[audio:http://geekcast.fm/podpress_trac/web/1976/0/brandmouthing-16.mp3]
This week on the Brandmouthing podcast, I talk about a double branding faux pas of a contractor in my neighborhood.
Not only do they plant these ugly signs in yards when they’re doing work at a house (and leave them behind when they’re done), but they are marketing their business with a lousy sign that says nothing but information overload.
If you are not sure whether your marketing message is clear, Keep It Simple, Stupid!
And get permission for your marketing, because you’re tarnishing your brand when you add your blight to my neighborhood and don’t have the courtesy to ask.
Show Notes
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This website sells the best custom signs and banners. I was able to “KISS” with their custom signs.
When I ran a painting contracting business, I would offer my customers a $75 discount if they would allow the signs to remain in their yard for 4 weeks.
Now, in many areas of the country the city or county usually owns some portion of land between the street and your own property. Depending on the area placing signs in these areas can be legal without the permission of the person who’s property is closest (as it is on public land essentially).
There’s not anything to stop any other citizen from removing the sign after you place it, (and I’m not encouraging sign spam either) but this is not always a binary situation. Ergo, they may not need permission to add it to your neighborhood at all, but then again, you do not have to ask permission to remove it either. This is typically why a smarter marketer will seek some type of ‘buy in’ from someone near the location of the sign placement.
Fortunately, many areas of the country will soon have the means to collect more tax revenue from affiliate marketers (not that I agree nor disagree with this move) but maybe they will use some of that tax revenue to combat this blight.
Your Message@Shawn Collins:
Ahhhh… I see. Then that is an entirely different matter. I agree with you on this – if the contractor was working on your home and placed a sign on your personal property without your express permission – then he/she has overstepped their legal bounds. In this matter (though it isn’t something I would normally encourage), if the fact that the signage was left bothers you, you can report him to the county. And, obviously, remove the sign(s). There are fines for those who do not abide by the sign laws. However, if you decide to take that track, I would suggest not ever using his/her service again as there may be some latent hostility regarding any fines the company had to pay.
The more sensible solution – unless you are looking to make a point – would be to simply remove the signs. If you do use the company again, make it abundantly clear that you will not allow your property to be used as a marketing or advertising device
@Gwynn:
Thanks Gwynn – sorry I didn’t go into more detail. I’ve had contractors leave their signs in my yard when they came to work on my house, and they didn’t ask permission.
I have no doubt these signs work, but they are eyesores.
As the office manager of Super Cheap Signs I can honestly say that this sign is information overload. However, while it is true that KISS should apply to yard signs, I agree that yard signs do work – if they didn’t we wouldn’t have so many repeat customers.
As for “permission” to place these signs – any contractor that is currently working on a home or project requires only the permission of the home owner they are working for (granted the HOA allows signage), not the permission of the whole neighborhood. If marketers required a communities permission before they could advertise – we would have a lot less commercials, radio ads and building signs for the local corner store, etc.
Most counties have sign regulations that must be adhered to. As long as people are meeting the requirements of the county sign laws – they have the right to market themselves through signage… just my humble opinion
While I agree with you that the sign is a little on the over load side of things, and I empathize with you about the excess signage nationwide from contractors, realtors, politicians and even affiliates, these signs can be very effective, and I suspect this sign is effective for this contractor as well.
Having run a contracting business in the 90′s, I know first hand that these signs do bring in leads. Sometimes marketing is not always pretty, sometimes the ads cause blight in both neighborhoods, tv, and that cranky old place called the internet, but when they work people will use them.
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