I just drove three-thousand, one-hundred, twenty-seven and one-half miles from Upstate New York to California. It was memorable, incredible, and NEVER boring. America is blessed with vast open spaces linking its major cities. Seemingly endless farmlands, rangelands, grasslands, and wide open skies greet those of us who have the luxury to take five days away from our routines for a road trip. (If you’re ambitious, you can do it in three.)
When you’re driving that many miles and traveling through new places, you take notice. Gas is about two dollars a gallon less expensive across the Midwest in comparison to the Golden State, for example. But what really struck me was the way in which we communicate when the only thing for miles around is the ribbon of highway in the windshield.
I’m talking about signs and billboards. There are the obvious speed limit and “Rest Area” signs. We intuitively know what they signal. But I also discovered very creative attention getters, promoting everything from local diners to landmarks to places to purchase “merch.” Among my favorites were: “Boots. Buckles. Belts.” and “Free Ice Water.” A sign reading, “Call Me Beautiful and Feed Me Tacos” made me laugh out.
I often say that finding seven words to gain a customer’s interest can be more difficult than writing 700. As communications professionals, we spend a lot of time thinking about email subject lines, press release headlines, and social posts designed to stand out. It matters. It’s never a good thing when a client’s news or announcement goes straight to spam or doesn’t receive a single “like.”
I think billboards may represent the first social media posts. As you drive for hundreds of miles and come closer to a turnoff or tourist destination, the billboards are “scheduled” at regular intervals. The sense of urgency grows. “2 Miles to Food,” “1 Mile to Ice Cream,” “Free Coffee Turn Now,” until finally, “You Just Missed the Exit.”
It’s not easy to get a point across, but I think if we look around, we will discover sometimes we do it very well.
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