The way I look at things is changing. I have my marketers lenses on most of the time. So when I walk through a wal-mart checkout, I pay attention to the impulse displays. Today for instance I noticed the first checkout.. It was well designed with a rope to walk you through many stages.
Candy, snuggies, and other curios as you approach. Inside is batteries, gloves, utility items, etc with just a touch more candy. As you move towards the back, the drinks and such, condoms, and finally just as you move to approach the counter, magazines. It was a kind of a Z shaped experience.
It's not just the layout that's interesting here, it's that they put such huge emphasis on utility items in this exact checkout. Makes me think people that deliberately hit the first one (typically express checkout) are more akin to have an "Oh! I need/could use this!" reaction than the other lines. The condoms especially give me this impression. (However they may not have been condoms. They had the look of condom packages, but my eyesight isn't perfect and I didn't go far enough back to really check.)
Why am I talking about walmart? Because I used the word political in the title, and I want you thinking about marketing before you read my true message.
There are many little candidate signs around town these days, as people are vying for a position as city mayor, or council, or... Well, I don't know what else, which is not beneficial for any of them.
I look at the various hills and intersections with not less than six individual signs and actually stop to look at them. Not because they interest me, oh, far from it. Most of them just say "Vote for Bob Doyle!" or whatever. And that's the problem!
As someone who's not interested in local media, how the hell do they expect their sign to influence me? For that matter, if I was paying attention to local media, I'd more likely make my decision based on what I know of the candidates.
I don't think it's just me; they must to some degree realize it, because the city has a facebook page with maxed friends, and a new fanpage. So why do none of these signs have a message? A website? A friendly hello? No amount of random colour scheme is going to make me care.
Very literally I ask myself "Why do I care about advancing any of their careers? I suppose I could find out what they're going to do, but there's like seven of them-- And if none of them can be bothered to put up a website, none of them are in touch enough to bother voting on."
If I were to cast a vote, the one who might get it is the one and only sign that did more than a call to action. It said under the name "A man of action." ... And it's purely because he's the only one that gave me a reason, instead of looking like another hand in the class vying for a chance to feed the class goldfish today.
... I will say one thing in defense of the otherwise pointless (in my mind) signage. They do establish a name, which may sway votes if someone were to come in and decide to vote, with no other exposure than seeing the name. Even I will gravitate towards brands I've seen before, just because I recognize them... Or at least have the illusion I recognize them.
Candy, snuggies, and other curios as you approach. Inside is batteries, gloves, utility items, etc with just a touch more candy. As you move towards the back, the drinks and such, condoms, and finally just as you move to approach the counter, magazines. It was a kind of a Z shaped experience.
It's not just the layout that's interesting here, it's that they put such huge emphasis on utility items in this exact checkout. Makes me think people that deliberately hit the first one (typically express checkout) are more akin to have an "Oh! I need/could use this!" reaction than the other lines. The condoms especially give me this impression. (However they may not have been condoms. They had the look of condom packages, but my eyesight isn't perfect and I didn't go far enough back to really check.)
Why am I talking about walmart? Because I used the word political in the title, and I want you thinking about marketing before you read my true message.
There are many little candidate signs around town these days, as people are vying for a position as city mayor, or council, or... Well, I don't know what else, which is not beneficial for any of them.
I look at the various hills and intersections with not less than six individual signs and actually stop to look at them. Not because they interest me, oh, far from it. Most of them just say "Vote for Bob Doyle!" or whatever. And that's the problem!
As someone who's not interested in local media, how the hell do they expect their sign to influence me? For that matter, if I was paying attention to local media, I'd more likely make my decision based on what I know of the candidates.
I don't think it's just me; they must to some degree realize it, because the city has a facebook page with maxed friends, and a new fanpage. So why do none of these signs have a message? A website? A friendly hello? No amount of random colour scheme is going to make me care.
Very literally I ask myself "Why do I care about advancing any of their careers? I suppose I could find out what they're going to do, but there's like seven of them-- And if none of them can be bothered to put up a website, none of them are in touch enough to bother voting on."
If I were to cast a vote, the one who might get it is the one and only sign that did more than a call to action. It said under the name "A man of action." ... And it's purely because he's the only one that gave me a reason, instead of looking like another hand in the class vying for a chance to feed the class goldfish today.
... I will say one thing in defense of the otherwise pointless (in my mind) signage. They do establish a name, which may sway votes if someone were to come in and decide to vote, with no other exposure than seeing the name. Even I will gravitate towards brands I've seen before, just because I recognize them... Or at least have the illusion I recognize them.
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