A law firm in Springfield, Missouri recently teamed up with local TV station KODE-TV to give away bicycle helmets to the local community.
Aaron Sachs Associates, P.C. issued a press release marking their annual giveaway. In its 10th year, the firm claims to have given away about 18,000 bicycle helmets to children. Their press release gave some sobering statistics about children and bicycle accidents;
- 800 children are killed every as a result of colliding with a vehicle.
- Only 5% of children regularly wear properly fitted helmets.
- 75% of those killed die as a result of brain trauma.
As far as we’re concerned, Aaron Sachs Associates made a great move with this giveaway. (Not to mention a truly excellent website and superb domain name.) By providing the helmets for free, the firm positions itself as a community benefactor and keeps its name in the public eye. Assuming the bicycle helmets cost $20 each, and assuming they are responsible for the entire sum, the firm has spent approximately $360,000 over ten years, or $36,000 per year. Of course, that doesn’t take into account KODE-TV’s role, tax breaks for charitable giveaways, or any price break or product deal the firm may have been able to get from the helmet manufacturers or retailers.
Assuming the firm received no help from anyone and put up the $36,000 out of pocket, that’s still not a huge number . As the firm specializes in the kinds of injuries prevented by these helmets, and most likely uses a contingent fee model when handling a personal injury case, they wouldn’t need to take in very many new cases to recover expenses. Further assuming a 1/3rd contingency fee structure, they’d need a case that resulted in a $110,000 settlement (not including expenses and costs) to recover their helmet giveaway price. That number is probably a lot lower given the tax benefits and co-sponsorship. We don’t know what the numbers for an average settlement are, but if the firm takes on a single new personal injury client as a result of the giveaway, they have probably made a wise investment.
Oh yeah, and they’re giving away bicycle helmets to kids. At Christmas. How cool is that? We initially thought that Christmas might not be the best time for a bicycle helmet giveaway, as kids probably wouldn’t be doing a lot of riding in the cold and snow. (Perhaps a spring-time giveaway?) But, given that a lot of kids probably get their first bicycle for Christmas, we can see the merits of the timing.
On a side note, the firm has also taken full advantage of multiple media sources, offering a free brochure, free DVD, and web videos through their website. We don’t know whether these materials were produced in-house or outsourced to freelancers, marketing firm or their web designer, but no matter how they did it, we think it’s the right move. The firm knows its market, knows to focus on local keywords in its press releases and blog posts, and understands the importance of keeping its name out there in a positive, benevolent light.
Great marketing, preventing kids from getting hurt, helping the community and making a living all in the same package. Excellent.
(Photo courtesy indywriter’s Flickr page.)
