working with a professor of psychology at Edinburgh University on people’s ability to recall details following an accident, as well as other influential third parties such as manufacturers and insurers.
We also rolled out an online competition, promoted on Twitter and Facebook, to drive traffic to the website where the App could be downloaded. The competition ran for a week with an iTunes giveaway each day if entrants answered a question related to a video clip about the App correct.
Results
- 24 pieces of coverage
- Total opportunities to see – (based on circulations/audience) – c 425,000
- 50% increase in traffic to Croftons website during campaign period
- 2000 competition entries
- 120 apps downloaded
Feedback
We first instructed Souter PR to help launch our new iPhone app, The Accident App, which in turn was to drive traffic to our websites and convert into clients. Souter PR came with good ideas, provided clear guidance and followed up on agreed action points, as well as being enjoyable to work with. Within six weeks of the instruction, we have seen significant media coverage which has led to a 50% increase with our website traffic. It’s still early days in case conversion but the signs are encouraging.
Simon Leighton, Managing Director, Croftons Solicitors LLP
