I’ve just finished proofing the May issue of PT and would like to point out a great article by our very own amateur parker, Melissa Sterzick. Our headline is “Putting the PR in Parking” but Rad’s graphic “I (Heart) Parking” steals the page.
Melissa posits that many industries promote their products with generic campaigns (Cotton, Oil, Milk, Brewers, Cheese,) and wonders why don’t we?
She’s not aware of the IPI”s ‘Parking Matters’ program. She takes a slightly different approach:
So maybe the slogan isn’t “We’re parking. We’re great.” Maybe it’s “We’re Parking. How did we do today?” Or ask the public a simple question that makes them think about how parking affects them: “Where did YOU park today?” The advertising doesn’t have to be earnest or serious. There are many jokes to be made about parking, and any one of them might give consumers the pleasant idea that they are understood. Something like: “Don’t worry. You might not remember where your car is, but we do.” Or how about: “Anybody need a quarter?”
Her germ of an idea might have legs. How much would it take to print posters, buttons, and bumper stickers and get them out to our garages, enforcement people, and management staff. If the IPI and the NPA got together and devised a program that could be sent out to their membership and non membership for that matter nationwide, it wouldn’t take long to see these messages in garages, on enforcement vehicles, and on surface lots everywhere.
Not bad for an amateur – you can go on line and read it later this week.
JVH
