In the Media - Two Years of OIC

Commenting on the OIC portal two year anniversary, Andy Cullwick, head of marketing at First4Lawyers says: “Like it or loathe it, the OIC is here to stay. The bigger issue for me is the drastic drop in the number of claims, which has almost halved in the last five years.

“The pandemic and the prospect of reduced damages undoubtedly contributed. However, cuts to law firms’ advertising budgets and the increasing move away from mainstream platforms to more below-the-line methods may have also played their part.

“Perhaps consumers simply aren’t as aware of their right to claim these days and, if so, is it time that we, as an industry, took action to address that.

“This could take the form of a genuine collective whose sole aim is to create and execute successful marketing campaigns that reach potential claimants and inform them of their rights and routes to redress.

“The idea of competitors coming together and investing time and money in this non-branded approach, particularly when budgets are stretched, may seem counter-intuitive, but it may also be the only way we will see the market bounce back.”