Snow Communications, Inc.

Merchant & Gould is a national law firm engaged exclusively in intellectual property law. The firm has over 100 attorneys at eight offices nationwide and a rich 110-year history. When it came to Snow Communications looking for PR support, we emphasized the need for a long-term vision and strategy. That was in 2001. Today the program is stronger than ever.

Our Objectives

• Position Merchant & Gould as a leading national IP law firm.
• Promote Merchant & Gould attorneys as legal experts regarding IP trends and relevant cases.
• Drive new business opportunities for the firm.

Our Actions

• Identified key experts within the firm who could contribute their expertise on various issues.
• Contacted local and national media outlets to establish Merchant & Gould attorneys as experts on relevant IP topics and trends.
• Placed and prepared bylined articles on relevant IP-related issues for national, business and legal media.

The Results

• Since Snow retained the firm, media coverage has increased on an annual basis with Snow securing 154 placements this past year.
• In its critical local market, Merchant & Gould has consistently been the dominant source regarding third-party IP expertise quoted by the media.
• Media penetration included key publications in the IP and legal press: IP Law 360, The National Law Journal, Managing Intellectual Property and Intellectual Property Today.
• Vertical market penetration through bylined placement in Biotech, Bio-IT World and Genetic Engineering World.
• Business press coverage included attorney quotes in Forbes, Inc.com, the Star Tribune and E-Commerce Times, among dozens of others.
• Snow Communications was awarded first place for a media relations campaign by the Legal Marketing Association’s Minnesota chapter, three years in a row.
• Several attorneys have earned new business directly as a result of their appeared coverage on a given subject, including one client worth more than $1 million annually to the firm as a result of a single article placement.

For a full decade, Snow Communications has been developing and managing relationships between the media and the attorneys of Merchant & Gould. We have launched new offices, announced major litigation victories, promoted key practice areas and maintained a steady flow of news coverage for the firm, year after year. We meet regularly with Merchant & Gould’s marketing director, senior management and attorneys to constantly develop new strategies and gather PR topics of interest. And our results, measured by total number of positive media placements, have only grown as the years go by. By building an intimate relationship with the client, Snow is able to reach new heights and produce noticeable results, helping to make Merchant & Gould one of the top IP firms in the nation.