Maschka Personal Injury
Leveling up in a noisy category
Maschka Riedy Ries & Frentz is a stalwart regional law firm, serving Southern Minnesota communities for 25 years. The firm’s managing partner, Jed Chronic, came to Sheepdog in 2024 looking to assess its marketing and business development strategies, which commanded significant budget and was counted on to maintain awareness and attract client cases. While strategically important, the firm’s messaging, creative execution, and media allocation were mostly driven by convention or opportunities that had arisen over the years. They needed an objective evaluation and path forward.
Sheepdog assessed the firm’s brand & marketing system across 12 areas of performance within four dimensions: positioning and competitive differentiation, brand identity, marketing planning, and execution across channels. Go-forward priorities were rated on their opportunity for impact and difficulty and cost to implement.
What stood out was how “conventional” the firm’s presence was in the crowded landscape of personal injury attorneys. From the lengthy, hard to remember firm name that included long-retired former partners, to billboard copy with the ubiquitous headline, “Injured?”, to an outdated website highlighting monetary settlements, the whole presentation was a bit tired and non-distinctive, in a highly competitive and heavily advertised business.
Sheepdog facilitated brand strategy exercises to identify what sets the Maschka firm apart. Where most firms promise outcomes, Maschka guides injury victims through the recovery process in a highly personal way. Where the face of other firms is one superstar lawyer, Maschka takes a team approach. Where other firms use hype, Maschka is plain spoken.
Working with trusted creative partner, Tony Lintner, Sheepdog set out to contemporize and energize the firm’s brand. We simplified the name to “Maschka Personal Injury” reflecting the founding partner’s with strong name recognition and highlighting the personal injury practice area. To improve online visibility, we acquired the m-law.com domain and updated the website with new messaging, photography and an ethos video telling the firm’s story. We consolidated the firm’s media presence to expand outdoor advertising along main southern Minnesota corridors where we could build a strong brand presence over time, and support it with geo-targeted SEO strategies and a high-profile arena sponsorship at the local University. New collateral systems targeted prospective clients and referring attorneys.
Taken together, the Maschka firm’s brand and marketing presentation transformed to become significantly more differentiating, memorable, and consistent. The partners and staff are energized by the new look and enjoying one of the best years in firm history.
“Our personal injury law firm worked with David on a major re-branding and re-tooling of our marketing strategy. David's expertise throughout the process was invaluable. He guided us through finding our true message by tapping into our firm's core ethos. He then took those values and crafted a brand identity that could not have better captured who we are and what we do.
During the creative process, David was able to leverage his connections to create top tier advertising materials, brand collateral and an overhaul of our website. Through this process, we have modernized our firm's brand while staying true to the core values of our founders and current members. This would not have been possible or executed at such a high level without David's expertise.
Perhaps most importantly, while David is a foremost expert in all things marketing, he is an even better person who guided us with patience, understanding and compassion.”
- Jed Chronic, Managing Partner
