If you are a regular purveyor of Reddit or other corners of the internet concerned with the viral nature of things, you may have seen the photos of a gigantic billboard that just said “I’m Concerned About Blueberries” next to a gigantic photo of a single blueberry. For outdoor signage, a marketing methodology renowned for being relatively limited in its geographic scope, this was a breakthrough.
This prompted many people to jump online to try to figure out what this was about. It turns out it was about one entrepreneur’s attempt to spread positivity through a pay-it-forward style program that he had developed.
Similarly, the viral success of a movie called The Room, experienced some success through a strange billboard that stayed up in Hollywood for nearly six years while the movie became a cult classic. The outdoor signage told nothing significant about the movie, and said it was in theaters when it actually wasn’t. This sign went on to become a Hollywood mainstay for years, however, and became the stuff of urban legend.
This sign included a gigantic photo of the star of the film with a strange look on his face, and a great deal of text about the movie. From most design standpoints, it would be considered to be a terrible example of a sign. Despite this, it was successful. Part of its success was the willingness to remain up despite taking years to build the momentum that was needed. The other part is the same thing that proved successful with the blueberries sign – it was different from everything else.
That kind of being different is incredibly important. This is one of the most significant factors in something going viral. It needs to be different, catch people’s attention, and, most importantly, be shared. People need to talk about it and be willing to show their friends. This is what makes it actually viral, and allows these kinds of ideas to spread around the world.
Signs have not gone the way of the dodo, and these two cases demonstrate how effective they can still be. By setting up a sign franchise, you can be part of this ongoing tradition.
The old saying about building a better mousetrap has a nugget of truth to it, but people need to know that your mousetrap exists. This is where the owner of a sign franchise comes in. You are able to provide them with insight and the marketing materials that they need to be able to build their own business, to be discovered and known around the world.
Both of the signs discussed earlier in this piece have gone on to become icons in their own little corners of fandom. Both served as part of larger marketing and working campaigns and contributed to that success. Outdoor signs are not a panacea, but are certainly able to contribute to a larger marketing campaign.
With your own outdoor signage and other signs franchise, you’ll be able to provide creators and companies with everything they need to make their mark on history. The best part is through this kind of franchise, you’ll be able to make a profit assisting with this work, making money by helping someone else make their dreams come true.
None of the capacity for virality would happen without the signs actually existing. This is where you come in. With a Sign World franchise you can be this missing piece that assists in the creation of these types of campaigns. It is important for them to be able to actually deliver on the relatively nitty-gritty of it to be able to develop their larger project. Without this, they have nothing. It is required for the signs to actually be made for their thing to exist. Outdoor signage is going to continue to exist in one form or another for a long time yet, and there is going to need to be someone to provide it.