SCRIPT: “I’m a shrimp blogger. I’ve traveled the globe to find the perfect prawn. So when I found out Taco Bell had Pacific Shrimp Tacos, with six succulent marinated shrimp, I had to try one immediately.”
AND?!? What did he think of them? Don’t leave me hanging, Taco Bell!
I’ve made the drive down Texas Highway 71 and Interstate 10 between Houston and Austin perhaps 100 times over the last few years. I’ve become well-acquainted with the billboards along the route. Jennifer Aniston smiles at me, holding her SmartWater, just outside of Bastrop. Jerry Mikeska implores you to EXIT NOW for barbecue in Columbus. And no matter how badly I want the Dippin’ Dots from Buc-ee’s, I’m never willing to detour to Luling to buy them.
After the economy took a nosedive, more and more of the inventory fell vacant. Each outdoor media company handled the situation a bit differently. In the next two posts, I will discuss the advantages and drawbacks of each approach and rate them on a Likert scale. A score of one will represent “strongly disapprove” (as in, “it sucks hard”) and five will be “strongly approve” (as in, “could be worse”). The bar is low, folks.
I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the included photographs. On a related note, I highly discourage anyone from trying to take pictures of things while driving down the interstate. Stay safe out there!
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
This is as basic as it gets. The previous advertiser’s contract has ended, so why give away the space for free? It’s a clean look, and it preps the space for the next ad.
Good Use of Space: 2
Effective Message: N/A
Quality Design: N/A
Final Verdict: A boring, if inoffensive, waste of space. Disapprove.
Again, not terribly exciting. But this is direct and to-the-point. You can rent this space by calling the number. Sometimes, these even tell you the name of the media company so you know who you’re calling.
Good Use of Space: 3
Effective Message: 3
Quality Design: 3
Final Verdict: Totally neutral. Neither approve nor disapprove.
What rural or small-town Texas business owner doesn’t like Texas? This is similar to a touring band shouting out the name of the city at the opening of the set. Unlike the previous billboard, this one focuses on the brand name of the outdoor advertising firm. But if you want the phone number, it’s there, too.
Good Use of Space: 4
Effective Message: 3
Quality of Design: 4
Final Verdict: It won’t win awards, but that’s fine. Approve.
PSAs benefit the community at minimal (but not zero) cost to the leasing company. That’s awesome. But it’s a very indirect way to tell people that the billboard is available for lease. And I don’t know how well subtlety plays when it comes to outdoor advertising.
Good Use of Space: 5
Effective Message: 2
Quality of Design: 5
Final Verdict: Ad Council campaigns are great-looking. Approve.
SXSW volunteers stuff bags with swag in preparation for the conference.
Fifty hours of labor in exchange for a pass worth $700 works out to $14/hour. Volunteering at SXSW made sense, or so I thought. I signed up online and made plans to be in Austin for last weekend’s volunteer call, where I could arrange my committee assignments and create my schedule.
It didn’t work out that way. I was unsuitable in three key areas. Be like me, and you too can fail to volunteer.
For our purposes, old means anyone who is beyond college age. The sweet spot for music crew volunteers is 21–22, which is old enough to get into the music venues and past TABC, but young enough to be on spring break during the festival. Which puts the age range of the conference volunteers at 16–20.
The 18-year-old in line in front of me at the volunteer call thought it was “unfair” that she couldn’t be on the photography crew (age 21+), since she had tons of experience and had been shooting “since middle school.” Her friend stated that no one else had her talent, but she didn’t really want to be there anyway with all the “old people,” did she? The girl concurred. No old people.
The volunteer call was spread over six hours on two days. But it’s more like college class registration in that you don’t stand a chance unless you’re ready and waiting the moment the window opens. So show up an hour after the start of the first day, like me, and expect over half the committees to be full up. I honestly should have known better.
This one I didn’t see coming. In the advance information given to volunteers, SXSW warns you that you absolutely must be available on March 10, the Wednesday before the conference starts. But once you’re there at the call creating your schedule, you’ll discover that all the committees also require you attend pre-event orientations. Many of these meetings were on February 28, but some weren’t yet finalized and would be “sometime the week before the conference.”
Again, it makes sense to have orientation sessions before the conference, but why they aren’t on March 10, and why the dates weren’t previously disclosed, I have no idea.
I’m frustrated that it didn’t work out for me to volunteer, but it wasn’t in the cards. I might try again next year, but if I do, it will be as an “out of town” volunteer. I suspect they make scheduling accommodations for anyone with travel arrangements. But more likely, I’ll be fully employed next March, and I’ll buy a badge like a normal person.