Bad idea?

Paul Rodgers

Paul Rodgers

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Thinking about making up a banner and zip tying it to local the train station. Figure it should stay up a few days before someone takes it down and it's a lot of eyeballs. Is this a bad idea or something I could get in trouble for?
 
Look up the laws and ordinances for your local area. If the fine is small enough, it might be worth it. Do it multiple times though and you'll get some really p*ssed off people. Back when I started I would put up paper signs on wood telephone poles. I was fined $25 for each occurrence. It was worth it. Apparently I wasn't the only one that thought so because there were multiple businesses doing it. And the city intentionally kept the signs up for a week. I think they used it as a way to gain extra money. I'm sure it was going into someone's pocket.
 
Might get you prosecuted for vandalism, or defacement, or whatever other charge they can shoehorn it into. Other than that, sounds like a fine idea. :eek:
 
Computer Bloke said:
If you're going to deface a railway station or any other building that you don't own then spray paint is more permanent and guaranteed to get you noticed. Mixing the paint with muriatic acid makes it harder to remove and even more cost effective.

(Can you tell that I think it's a bad idea?)
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...
 
Paul Rodgers said:
Eh it's a $25 fine from MTA. I'm ok with the risk.
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I'd double check on that. Most places have that kind of fine for people that put up a garage sale or lost dog signs. Commerical establishments will be hit with a commercial sign ordinance violation. Round here you can add a zero to your fine for that.
 
Paul Rodgers said:
Eh it's a $25 fine from MTA. I'm ok with the risk.
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Hey, I'm not saying the fine is going to be $25. In a subway I'm sure it will be considerably more than the paper sign I used on telephone poles in the 1990's. There are a lot of better ways to get the word out these days. It's called the internet. Maybe you've heard of it?
 
If you have to ask whether something is dodgy, its probably too close to the line to stake your businesses reputation on.

I know business books like Richard Bransons has him doing out-of-the-box stuff like this back in the 80's and 90s. But now days I just see shitty MLM doing this kind of stuff thinking they are super-entreprenurs breaking down walls, doing guerilla marketing, becoming the next Branson. When really they are just promoting their MLM crap in dodgy ways that pisses people off.
 
I wish the LEOs around here would enforce crap like this. There is some guy probably 20 miles away from me that is littering the sides of the roads and utility poles around here with his stupid plastic signs. "Joe's Computer Repair - 555-123-2345". Clearly against local ordinance but not enforced. We've reported it, but that's about all you can do without stooping to their level and ripping the damned things off yourself.

Part of me thinks it's probably some dude that lost his job in corporate IT trying to make ends meet, but then I remember that I started with exactly ZERO customers and built my business doing things by the book....which brings me back to my current reaction - "Do things right or GTFO". I'm hoping that karma catches up with that jerk him.
 
Bryce W said:
If you have to ask whether something is dodgy, its probably too close to the line to stake your businesses reputation on.

I know business books like Richard Bransons has him doing out-of-the-box stuff like this back in the 80's and 90s. But now days I just see shitty MLM doing this kind of stuff thinking they are super-entreprenurs breaking down walls, doing guerilla marketing, becoming the next Branson. When really they are just promoting their MLM crap in dodgy ways that pisses people off.
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I can't even see the value of it. Good advertising works because of repetition. A banner, a billboard, or a Facebook ad is going START to be effective after 100s of impressions. No one is going to remember a banner that is put up and yanked down by the next day. Wasted effort.

One problem with Facebook ads is that most people give up on them WAY too early. You will need to run such an ad for weeks at a time before you get your FIRST response to it. Every form of advertising is the same way except search driven. If they are not actively looking for you then you have to carpet bomb the eyeballs of everyone, every day, for them to notice it.
 
HCHTech said:
I wish the LEOs around here would enforce crap like this. There is some guy probably 20 miles away from me that is littering the sides of the roads and utility poles around here with his stupid plastic signs. "Joe's Computer Repair - 555-123-2345". Clearly against local ordinance but not enforced. We've reported it, but that's about all you can do without stooping to their level and ripping the damned things off yourself.

Part of me thinks it's probably some dude that lost his job in corporate IT trying to make ends meet, but then I remember that I started with exactly ZERO customers and built my business doing things by the book....which brings me back to my current reaction - "Do things right or GTFO". I'm hoping that karma catches up with that jerk him.
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It's not really an LEO's job to do that. That is code enforcement. You get a letter from the city. We don't have trains around here but most places that do have their own LEO agency just for that. And it will be more strictly monitored. Little signs wouldn't be as quickly taken down but I could see a plastic banner being removed very quickly. For one thing, it is a safety hazard. If were to come off and fly onto a train's windscreen?
 
I like what they do in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island, FL: post bright red "Illegal sign" on each of them before later collecting them and fining the perp $xxx per sign. To me, it leaves the message that the poster has no respect for the law/ordinances and therefore shouldn't be trusted with your property/data.
 
It's illegal to do that here. You're not supposed to stick any papers or posters without a formal permission from the planning authority. Whether the law is enforced or not, is another story (but I wouldn't risk it). As others mentioned, it depends on your area and how the citizens deal with such advertising.
 
HCHTech said:
Yes, that's probably right. Typical city government, I suspect, doesn't have manpower or interest in dealing with it. Just a minor frustration I wish I didn't have, that's all.
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I wouldn't let a stupid sign law stop you. If that is what you have to do to get ahead then do it. But frankly, I think spending money on AdWords is more effective.
 
nlinecomputers said:
I wouldn't let a stupid sign law stop you.
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The law isn't stupid, it is supposed to keep the roadsides from being littered with advertisements. It's not stopping ME from doing anything. It's frustrating that some yahoo who isn't even in my town gets even ONE customer by putting his semi-permanent signs along the road in my neighborhood. I don't need tactics like this to succeed in my business, and he shouldn't either. If there wasn't a law against it, I could be mad at my local government for not making a law - but that's not the case. There IS a law, they just don't enforce it. That's the frustration.
 
It seems like this is more controversial than I expected. It's definitely something that I'd like to try once if I can get a banner made cheap and see if it even helps. Once it's taken down I wouldn't try it again.

If I do end up doing it I wouldn't put a logo or website. Just computer repair & virus removal with the phone number.
 
Paul Rodgers said:
It seems like this is more controversial than I expected. It's definitely something that I'd like to try once if I can get a banner made cheap and see if it even helps. Once it's taken down I wouldn't try it again.

If I do end up doing it I wouldn't put a logo or website. Just computer repair & virus removal with the phone number.
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Why waste money on an advertisement very few would see? And one that if seen would be only once at best. Waste of money.
 
Back in the old days I shoved business cards anywhere I could get away with. I even shoved a bunch in the ladies bathroom in the stalls between> they were pink and black, attractive to women. I also bought pens and put them at gas stations, they loved it. Put in some money into pens, freebies that last.

Good idea for you? I would find a place like a self owned business that is on a good road that might barter for some tech support in exchange.
 
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