I’m doing something a little different this summer: a series of short takes, delivered every other Thursday, inspired by outdoor signs I’ve seen around Jersey City. Every sign offers one or two (maybe even three) quick takeaways you can apply to your own communications. Today’s e-letter title is brought to you by Five Man Electrical Band and their 1971 hit single “Signs.”

I’m sure you saw the first lesson of the sign above when you first read it.

Can we say “proofread“?

Also “fact check“? If the sign makers had looked up whether to put an apostrophe in “workmans,” they would have discovered that this kind of program has been known for decades as “workers’ compensation.”

What you can’t see until I tell you the context is that this sign is brilliant marketing. This private parking lot is across the street from the Jersey City State Office Building at 438 Summit. When drivers come to this building, they’re thinking about their driver’s license or workers’ comp – and Sun Parking delivers exactly what they are looking for. It’s a great example of audience-centered communication.

So that’s a second takeaway: Give people what they’re looking for when they’re looking for it.

A third takeaway comes from a different bit of context. The demographics of Jersey City make it likely that the owners of Sun Parking are immigrants. Their skills in written English probably aren’t anywhere near as good as their marketing instincts. They just never saw “uneployment” as a problem.

Here’s the third lesson from this sign: Know what you don’t know. Get help.

For discussion:

• Why do people pay all that money to have signs made but never pay a few extra bucks to have the signs proofread?
• What’s your favorite sign blooper?