More Bang for their Buck
A lot of people have been complaining about the BID billboard on US1. They feel it is a waste of money, I am not an expert, but I agree.The billboard is said to have the best visibility in the City or County, maybe so, but I don't see how it helps the Grove. First off, the BID overpays for it, what is probably an $8000 billboard is going for almost $18,000.
And as of now, I have not heard any cars coming to a screeching halt and making a quick right turn to get into the Grove, as if they are missing something, due to the billboard. It actually faces out, and people see it as they leave the Grove, not enter.
Some of you came up with some great ideas, like I think Jobie said that each business can give a dollar or two off of everything and the BID can reimburse them with that $18,000 a month, but what about something even better?
Take that money and we can start using Grove Bucks. The Bucks would sell for something like $100.00 worth of bucks for only $90.00. The BID can use the billboard money to compensate the difference, it will probably come to much less than $18,000 a month and it would be a great solution to have people shop and eat in the Grove.
It would be talked about all over the world and I really think the BID would get more bang for their buck (no pun intended) than with with the overpriced billboard.
posted by Tom Falco at 3:00 PM
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14 Comments:
The billboard promotes brand recognition. But most people who see it, are quite aware of Coconut Grove.
More effective branding would result from placement outside of our boundaries.
You could get an ad in an inflight magazine like American Airlines for that amount, just like Coral Gables does.
I always thought the idea of the billboard was to remind people who drive by every day on their way to work downtown that we are here, so when they are thinking about where to go out, they think, "Hey, let's go to the Grove," as opposed to South Miami or Mary Brickell Village or the Gables. I have no idea how the effectiveness of that would be measured.
Tom you are the Keith Obermann (MSNBC) of Coconut Grove. You get the REAL TRUE facts out to all of us to read on your Blog for our own feedback. Keep it coming!
This billboard is a very good investment for twice the price.
Three questions to answer...
1. How many "residents" in Coconut Grove?
2. How many cars pass 27th and US 1 during any 24 hr period?
3. What is the average median income of those that drive that route to and from work or school, to and from SOBE, or to and from SOMIA?
The better question is... How much expendable income those drivers may have? That stat may not be available however, those in the know, could put together a pretty good guess. The funny thing about SOFLA is that expendable income does not necessarily mean money you have to spend, it means, money you are influenced to spend! Which means YOU HAVE TO BE IN FRONT OF THE MASSES TO INFLUENCE BEHAVIOR!!!!??????
Coconut Grove businesses deserve this exposure! Even if the creative is sooo bad and cluttered it looks like MY desk!!!!
It is better than the alternative. A message from the Miami Beach Chamber, The Miccosukee Tribe, Dadeland Mall, Yard House in Merrick Park... not that those groups could not put together a very nice attractive message … I am sure they could, that is the point…. give up this board and the topic of the BID meeting one year from now will be... HOW CAN WE GET THIS BACK?!?
As the great Forrest Gump once said…. “Stupid is as Stupid Does”
Careful on this one folks, not a good time to throw out the baby with the bath water.
I say pay to make parking free a couple of times a week.
Why don't they use a month of the billboard money to put on some sort of crazy parade in December. It might bring in thousands of people!
Tony is absolutely right. Outdoor is strictly an awareness-generating mechanism. I suspect that if measured, Grove awareness would be very high--but largely negative. The Grove Bucks ideas sounds like fun, but remember, you'd then be asking people to pay money in advance for something they have dubious feelings about. Better to promote interesting/reduced-price special events, I think.
Well before the BID existed, individual private businesses in the Village Center were repeatedly buying space on this very billboard. These folks were spending their own money on what they thought made marketing sense, unlike some of the commenters here whose genius seems to be knowing how best to spend someone else's money.
Someone is making lots on this piece of s--t billboard that you cannot even read. Put the money elsewhere!!@!@. Waste of $$$ now.
It it sad that Coconut Grove which should be a household word needs a billboard to remind people it exits. Maybe if the money was spent elsewhere it would work better like more street fests, grove-wide discounts and Grove money. I personally believe those making money on the billboard are the only ones who want it.
Regarding the last paragraphm Not sure anyone would make much ado about this as it has been done successfully in the Bershares. l They got losts of national coverage for their concept.
When it came to light that this current billboard was so difficult to read and certainly not meeting the needs of the advertisers on it. No one objected immediately or reverse the colors so that you could see it.
If your car is running badly and needs oil would you be willing to wait till the end of the month to fix the problem?
ONE dollar off every single purchase made on a specific weekend and tie it to a special event. i.
e 8th Annual En plein air Coconut Grove watching is free. Upcoming Mad Hatter Street Festival and yes even $1 off from any art purchase. Bid could cover that cost.
@tony, it's true that outdoor media is good for brand recognition, except that Coconut Grove has no brand. It's a former "hippie colony" then "arts hub", "a sailing village", an MPA owned enterprise altogether, even just a row of chain stores. If it really cares about branding it should give 18K to a branding firm, and do it right.
Those billboards are all out of sync and rather ugly, as Tom pointed out about the "post-it note" strategy.
There's a lot of good energy in the Grove but it does last a coherent brand identity that a billboard will not help.
Billboards are visual pollution.
Billboards are often called Sh*t on a stick.
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