I work with the management committees of a number of small charitable organisations. A member of one of them recently suggested that a way of promoting their group would be to put flyers under windscreen wipers in local car parks. I know this happens a lot, and personally I find it irritating when it's done to my own car, but is my memory correct that this is technically illegal, or did I imagine hearing this? I'm in N. Ireland, in case that makes any difference (some laws passed in GB haven't made it onto the statute books here).
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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I think the fact that you find it irritating is all the answer you need. Even if you're not breaking the law which I suspect you will be, do you want get up the nose of people you're asking for support?
If you need another reason not to do it, so many of these things just get thrown away and I personally wouldn't be too happy to see info with my company name on it blowing round a car park as litter.
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Go to go with Nsar on this one. Massively irritating and almost certainly counter productive. Don't do it.
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Yup, if it was down to me then it wouldn't be happening, but unfortunately it's not my decision - I'm in the position of offering advice/opinion only, as opposed to making decisions on their behalf. However if I was able to say "You shouldn't do this because it is illegal" I'd have a stronger argument.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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Really, I don't think the question of legality enters into it.
You will irritate most people who get one of your flyers. The ones who read it will probably remember the name of the charity, and make a mental note to avoid giving to it in future. The ones who don't read it ... well, you've wasted your money, haven't you?
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Don't know if its legal, but I think it shouldn't be. Surely there must be some law against this when the cars are parked on private property eg supermarket car park? ie the supermarket may be able to take some action.
Most of the flyers that I have found on my windscreen have been from companys that don't supply a landline number or an address, usually mobile car valleters or builders. The only time I've seen one with an address it was for a quad bike track, that was acctually being run illegally anyway(no planning permission or insurance), so they didn't have any regard for the law anyway.
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I believe that in UK there is no general legislation against this but many local authorities have passed local by-laws to make the practice illegal. By-laws have fixed penalty type fine. The by-law should be stated on the main car park notice, so check before you ticket. I know of one incident locally where the authority did fine a local charitable organisation £40 for doing just this in a car park.
JS
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If you want people to read them, disguise them convincingly as parking tickets. Thommo and others will open them in a state of anxiety and mounting fury, then be so overwhelmed with relief and amusement that they will whip out their chequebooks immediately.
Just a thought. I feel the world of marketing lost a great man in me.
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Regrettably Lud that idea has been had many times in the past.
My company does some promo-staff work for clients - ie people handing info to other people and many cities simply have a flat ban on it - Liverpool and Manchester certainly do.
You would have to go through the Council for a licence and I think your colleague's idea will fall at this hurdle.
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Chequebook? How 1990's. Can't remember the last time I wrote a cheque.
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John S - cheers, that at least may give them pause for thought. I just think that the irritation factor here will outweigh the "all publicity is good publicity" idea.
Thommo - lend us some money? I'll accept cash ...
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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Two issues (well three)
1. The local legistlation one.
2. Possible Litter Act Offences - More and more PCSOs and assorted Council Officials have fixed penalty powers in respect of that.
3. If damage was caused to the wiper arm could find yourself in civil court (just imagine what a BMW wiper arm would cost), not saying that you would damage wiper arms but someone could try to have a go.
Funnilty enough the local crime prevention panel I attend came up with this as a suggestion to reduce crime in hotspot car parks, there was some negativity from the Officer present there about the idea.
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Chequebook? How 1990's. Can't remember the last time I wrote a cheque.
i pay for everything i can with my chequebook
why????????
because it cant be copied, cloned or any other fancy modern fish thing that happens these modern days.
cash for the rest
credit card ,minimal, if im feeling poor on a particular day but hate the big bill the next month
as for those flyers under the wiper i have watched young wipper snappers put these under wipers with a ping of the spring and they get warned not to touch my car or else
so alienation of your cause is a definate yes yes from me
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'it cant be copied, cloned or any other fancy modern fish thing'
You got to be kidding me. Cheque fraud by copying, cloning etc has been going on since they were invented in the 1st century AD.
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they only go to trusted sources
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I believe Thommo that they were invented by Persian civil servants under the early Abbasid empire which by the way built Baghdad, 7th or 8th centuries AD... the word cheque is derived from Ar. sakk. Something like that anyway, and I look forward to being proved wrong in three different ways.
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Wow ! that must be a record off record in how many posts ?
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Now totally OT.
Certainly Persian but the first recorded instances of items at least similar to modern cheques were letters of credit known as sakks issued by Persian banks in the era of the Sassanid Empire around 1st century AD.
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And there was me thinking it was the Knights Templar that were the first to issue "Cheques" to rich noble men so they could have access to their money as they travelled accross europe to the crusades.
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Persian Empire? Sounds like a wikipedia flight of fancy or practical joke to me.
The earliest evidence of deposits subject to "cheque" pertains to medieval Italy and Catalonia. In the primitive banks of deposits in those areas it was necessary for the depositor to appear in person before a banker either to withdraw funds or to transfer them to an account of another customer. The practice of using written instruments for those purposes gradually evolved.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I find them irritating and a waste of time and I just bin them, but you have to be careful, the wipers on my Golf V can't be lifted off the screen without them hitting the bonnet and therefore causing damage, they have to be 'parked' in an upright position before you can lift them off the screen. The rear wiper might be safer on most cars.
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Make sure they don't catch their fingers in your wiper, otherwise they'll be taking you to court.
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I find them irritating and a waste of time and I just bin them,
Would that I could afford such an attitude to what I admit are just despicable bits of paper.
All the same, when I receive a cheque I pay it in religiously to my bank account.
Thank you Thommo, I wondered if the sakk predated the Abbasids since the Persians certainly did... you haven't disappointed me. Those good old Sassanids, eh?
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To OP, you are an agent acting on behalf of the company trying to advertise themselfs. The question(s) you should be asking yourself is will the company that is employing you gain from putting these stickers on cars? If you think yes advise them to do so.
Personally I find that this kind of advertising is a real irritation. However I can see why it profits certain companies that partake in it. The problem with this society is that we only look after our private interests without resort to our moral and social values and esteam. If you objectively conclude that the company would benefit from advertising in discussed way, then advise them to do it. If you have moral qualms about advising them to advertise in this way since you don't belive it is socialy fair then step down from your position as the companies advisor.
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Hi again,
Just for clarity - I work for a regional voluntary organisation which liaises with small, independent charitable groups who aim to do at a local level what we aim to do at a regional level. I am effectively made available to these groups free of charge, mainly to assist with matters such as governance, service delivery, applying for and managing funding, operating payroll, line-managing staff, local promotion, etc. These groups are run by voluntary committees, sometimes with more enthusiasm than skills or experience.
In this instance, at tonight's meeting the topic came up and I recommended to the group that this approach should at least be considered a bit more carefully in light of the potential for irritation of their target audience and the risk of either being held liable for damage to cars (whether caused by them or not), as well as the advisability of at least investigating the need to seek permission from local council/car park owners etc.
The response?
"Well I'm sure the circus don't bother with all that every time they come to town and put flyers on all the cars."
Exhale gently, shrug shoulders. I suppose if they do get bitten I can send them a sheet of A4 headed paper with "I told you so" printed in fontsize 50 accompanied by a smilie blowing a raspberry ...
Thanks for all the advice, as well as the educational detour!
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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What you do in Germany is put them in the post box without postage and they get sent back to the supplier who then has to pay double postage on them .
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The response? "Well I'm sure the circus don't bother with all that every time they come to town and put flyers on all the cars."
Yes, I'm sure that that your " Exhale gently, shrug shoulders" was the right response. Some would have been tempted to say "Well, if you want people to think that you are a bunch of clowns . . . ".
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Isn't it illegal to 'tamper with a motor vehicle without permission'?
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Isn't it illegal to 'tamper with a motor vehicle without permission'?
dont take the sump plug out of the ex wifes car as the authorities dont like it nor do the water board.......
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Someone did that to a Skoda of mine in the main road where I live once, and I wasn't even anyone's ex-wife om... I think they wanted to save a quid and a journey to Ealing, although t that time there were breakers' yards just down the back under the motorway... happy days, and they weren't all that long ago either.
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The difference between the circus example and the charity is that the circus only comes to town for a week and then moves on. They don't care if they irritate half the people they target with leaflets - as long as some of them go to the circus, the job is done.
You presumably want your charity to stay in town and build up a fund of goodwill so that people continue to support it. Any irritated would-be donor will tell ten others. One letter of complaint in the local paper will lose you a hundred more. Barmy.
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