The best laid plans sometimes go awry through no fault of your own. On Friday I wrote about my intentions to pay attention to some of the brands I would be exposed to on a 150 mile round-trip drive on I-35. Macro view first; individual brand analysis last.
I expected to be sharp of mind and fit of body for the drive. I woke up feeling anything but 100%. I wasn’t seriously ill, but the waves roiling in my stomach kept me from giving my utmost attention to my surroundings during the trip.
I tried, and I times I succeeded in taking in the branding environment, but other times, I was too aware of how unwell I felt.
Enough whining.
Here are two road trip branding observations:
- In the metro areas, few company or product brands rose above the fray. There’s so much visual noise, it’s dizzying for drivers, so drivers tend to block it out. (That’s a good thing since distracted driving is a killer. We don’t need signage and billboards contributing to the problem.) This probably isn’t news for most of us; just affirmation.
- In rural areas, I noticed the pitiful over the excellent and I’m not paying the pitiful a compliment. What was memorable was the neglect and that does not impress. Bad store signage and dilapidated billboards. When there’s little branding competition, why wouldn’t you put your best foot forward? Talk about a missed opportunity.
So that’s it and it isn’t much better than I felt (sorry readers).
Of course, pictures would sure help accentuate my observations, but I was driving and I would not be distracted.
SIDEBAR: Talk about not being on top of your game; I realized later that a better title for last Friday’s blog post: Branding At The Speed Of Drive.
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