SELLING IT LIKE IT IS ... -ISH

Imagine my surprise the other day at passing a sign outside a Broughton Street corner shop which read ‘FREE CASH’. 

Free cash? Were my eyes deceiving me? Yes, they were. The sign actually reads:

FREE CASH
WITHDRAWALS

The cash in question is our own. It's already in our bank accounts, but if you want to withdraw it you won't be charged here for the privilege.  

I have nothing against the corner shop for putting out this sign. It’s one that’s produced by the cash machine company and is a productive way of encouraging customers into the premises.

I am thankful that there's no charge, but what I don’t like is the way the sign uses this to promote the machine. It reminded me of an advert that I noticed recently whilst walking through John Lewis. It read, ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’. A great piece of marketing, but is John Lewis really trying to tell us that they are the cheapest shop because they are not aware of the prices elsewhere? 

What if local businesses in Broughton decided to advertise this way? We could look forward to seeing Kathy’s Knits advertising free cardigans if you buy the wool and knit one yourself. The Olive Branch could say that you get a free full stomach with every meal purchased. Even the Council could jump onto the bandwagon by proclaiming that they're not aware of a better tram system in Edinburgh than the one we've got.    

What I would like to see is some straightforward advertising on our streets. Why not let us know that our custom is valued and be clear about what’s on offer? Perhaps that corner shop’s sign could be reworded to read:

WITHDRAW YOUR MONEY AT NO EXTRA CHARGE,
SPEND IT WITH US
AND SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS

Or perhaps I should keep my nose out of it and stick to what I do best. What do I do best? Everything – I'm not aware of anyone who does that better than me.

[Do you suffer from gripes? Get them off your chest with The Left-Handed Tea Drinker at: thelefthandedteadrinker@gmail.com]