Why a Boring Train Station Poster Made Me Rethink Marketing Entirely
It was beige. Paper-thin. A poster stuck to a crooked pillar at Platform Six in Lower Grey Station. No QR code. No brand logo. Just three words: "Don't Miss Tuesday."
Naturally, I missed Tuesday. But not before spending five full days wondering what the poster meant. Who put it there? What was happening on Tuesday? Was it a drop? A protest? Cheese promotion? Turned out to be a one-night play in a community centre two blocks away. The play was average. But the poster? Genius.
Here's the thing—most of our industry still labours under the idea that marketing must explain. Must dazzle. Must deliver ROI in bold, bullet-pointed slides. We fear confusion. But people love a mystery. The kind that sticks in your head like lint in your pocket. Whoever made that Tuesday poster wasn’t trying to sell. They were poking curiosity in the chest. And it worked.
I’m not saying we abandon clarity. Just that there’s room for grip. Tingle. Breadcrumbs in the woods. When was the last time your campaign made someone feel something before they even knew why? I kept the poster. It now lives next to my desk. A reminder that sometimes the best results come when you let the customer do the chasing. Not the other way around.
Naturally, I missed Tuesday. But not before spending five full days wondering what the poster meant. Who put it there? What was happening on Tuesday? Was it a drop? A protest? Cheese promotion? Turned out to be a one-night play in a community centre two blocks away. The play was average. But the poster? Genius.
Here's the thing—most of our industry still labours under the idea that marketing must explain. Must dazzle. Must deliver ROI in bold, bullet-pointed slides. We fear confusion. But people love a mystery. The kind that sticks in your head like lint in your pocket. Whoever made that Tuesday poster wasn’t trying to sell. They were poking curiosity in the chest. And it worked.
I’m not saying we abandon clarity. Just that there’s room for grip. Tingle. Breadcrumbs in the woods. When was the last time your campaign made someone feel something before they even knew why? I kept the poster. It now lives next to my desk. A reminder that sometimes the best results come when you let the customer do the chasing. Not the other way around.