When you have something as important as a boil water notice to announce to drive-by traffic, do you place it on a tiny blue sign with a hand-written note? The Regional District of North Okanagan does. That's why today, I wrote them a little note with a marketing tip:
Dear Renee:Thank you very much for the boil water notice by email.
Some feedback for you about the road sign by Butcher Boys.....
It is very small, very hard to read and very easy to miss.
Many times, I come off of Pleasant Valley Road and turn right onto 48th Avenue without even seeing your boil water sign. It looks like a garage sale sign. It's in blue. It should be in Red or Orange.
It seems to me that something as important as a boil water notice should be on a larger sign. Even Caesar's Pizza pays someone to hold their signs up so they get attention. And, I'm sure it only costs them 8 bucks an hour. Surely, our health is worth a larger sign.....or a sign walker.
Thanks for listening.
Cheers,
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm not ranting about this to be political today. But, I do have a bee in my bonnet about this sign. In marketing, your message should be portrayed in a medium that reflects the severity of the situation or at least shows respect to those who see it.
Often, emergency or construction signs are in bright orange, bright red, or bright yellow to get your attention. Shouldn't "boil your water" or "don't drink the water" be on a bright sign?
A sign that is barely visible and scribbled with illegible information says, "Hey, if you happen to see this sign, great, but if you don't who cares. We're just putting it out here because someone told us to. We have to cover our butts. We don't really care if you see it, or if you can read it. That's not the point."
In other neighbourhoods (not the North BX area where I live) you see them at many intersections. A small sign is probably okay in that case. But at a majour intersection that accesses a large rural area, a larger more easy to read sign is an absolute must.
I have another problem with this sign too. It says "Duteau Creek." It should say, "If you live in these neighbourhoods: ie: North BX, Foothills, this means you!" When we moved here five years ago, we didn't know our water source was Duteau Creek. Most tourists wouldn't know either.
Here is a picture of the sign from about ten strides away. I put my purse beside it to give it some perspective. Now, when you are driving by this sign at 60 km/hour when passing, or not passing, another vehicle, do you think you would see it? I've seen sandwich signs better than this. And those were sandwiches that I could eat!
What do you think about this sign?
Please post a comment on this blog on my VernonGirl.com site.
Thanks for reading.
Courtenay Pitcher, In Good Health (so far)
