Puns and Memes: Embracing small business street-level marketing.

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Jason Giles

I am such a sucker for a good hook. So much so in fact, that if I see a funny sign on the street out front of a shop, odds are I’ll come in and buy something. It’s a really bad habit, I know.

Small businesses that can’t afford the flashy website, or slick professional printing on nice card stock have to rely on a different approach to gaining your attention – pure creativity. Or, at the very least, creative appropriation for a chuckle.

I love the strategy that comes forth when you have your back against the wall, so to speak. Where you have limited resources and unbridled imagination. Kind of like Tony Stark in Iron Man when he was taken captive in the first film and had to build his suit out of scrap parts to escape. Yes I’m aware how dorky I just made this article…

To some degree, these outward displays of creativity beyond “2 for 1 lunch special”  lets the passerby know that there is a real, actual person behind these signs and by extension, the businesses. Bringing a bit of your own personality into your messages is never a bad thing — you know…unless you’re a terrible person. In which case, keep to yourself.

Minuscule budget? Small customer base? Localized business? Not a problem if you have the imagination and wit to pull it off. Best part is – thanks to social media, those clever A-frames out front of your business can gain more impressions than just simple foot traffic. take these for example:

This goes back to the old conversation of standing out above the “noise”, but it’s my philosophy that a bit of personality, and a lot of creativity, can help even the smallest of businesses stand out above the rest.

Now, if you excuse me, I have the sudden urge to get a quiche.

Jason is a Digital Strategist at 88 Creative. Follow him on Twitter @Jasegiles .