Lessons from Small Business Advertising in Toronto
While walking down Queen West in the heart of downtown Toronto, I was casually looking at local businesses, their storefronts, signage, and the way they spoke to passersby. I wasn’t actively shopping or looking for anything specific, just strolling.
Out of hundreds of local and unique businesses, a few stood out enough to catch my attention. What made them different wasn’t funky graphics, crazy visuals, or other gimmicks screaming for attention. It was the copy on their sandwich boards. Plain, simple English.
That’s when it struck me: there is something deeply critical about copy in advertising. Done right, it can differentiate you from your competition, position your uniqueness, pull the customer in and perhaps most importantly becomes memorable.
The ones I saw seemed well thought out and relevant to the businesses behind them. They struck a chord with their target audience, and even with people like me who weren’t planning on buying anything. They resonated with me instantly. They felt urban. Original. Local. Instagramy. One of them was genuinely humorous. It felt like the kind of copy that speaks to job workers, a younger demographic, but above all, it felt human. Pretty sure, it wasn’t an AI job, thankfully!!
We come across hundreds of ads every day. But only the ones that are unique, and that genuinely connect with their audience, stand out. When copy works, it works instantly. When it doesn’t, it disappears after millions of impressions, forgotten just as quickly as it was seen.
To conclude, good copy often comes straight from the heart, sometimes in a flash, sometimes after deep thought. Whatever the process, the key is to keep thinking, keep refining, and keep improvising if you haven’t quite arrived yet.
A Quiet Shoutout
A few businesses on Queen West stood out because they said less, better. Their sidewalk ads felt thoughtful, local, and unmistakably human.
MOSCOT - https://moscot.com/en-km
Saje Natural Wellness - saje.ca
Good Behaviour - https://goodbehaviourto.ca/
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