Introduction
Better known as an internet law firm, our client saw an opportunity to take a strong position on a false advertising campaign and convert it into a class action lawsuit, as the number of victims was likely to be significant. Stakes were also very high for claimants, most likely unfairly losing their job and being falsely accused of drug use.
The Problem:
How to determine the best course of action - whether to resolve a false advertising claim as an individual claimant or switch gears to discover how large the potential plaintiff pool is and file a class action lawsuit? Another problem facing the Kronenberger Rosenfeld team was how to identify the size of the pool of potential victims, then advertising for additional plaintiffs was likely to be against the advertising policies of social media platforms.
The Solution
This is the classic conundrum many lawyers face in the advertising law arena, in a case where someone is making a false advertising claim, are there more plaintiffs out there? And more importantly, is it worth the risk and cost of finding more?
In this case, people wishing to lose weight drank a tea that specifically stated that it did not contain THC. However, they subsequently failed drug tests and lost their jobs when their employers requested tests as a condition of their employment. There were news stories that ran earlier this year including a local Atlanta television station. Knowing that the number of people consuming weight loss tea is significant as people aim to get back into pre-COVID shape, the likelihood of finding additional victims was high, the only question is how to find them. This where FullFunnel stepped in.
What made this particularly challenging is that many social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, have advertising policies that do not even allow the use of the word marijuana or THC, even if the purpose of an advertisement is trying to identify victims. However, Google Ads proved to be an effective platform to solicit potential victims, although only text ads could be used to capture new leads. As is always the case with Google Ads, the advertiser pays per click, and not on the successful identification and sign-up of each new victim. Despite a higher volume of clicks than actual victims, FullFunnel found Google Ads to be an effective medium for collecting potential victims. This was done by focusing on the product name with the use of the words cannabis or hemp.
This approach was further augmented by a targeted inbox outreach campaign aimed at people who had participated in a forum about the THC allegedly drug free version of the tea, and the use of Reddit ads This bifurcated approach was very effective, as people who received an email were able to confirm its veracity by looking at Google and seeing the ad campaign.
The Outcome
All in all, Kronenberger Rosenfeld was able to identify a substantial number of verified plaintiffs whose lives were significantly impacted and justice was served by settling an 8-figure sum with the tea manufacturer. All of this was made possible by FullFunnel’s use of digital marketing channels.
