Most law firm ad campaigns fail for a simple reason. They are turned on before the foundation is built.In this strategic and refreshingly honest episode of Counsel Cast, host Karin Conroy is joined by Ryan Burch, founder of Tobie Group, an advertising and marketing consultancy known for bringing Fortune 500-level strategy to small and mid-sized businesses.Ryan breaks down why digital advertising platforms are not magic buttons, why “testing everything” is not a strategy, and why many law firms are unknowingly burning money by skipping the most important step, defining the right audience before launching ads.Together, Karin and Ryan explore what law firms actually need in place before running ads, how to diagnose what’s broken when campaigns stall or fail, and why you cannot use advertising to fix a weak marketing foundation.This episode reframes ads not as a quick win, but as a system that only works when the right inputs, tracking, and strategy are already in place.📌 You’ll learn:Why most law firm ads fail before they even launchThe difference between a goal and an actual marketing strategyWhy “audience first, always” changes everythingHow throwing money at ads without a foundation creates false conclusionsWhy digital ad platforms are powerful and dangerous at the same timeWhat law firms misunderstand about testing and experimentationHow to diagnose whether ads failed or the strategy didWhy your current clients are not always your ideal clientsHow market shifts and new competitors silently raise ad costsWhy marketing foundations must be revisited quarterlyThe real reason “it didn’t work last time” is often misleading💡 Featuring:Real-world case examples of law firms running ads without a strategic foundation, behind-the-scenes breakdowns of how legacy landing pages, outdated tracking, and misaligned audiences quietly drain budgets, and firsthand stories of campaigns that “failed” only because the inputs were wrong. Ryan shares how ad platforms amplify whatever system already exists, why spaghetti-at-the-wall testing creates false conclusions, and how firms unknowingly sabotage performance through messy websites, conflicting call tracking, and abandoned marketing remnants. Karin and Ryan unpack how Fortune 500-style thinking, clear audience definition, clean analytics, and disciplined systems turn ads from an expense into a predictable growth lever.Karin and Ryan give listeners actionable tips on:0:00 Introduction2:00 Why ad platforms feel powerful but confusing5:00 The danger of trusting platforms without strategy8:00 Why “we want more money” is not a strategy10:00 Defining the right audience before running ads13:00 Why your current clients may not be ideal clients15:00 Market shifts, competition, and rising ad costs18:00 Why foundations must be revisited regularly21:00 Diagnosing failed ad campaigns25:00 The role of tracking and analytics29:00 Cleaning up websites and legacy marketing clutter33:00 Why systems beat one-off wins37:00 Art, science, and human psychology in marketing41:00 Where AI fits and where it doesn’t45:00 SEO, brand signals, and modern discovery48:00 Practical next steps for law firms50:00 Book recommendation and closing thoughtsResources mentioned in this episode:Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 by Jim Collinshttps://adsreportcard.com Connect with Ryan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobiegroup/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tobiegroup/ YouTube: https://youtu.be/a9EVr6NVN1g https://tobiegroup.com/ Connect with meInstagramPinterestFacebookTwitterKarin on TwitterKarin on LinkedInConroy Creative Counsel on Facebookhttps://conroycreativecounsel.com