Innovative Advertising

I had to take a walk uptown yesterday, to pick up some more bottled water. White Rock has been under a 'boil water' advisory for about a week now and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. As I walked the 20 or so blocks from my place to the White Rock/Surrey border ( 16th Avenue ) I kept seeing this message written in chalk on the cobblestones, at almost every street corner. The message was neatly and legibly written, in a bright coloured chalk, away from where people would normally walk. It got me thinking about the future of advertising, and the innovation of a small business owner. I had a clothing store for 17 years, and it was only in the last 5, that I started advertising through my website,something that I had never even considered in the past. I had always relied on local newspapers and specialty magazines to carry my message of " Casual, Comfortable, Canadian Designed Clothing and Accessories." or later on " Cavern Clothing has pants that FIT!" I had always had a mailing list, and at my peak, with 2 stores, I had about 1500 customers on that list. When I had a website made for the store I thought that I would photograph clothing for the upcoming season and use the website as a internet window into my business. But it was not long before I was completely eliminating the labour intensive, expensive, twice yearly mail-outs that had been a key part of my advertising plan. I would simply e-mail my customers when an event was upcoming, and direct them to the website for more information. It was so much less work. It was at that time, I started to almost eliminate my print advertising.
When I see the way businesses communicate with their customers these days, through a variety of social media, it really makes me wonder how newspapers and magazines survive. It used to be when you stared a business, you had to take out an ad in the local paper to let people know you were open and eager for business. It seems that Honest Work Gardening has a better, more innovative and cheaper idea. Even if the City makes them erase their 'ad' from the sidewalk...I guarantee that at least a couple of hundred people saw it last week. This economy calls for creative and cost effective methods to start and maintain a business. I wish Honest Work Gardening, the best of luck.