Mastering Digital Notice in Class Actions: Insights for Attorneys
In today's legal world, digital ads are revolutionizing how class action notices reach potential class members who may be affected by a class action settlement. With 85% of Americans using the internet daily and almost one-third “constantly” online (Pew Research Center, 2021), this method of legal notice dissemination is particularly valuable, especially when data concerning class members is incomplete or unavailable. However, it is crucial to ensure that legal compliance within these digital marketing strategies meets legal standards while properly informing affected individuals of their legal rights and obligations.
Targeting the Right Audience
As the digital marketing landscape constantly evolves, correctly identifying and engaging the right audience is critical to the success of class action legal notice campaigns. Notice experts executing the marketing campaigns must accurately identify and target the appropriate individuals. By analyzing data and class member definitions, notice experts can craft strategies that reach the right audience in the best manner possible.
This foundational step involves understanding the target audience, including consumers of mislabeled goods, employees owed back wages or individuals affected by a data breach. Identifying the target audience often requires cross-referencing existing customer or employee databases that may be provided to the administrator. A thorough understanding of the class member definition, the relevant class period, geographic location, personal data involved, and the nature of the complaint is essential to conducting comprehensive market research.
Furthermore, notice experts must have a deep understanding of the allegations outlined in the complaint, their implications for the individuals involved, and the specific notice requirements for class actions. Beyond simply disseminating legal notices, notice experts must analyze how the case impacts those affected, including conducting extensive research on the implicated product(s) or service(s), understanding market presence, consumer perceptions, and any related controversies. This thorough market research guarantees the accuracy and relevance of the campaign, not only in identifying the audience but also regarding the products, services, or practices implicated in the legal allegations.
Settlement Alignment
When developing a digital marketing plan for a legal notice, the notice expert should consult and collaborate with Counsel to determine the campaign goals. These goals may include achieving a broad reach to target audiences, repeating messages enough for people to be aware of the allegations, implementing engagement strategies to hit a specific claims rate goal, running cost-effective campaigns, or using specific tactics to reach hard-to-find class members. Moreover, the effectiveness of the legal notice campaign is influenced by its duration, which may align with specific timelines stipulated in the settlement, such as the notice or claims period or any other timeframe agreed upon by the parties involved. These goals, evaluated and quantified by data analytics, are essential to a campaign's success, enhancing visibility, engagement, and conversion rates.
Using Data Analytics and Conducting Market Research
Digital media consumption has skyrocketed, with the average American spending more than 2.5 hours on social media platforms daily (Statista, 2023). By using data analytics and market research tools, a notice expert can provide quantifiable evidence and insights into how people behave online, what they like, and how they interact, which are crucial for building a targeted strategy.
Data from class actions that received final approval and had similar allegations, products, consumer interactions, or business marketing initiatives can help identify trends and pinpoint affected regions, guiding and informing advertisement strategies and adjustments. Selecting the appropriate media channels that fit into the audiences’ daily lives is essential to communicating legal information effectively. Thorough market research on all aspects of the settlement—such as the products/services, employers, and geographic areas involved—allows notice experts to develop targeted and impactful communication strategies. In alignment with Rule 23(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which mandates that class members must receive the "best notice practicable under the circumstances," this approach ensures that the legal notice reaches the right recipients, enhancing understanding and engagement among class members, promoting transparency, and facilitating the settlement process. Furthermore, staying updated on digital marketing best practices and platform-specific guidelines is essential to ensure that legal notices are visible on platforms the target audience uses. For instance, as of September 2024, TikTok Agency Representatives have stated that class action and other legal-related advertisements are prohibited on the platform. It is crucial to stay updated as platform policies may evolve, which could impact a proposed legal notice plan.
The Power of Social Media on Class Action Notice
The explosion of social media use in recent years has further emphasized the importance of digital advertisement in class action notice campaigns. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn have become must-use tools for reaching a wide audience. Statista projects that social media platforms will have 4.89 billion users worldwide by 2025 (Statista, 2023). In the United States, nearly all individuals are on social media, with Pew Research Center indicating that over 90% of adults use at least one social media platform, making it an invaluable avenue for reaching potential class members. And while some social platforms like TikTok prohibit legal-related advertisements, other platforms provide robust tools to target the right audience. For instance, Facebook’s ‘lookalike audience’ feature enables advertisers to reach users who share similar traits with known class members, significantly enhancing the relevance of the notice campaign (Facebook, 2023).
The Importance of the Creative Design Elements
The Federal Judicial Center's Plain Language Notice Guide shapes the rules for crafting digital notice creatives. Creatives should have a clear and compelling message, incorporating a strong visual component. This includes attention-grabbing headlines, calls-to-action (CTA) directing individuals to the next step, and personalization to increase relevance and engagement. Ideally, creatives should align with the brand’s identity to assist with instant awareness. It is crucial to adjust creatives for different media platforms and devices to make the campaign as effective as possible.
Advanced Segmentation Tools
Digital advertising platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn provide advanced tools for building custom audiences based on demographics, interests, behaviors, website visits, and prior ad interactions. By leveraging these tools, notice campaigns can be hyper-targeted, increasing the likelihood of reaching the intended audience. With the rise of AI in digital marketing, these platforms can now predict user behavior and engagement, ensuring more accurate delivery of legal notices.
Location-Based and Action-Based Targeting
Location-based targeting enables ads to be delivered to specific locations, improving the campaign's relevance and ensuring the right individuals receive notice. To accomplish this, a thorough understanding of the geographic and demographic factors relevant to the settlement is crucial for tailoring the campaign. This includes researching the locations where the alleged incidents occurred, the demographics of the affected consumers or employees, and any associated socioeconomic factors. Similarly, identifying online behaviors that indicate interest in the products or services mentioned in the complaint can enhance the precision and effectiveness of the campaign's reach.
Lookalike and Interest-Based Targeting
Lookalike targeting—available on platforms like Facebook—along with 'matched audiences' on LinkedIn and 'similar audiences' on Google helps identify new individuals who share characteristics with an existing audience. When combined with interest-based targeting, these tools maximize the relevance and impact of advertising efforts, increasing the likelihood of reaching those who might be affected by the class action.
Optimize, Analyze, Repeat, and Report
Digital advertisement requires ongoing monitoring, optimization, and robust reporting to ensure maximum effectiveness. This process may involve redefining audiences who are being targeted, reallocating budgets to platforms with better engagement or reach, or adjusting ad content based on performance analytics and real-time audience feedback. Regular reporting is essential to track key metrics such as click-through rates, engagement, and conversion rates, providing valuable insights for continuous improvement. A study from Google reveals that campaigns optimized in real-time achieve a 20% higher return on investment (Google, 2023). These reports enable notice experts to make data-driven decisions, ensuring the campaign remains aligned with the settlement objectives. Conducting A/B testing of different creative elements and audience segments allows for fine-tuning strategies, maximizing the relevance and reach of legal notices. By incorporating continuous optimization and regular reporting, notice experts can ensure legal notice campaigns remain efficient, targeted, and compliant throughout their duration, thereby providing accurate and substantiated information for the declaration submitted to the court.
Conclusion
Digital media campaigns have become essential for disseminating legal notices in specific class action settlements. Success depends on notice experts’ deep understanding of the case, precise audience identification, and clear campaign goals. They must use advanced segmentation and targeting techniques, craft strategic, visually engaging content, and continuously optimize performance until the notice campaign’s conclusion. This comprehensive approach supports delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time through the most effective media channels while maintaining compliance with legal due process.
About the Author
Randi J. Martz is the Director of Marketing and Business Development and a Notice Expert at CPT Group. With over 16 years of experience in class action administration, Randi's research, planning, and design expertise enables her to create innovative legal notice programs. Her strategic recommendations help clients streamline processes and reduce costs, achieving their settlement goals efficiently.
References
Pew Research Center. (2021). Internet use over time: Trends in digital media consumption. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet
Statista. (2023). Average time spent on social media platforms. https://www.statista.com/social-media-platform-usage
Pew Research Center. "Social Media Use in 2021." Pew Research Center, 7 April 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021/.
Facebook. (2023). How lookalike audiences work. https://www.facebook.com/business/help/164749007013531
Google. (2023). Real-time optimization in digital advertising. https://www.google.com/ads/resources/optimizing-campaigns
