Legal Services Advertising – California

Legal Services Advertising – California – 2019-2023

| March 19, 2024

In 2023, it is estimated that $2.4 billion was spent

In 2023, it is estimated that $2.4 billion was spent on more than 26 million local legal services television, radio, print ads or billboards soliciting legal claims across the United States — an increase of more than 5% compared to these types of local ads in 2022.

In 2023, more than $609.7 million was spent on approximately 650,000 national legal services advertisements. This includes print, digital, network radio, cable television, network television, and syndicated television ads.

In 2023, more than $238.8 million was spent on more than 2.3 million local legal services advertisements in California’s 14 media markets. This includes print, digital, local and national spot radio, outdoor, and spot TV.

Data analysis reveals compelling trends in advertising expenditure over the years. When compared with the dollar amount spent on local legal services ads in 2019, overall spending in California’s media markets increased by nearly 66%, with the overall quantity of ads increasing by more than 21%. However, it’s crucial to note that the cost of digital advertising has experienced a significant surge since 2019, accounting somewhat for the discrepancy between the increase in spending and the increase in the quantity of ads.

Furthermore, from 2019 to 2023, spending on spot TV surged by 62%, accompanied by an almost 82% increase in the quantity of spot TV ads. Outdoor ad spending witnessed a remarkable upsurge of nearly 212% during the same period. Comparatively, between 2019 and 2023, spending on radio ads surged by almost 44%, while the quantity of radio ads surged by more than 68% when juxtaposed with the average spending between 2019 and 2022. These data points underscore the evolving landscape of legal services advertising and its expanding footprint across various media channels.

An analysis of the Top 3 legal services advertising mediums in California, radio, out-of-home, and spot television, was conducted to determine the top categories of legal services ads.

More than 75% of legal services ads in California in 2023 were specific to personal injury, including ads for vehicle and motorcycle accident attorneys. More than 61% of all dollars spent on legal services ads in California in 2023 was spent on personal injury ads.

An additional $2.13 million was spent on approximately 30,100 product liability ads for legal services, including ads related to vehicle recalls, medical devices, pharmaceutical drugs, and talcum powder.