Types of marketing

Driving to work yesterday, I began to have thoughts (and self-conversation) about billboards. They have existed for my entire life and for some reason I have always taken note of them. But it wasn’t until I began this class that I actually gave them any thought or consideration. Ever since someone in the class mentioned infomercials and how they stick in your head, I have begun to think more deeply about various marketing tactics without consciously doing so . . . which I suppose is healthy for my learning and meeting the course objectives. Infomercials seem to be in line with society and our current technology. People watch tv. So it seems inevitable that at some point we will catch glimpse of one of them.

Getting back to billboards and my drive to work, I wonder if anyone besides me realizes they exist. How much time can we possibly spend looking at and reading them while we are driving and supposed to be focused on the road? And in this minimal glance, how much of a marketing impact do billboards really have? Billboards are a simple sign. Yes, some move or display images electronically, but they are basically static, with no sound or motion. This is not innovative marketing. Not compared to internet pop-ups or infomercial demonstrations or funny commercials. I thought about billboards for such a long time that I began to think about them in another sense. All this time that my mind was in the world of advertising, I realized that I was driving without really paying attention. So in another sense, are billboards really safe? Has it ever been studied whether billboards increase the instances of car crashes? Not that I really care because I enjoy them, but if the purpose of these huge posters is to attract our attention to some product or service then they are intentionally forcing our eyes to wonder from the road in front of us. Doesn’t seem like the people paying for billboard advertisements care about consumers after all.