Living not far from inner city Cleveland, I noticed that business signs in inner city, predominantly minority neighborhoods tend to cram in a lot of information.
For example, a convenience store in the suburbs will have a sign that reads:
In the ghetto, the sign will read:
It’s the same with most businesses in the ghetto. Where in the 'burbs, a sign will display just the business name, in the inner city it includes all the services and products offered, along with a phone number.
Why are ghetto business signs like this? Do the business owners feel their clientele are less intelligent, and thus need the business explained to them? Is it cultural? Business owners who aren’t savvy about marketing? Something else? I’m mystified about why phone numbers appear on most ghetto business signs, too. Do inner city residents have a need to call businesses more so than those in the 'burbs?
It’s actually a smart idea. Large cities are where new comers will be found, who aren’t convenience-store saavy. Even a born-and-raised Americans can find it difficult to navigate the simplest convenient store when visiting a city in a different part of the country.
For example, not all 7-11s in all states carry beer and wine. Not all conveniece stores have the lottery. Not all even carry bread. So, in the big cities, especially where folks are in a rush and competition is more fierce, a more informative sign would be very helpful.
In the burbs, you have longer-term residents in general who generally know where to shop for what, and less competition means less need for explicit signage.
I think Wrath hit the nail on the head; there’s no telling what a corner store carries in a city. Deli or not? wigs? bus passes? calling cards? CDs? milk? All of the above? I believe some stores have signs partially subsidized (or used to) by beverage or deli meat companies that ask “what else do you want on the sign?” The smart owner takes full advantage of that.
I could just as easily point out that rural stores have Hunting Licenses - Ammo - Bait signs you’d never see here.
Keep in mind also that many convenience store owners are themselves immigrants & that’s how the store looked at home, for the same stock reasons.
Why would anyone assume that people “in the ghetto” (and do you mean ghetto or just city? a lot of people who don’t live in cities see rowhouses and automatically assume poverty :rolleyes:) aren’t bright, or aren’t perceived that way by local business owners? It often takes some careful thinking and planning to navigate a neighborhood for your needs on a limited budget.
I think it might also have to do with sign ordinances. All the signs in my little Cleveland 'Burb are obviously following a strict set of rules as to what size they are, what colors they are, and where they’re placed.
Maybe if Suburb Joe COULD have such an elaborate sign, he would
I’ve written sign codes as part of my job. Usually, sign codes regulate size, height, setback, whether animation is allowed or not, and other dimensional traits. Only a small percentage – including the codes I’ve written – regulate “items of information,” or the number of words or symbols shown on a sign.
In one city, where signs are regulated by one zoning code (which usually regulates signs as well), you’ll see cluttered signs in the 'hood, and simpler signs in outlying areas. Same size, same height, but a much different way of presenting the content.
