Case Study: Online Campaign beats Print

We created this online ad campaign for our client, Merlin Law Group, after they settled insurance claims against State Farm on behalf of 103 Mississippi policyholders hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Knowing that many of those who lost their homes are living in other states and staying in touch via the local newspaper’s website, the ads touted policyholder information and connected viewers to the Firm’s educational site, KatrinaLawyers.com. Also created by Rearden Killion, the site features settlement media clips and client video testimonials obtained by our firm along with a policyholders’ FAQs section.

As many remain involved in State sponsored mediation, the ads pointed out that insurance companies were counting on the fact that policyholders will continue hoping for a fair offer as their time to file a lawsuit runs out. Most are unaware of the pending statute of limitations deadline of August 29, 2008, the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The ads began running at the same time ads created by the Firm’s Mississippi agency ran in the print version of the Sun Herald. Costing a third of the print executions, the online ads even appeared next to settlement news coverage and proved to be significantly more effective than the print ads—bringing triple the number of inquiries to date.

The ads also beat the national average for click through rates, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau by almost 5 points.

CFO Sink’s Office Opens Inquiry after Front Page Feature

Rearden Killion Communications placed this front-page feature that ran in last Sunday’s issue of the St. Petersburg Times—The State’s largest circulation newspaper.

The feature documented some of the hardships experienced by 43 low-income south-central Florida families hit by Hurricane Charlie and subsequently grossly underpaid by their insurer, United Casualty, a division of Unitrin. The story (click here to read it online) documents how some lived in their cars while others continue to live in damaged, unhealthy homes. Policyholder Roosevelt Brady, who continues to pay Unitrin for partial coverage, lost his wife to pneumonia as a result of living in mold-infested conditions.

Based in Chicago, Unitrin has a branded glass tower at the prestigious address of One Wacker Drive. With each policy at a max of $30,000 to $50,000, the company, which had $3 billion in revenues in 2006, would have been looking at a total payout of less than $250,000. Yet, the company decided to shortchange policyholders it saw as not having the means to fight.

Enter the Merlin Law Group, which is taking the case minus its usual contingency fee as, according to attorney David Pettinato, “They need all these monies to rebuild their lives.”

Thanks to the good reporting of journalist Tom Zucco, the State’s Department of Financial Services has began an inquiry into the Company’s practices (as noted in this follow up story) and is finding several discrepancies—including an attempt to cancel policies at the beginning of the 2007 hurricane season—an illegal act according to Florida law.

Stay tuned. This is going to get interesting.

Case Study: Heron House Assisted Living

We have been lucky to see our relationship with Heron House grow from one project into a long-term relationship. While the assisted living company recently sold four of its five Florida locations, we've managed a few accomplishments over the past two years worth talking about.

The company originally approached Rearden Killion to find an alternative to a brochure format that had grown stale and expensive to produce. We were able to revise and condense copy while adopting an elegant brochure/folder format that all locations share while only inserts featured specific location information and could easily be reprinted if prices change or updates are made. The new format lowered costs by over $2 per unit and is regarded as one of the best marketing pieces among the local industry.

With over $17 million in annual revenues, Heron House wanted to rein in the brand cohesion it has seen decline during a rapid expansion. A mystery-shopping program revealed proof of missed opportunity due to lack of procedure. A subsequent monitoring program was implemented at minimal cost that actually improved morale while eliminating any missed opportunity and improving overall customer relations.

A branding and grass roots campaign touted Heron House’s newest location and its tie to a community Church. The result was a 30% occupancy rate prior to opening—a near unheard of achievement among senior rental communities.




Buzz worthy community events have appealed to baby boomer family member decision makers while garnering the attention of the professional referral community. An example is our senior speed dating events that have been featured on Bay News 9, Fox 13 and as a Valentine’s Day cover story in the St. Petersburg Times.