What does "exclusive audience access" actually mean?

When you work with us, the custom audiences we build for your firm are locked to your DMA. Other PI firms in your market cannot buy access to those same audiences through us. You're not bidding against your competitors for the same eyeballs.

Do you handle creative or do I need to bring my own?

We handle everything. Strategy, scripts, design systems, video production, and ongoing optimization. You approve — we execute. Most campaigns launch with 2-3 creative variations that we test and optimize over time.

How do you target people who actually need a PI lawyer?

We use a proprietary methodology built on real-world signals — not just demographics. The specifics are something we discuss in conversation, but the result is reaching high-intent households rather than spraying ads at everyone 25-54 with a pulse.

How do I know streaming TV is actually working?

We integrate with CallRail for call attribution and GA4 for web analytics. You'll see verified visits, branded search lift, form submissions, and call volume — all tied back to your streaming campaigns. We also run brand lift studies to measure awareness impact.

Do you work with firms already doing TV advertising?

Yes. Many of our clients are shifting budget from broadcast to streaming, or adding streaming to complement existing linear. We'll audit what you're doing now and show you where streaming fits.

What about compliance with bar advertising rules?

We're built for legal advertising. All creative is reviewed for state bar compliance before launch. We know the rules and we don't cut corners.

How quickly can we launch?

Most campaigns are live within 3-4 weeks. Creative timeline depends on scope — if you need full production from scratch, add 1-2 weeks. If you have existing assets we can optimize, we move faster.

How do you track phone calls from streaming ads?

We use Dial800 for toll-free tracking and CallRail for onsite dynamic number insertion. Every call is attributed to the campaign that drove it. We also test whether your market responds better to toll-free statewide numbers or local digit-friendly numbers.

When will I start seeing results?

Conversions typically start in the first 30 days. Month one you'll see web form fills, phone calls, and 'I saw your commercial' feedback. Month two we optimize — dayparting, creative performance, audience refinement. Month three and beyond, you're scaling what works.

Do you handle mass tort campaigns?

Yes. We identify exposure populations at the household level and run national campaigns with national exclusivity — one client per tort. We stay current on emerging torts and can scale based on your capacity.

What's the difference between your targeting and typical CTV platforms?

Most platforms sell demographic buckets — Adults 25-54, 'interested in legal.' We build custom audiences using real-world signals through LiveRamp, targeting by case type and market. And we don't sell the same audiences to your competitor.

Industry Analysis

Where Legal Ad Dollars Go — And Where the Audience Actually Is

Legal advertisers spent $2.64B in 2024. 73% went to traditional media. But 46% of TV viewing is now streaming. The money isn't where the audience is.

9 min read

By Taqtics Research

2025-01-29

Where Legal Ad Dollars Go — And Where the Audience Actually Is

The $2.6 Billion Mismatch in Legal Advertising

In 2024, legal services advertisers spent $2.64 billion on more than 26.9 million ads across the United States. That's a 39% increase since 2020.

But here's the problem: the money is going where the audience isn't.

Here's where the money went (Vivvix/ATRA data):

Channel	2024 Spend	Share
Television (broadcast/cable)	$1.03 billion	39%
Digital	$726 million	27%
Out-of-home (billboards, cinema)	$542 million	21%
Radio	$301 million	11%
Print	$41 million	2%

73% of legal advertising spend flows to traditional media — television, radio, billboards, and print. Meanwhile, 46% of all TV viewing has shifted to streaming, according to Nielsen.

The budgets haven't followed the audience.

Television: $1 Billion, Almost All Broadcast

Legal advertisers spent $1.03 billion on television in 2024. But not streaming. Traditional broadcast and cable.

Within that TV spend:

83% goes to Spot TV (local broadcast)
The remainder splits across network, cable, and syndication

The top Spot TV markets for legal advertising in 2024:

Market	Spot TV Spend	Ad Units
Los Angeles	$75.1 million	310,619
New York City	$40.8 million	147,681
Orlando	$34.1 million	391,692
Dallas	$28.0 million	181,785
Atlanta	$26.1 million	213,978
Tampa	$25.8 million	310,619
Miami	$26.1 million	190,407
San Francisco	$22.0 million	190,407
Chicago	$19.3 million	190,407
Detroit	$18.8 million	142,680

Morgan & Morgan alone spent $110.7 million on Spot TV in 2024 — more than 5x their closest competitor — purchasing over 1.5 million local TV ads.

This is the battlefield: expensive, crowded, and shrinking.

The Audience Shift: 46% Now Streaming

While legal advertisers pour $1 billion+ into broadcast and cable, the audience has moved.

Nielsen data shows streaming now accounts for 46% of all TV viewing — surpassing cable for the first time in July 2023. The trend is accelerating:

Pay-TV households dropped below 70 million in 2024
Down from 100+ million a decade ago
Projected to fall to 47.8 million by 2027

Connected TV (CTV) advertising spend nationally reached $30 billion in 2024 and is projected to exceed $40 billion by 2027. Yet legal advertisers remain overwhelmingly committed to traditional broadcast.

The math doesn't work. You can't reach half your audience by spending 83% of your TV budget on channels they've abandoned.

Who's Spending What

The top legal advertisers in 2024, according to ATRA/Vivvix:

Advertiser	2024 Total Spend	Ad Units
Morgan & Morgan	$218.2 million	2,470,854
LegalZoom	$59.7 million	69,255
Los Defensores	$48.7 million	158,264
Sweet James	$44.7 million	191,795
Thomas J. Henry	$38.8 million	613,050
Legal Help Center	$34.6 million	246,260
Jacoby & Meyers	$27.3 million	122,474
TopDog Law	$27.0 million	497,940
Rubenstein Law	$26.6 million	429,800
Farah & Farah	$26.0 million	517,536

Morgan & Morgan accounts for 8% of all legal services advertising in the United States. They outspend their closest competitor by nearly 4-to-1.

For regional firms, competing head-to-head on broadcast against this kind of budget is a losing proposition.

The Digital Problem

$726 million in digital legal advertising in 2024. But it's not the answer either.

Ad fraud is rampant. According to Juniper Research, $84 billion in digital ad spend was lost to fraud in 2023 — 22% of all online advertising. By 2028, that's projected to reach $172 billion.

Lead quality is cratering. Aggregators run ads, collect leads, sell them to 5-10 firms simultaneously. Conversion rates collapse. Cost per signed case skyrockets. Race to the bottom.

TCPA exposure is exploding. 507 class actions filed in Q1 2025 — 112% increase YoY. The new "1:1 consent rule" killed bulk consent sharing. Firms buying from aggregators inherit liability they can't control.

Digital isn't the answer. Not the way most firms do it.

The CTV Opportunity

Here's what makes CTV different from broadcast and digital lead gen:

Targeting: CTV allows behavioral and contextual targeting — not just demographics. You can reach households showing injury-related signals: urgent care visits, insurance queries, collision center activity. Not "Adults 25-54." People who might actually need a lawyer.

Attribution: Unlike broadcast, CTV is trackable. Impression → website visit → form fill → phone call. You can measure what's working.

Fraud resistance: CTV fraud rates are significantly lower than mobile or display advertising. The inventory is premium — Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+ — not bot farms.

Competition: While legal advertisers pour $1 billion into broadcast, CTV remains under-competed. Early movers have an advantage.

The audience is already there. 46% of TV viewing. The budgets just haven't caught up.

What This Means for Your Firm

If you're a regional PI firm spending on broadcast, you're fighting Morgan & Morgan's $218 million with what — $500K? $1 million? You're not going to out-broadcast them.

If you're buying leads from aggregators, you're paying for the same lead your competitors bought. And you're exposed to TCPA liability you can't control.

The firms positioned to win are:

Moving budget to CTV — reaching the 46% of viewers on streaming
Building owned audiences — not renting leads from aggregators
Investing in attribution — tracking from impression to signed case
Claiming market exclusivity — before competitors move

$2.6 billion industry. Audience has moved. Fraud is real. Regulatory exposure is growing.

The question isn't whether to adapt. It's whether you adapt before your competitors do.

Sources

American Tort Reform Association / Vivvix. "Legal Services Advertising in the United States – 2020-2024." March 2025. https://atra.org/white-paper-and-repo/legal-services-ads-2020-2024/
Nielsen. "The Gauge: Streaming Surpasses Cable." July 2023. https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/streaming-claims-largest-piece-of-tv-viewing-pie/
Statista / eMarketer. "Connected TV advertising spending in the United States from 2019 to 2027." 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1048897/connected-tv-ad-spend-usa/
Juniper Research. "Digital Ad Fraud: Market Forecasts, Key Verticals & Mitigation Strategies 2023-2028." September 2023. https://www.juniperresearch.com/research/digital-ad-fraud-costs-2023-2028
National Law Review. "The TCPA Landscape in 2025: Key Developments and Compliance Priorities." May 2025.

Published by Taqtics Research. Data current as of Q4 2025.

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