Podcast Summary

Podcast: Personal Injury Mastermind w/ Chris Dreyer

Episode 381: Lessons From Marketing at Scale with James Helm – PIMCON Keynote
Date: January 8, 2026
Guest: James Helm, Founder of Top Dog Law
Host: Chris Dreyer

Episode Overview

This keynote conversation explores lessons learned from marketing at scale in the personal injury (PI) law space. James Helm, founder of Top Dog Law, unpacks how he grew a PI brand from the ground up, the strategic allocation of ad dollars at various growth stages, building memorable brand equity, and tactical insights on creative, radio, and social media advertising. The episode is designed to equip PI firm owners and marketers to scale efficiently, invest smarter in marketing, and build recognizable brands that win market share.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. James Helm’s Origin Story and Building Top Dog Law

[01:03-02:30]

• Helm shares his journey: Only child with pressure to succeed; overcame struggles including rehab at age 25; rebuilt confidence through small wins; after law school, launched Top Dog Law with savings from PPC/SEO sales.

• Quote:

  "How do you get self-confidence? I think it's from keeping the small promises you make to yourself."
  — James Helm (01:42)

• He started from scratch, scaling to “one of the largest intake operations” with 70+ intake specialists and eventually commanding tens of millions in ad spend.

2. Solving the Cash Flow Problem and Organic Growth Hacking

[02:30-03:42]

• Initial challenge: Slow case turnover (2 years in PA), crippling cash flow.
• Solution: Helm aggressively used Instagram — viral skits, rap videos, stories — to grow brand organically before running ads.
• Quote:

  "That organic Instagram strategy I started in 2019 ultimately got up to 500 cases a month just doing that. No ad spend, just being consistent about stories, videos, making super viral content."
  — James Helm (03:11)

3. Brand vs. Performance Marketing—Defining and Deciding

[03:42-05:12]

• Brand Marketing: Building top-of-mind awareness so people search for “Top Dog” instead of “PI lawyer.”
• Performance Marketing: Capturing intent/search via PPC, etc.
• Helm’s philosophy: Early-stage firms (<$1M marketing budget) should favor performance marketing for cash flow, leveraging referrals from direct contact. Brand investment makes sense as budget scales ($3M-$10M+).
• Quote:

  "The easiest way that you can measure is your brand marketing working is to look at your branded search... month over month, how many people are searching for you."
  — James Helm (04:33)

4. The Power of Memorable Brand Names & Creative

[07:00-09:21]

• Inspiration from other “trade name” brands (e.g., Law Boss) – simple, sticky, easy to refer.
• Top Dog Law was chosen for memorability and word-of-mouth potential.
• Helm emphasizes that advertising is about being remarkable — prioritizing unforgettable creative over technical legal messaging.
• Parody raps and other viral tactics became signature moves.
• Memorable moment:

  "The first time I was in the studio... I have to go to the mic and do my lines... I was so terrified. And I came out... and everybody in the room was laughing at how bad I was... and then it comes out and you hear it and you're like, oh my God, that's me. That's awesome."
  — James Helm (11:19)

5. Omnipresence & Media Mix: Hitting Prospects Everywhere

[12:41-13:41]

• Goal: Be omnipresent via buses, radio, Facebook—cross-channel saturation.
• Not about timing the accident, but about being the default lawyer when need arises.
• Radio requires repetition and should be part of a broader content blitz.

6. Deep Dive: Facebook Ads and the Case for Creators

[14:05-17:27]

• Facebook ads: Helm prefers them—one ad can reach millions, drastically reducing organic content workload.

• Facebook is both a brand play (awareness) and performance play (direct leads with attribution).

• Quote:

  "The phone is the tv. So the same way people would sit in the living room and watch the tv, if they're watching your Facebook ads... you're still getting that top of mind awareness."
  — James Helm (15:21)

• Key Hiring Advice: Hire creators, not just social media managers; creators are specialists in making attention-grabbing content.

• Use budget to collaborate with people already adept at platform trends, especially on TikTok/Instagram.

7. Influencer & “Dream 100” Strategy

[17:27-18:42]

• Seek out local influencers, creators with platform mastery.
• Leverage the “Dream 100” concept (Russell Brunson/Traffic Secrets)—target the 100 people your ideal client already follows or trusts for brand collaborations.

8. Modern Marketing Mix – Where Should PI Law Firms Invest in 2026?

[18:42-21:12]

• Helm breaks down the tiered approach:
  • Referral only: Many still thrive via pure referrals.
  • Performance/lead gen: Firms add paid marketing for predictable growth.
  • Brand domination: Mature firms invest heavily to “own” their local market; at scale, Helm allocates roughly 75% brand spend vs. 25% performance.
  • TV skepticism: 75% of legal brand dollars still go to TV, which Helm sees as lagging; prefers social/streaming, radio, and outdoor.
  • Marketing mix modeling: Use advanced analytics to judge which ad channels truly bring in incremental leads/cases.
• Quote:

  "Once you scale spend, marketing and intake stop being separate conversations. One creates demand; the other decides whether that demand turns into signed cases."
  — Chris Dreyer (21:12)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Self-confidence through small wins: "How do you get self-confidence? I think it's from keeping the small promises you make to yourself." — James Helm (01:42)
• On building viral brand growth without ad spend: "That organic Instagram strategy... got up to 500 cases a month... just being consistent about stories, videos, making super viral content." — James Helm (03:11)
• Performance vs. brand marketing: "If you have a million dollars, putting that money into brand is really, really tricky... you're better off putting that money into performance marketing that's going to get me cases now." — James Helm (05:00)
• On choosing Top Dog as a brand: "Top Dog is easy to spell, easy to remember... it's about getting attention... how do you become remarkable to somebody?" — James Helm (09:27)
• The omnipresence strategy: "My goal is I want them to see us on a bus and then hear one of our radio spots and then open up their phone and see a Facebook..." — James Helm (12:55)
• The case for hiring creators over social media managers: "What if you could invest with people that are actually going to create content?... You're going to be much more successful..." — James Helm (16:16)
• Disrupting with media mix: "We want to lean into YouTube, we want to lean into streaming, we're big on the radio, we want to do a lot of outdoor." — James Helm (19:45)
• Marketing-intake alignment: "One creates demand; the other decides whether that demand turns into signed cases." — Chris Dreyer (21:12)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• James Helm background, overcoming adversity: [01:03]–[02:30]
• Scaling via Instagram/organic: [02:30]–[03:42]
• Brand vs. performance marketing allocation: [03:42]–[07:00]
• Choosing and building a memorable brand name: [07:00]–[09:21]
• Creative advertising & the power of memorable content: [09:21]–[12:41]
• Tactics for radio & omnipresence: [12:41]–[13:41]
• Facebook ads and hiring creators: [14:05]–[17:27]
• Finding & leveraging creators/influencers ("Dream 100"): [17:27]–[18:42]
• 2026 marketing mix: channel strategy & effectiveness: [18:42]–[21:12]

Takeaways for PI Firm Owners

• Start with performance marketing for fast growth, but invest in brand to own your market as you scale.
• Be “remarkable” and memorable in your creative—don’t just check boxes.
• Omnipresence is key: be visible everywhere your audience is.
• Prioritize creators/content specialists over generic social media management.
• Continuously test, model, and adjust your marketing mix to maximize ROI and grow branded search.
• Intake and marketing must be tightly aligned at scale—demand is only as valuable as your ability to sign cases.

This summary delivers the core lessons and tactical tips from James Helm’s PIMCON keynote, equipping PI law firm operators and marketers with actionable models for scaling and differentiating their firms in crowded markets.