This summer I'm nannying for a family that lives in the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee. The area is known for its diversity and the fact that a lot of college students and hipsters live there. There are many parks in the area, so the kids I watch and I are always out and about and one thing I've come across time and time again is the advertising in the neighborhood.
The ads I've seen aren't of the typical advertising agency variety; instead, there are dozens of posters for local events, ranging from concerts and group art projects to book signings and poetry readings. The ads for these events are typically photocopied and hand-drawn on a piece of 8.5 x 11" paper. What I absolutely love about these is that they are all unique and illustrate a style not seen in run of the mill ads. They are fun to look at and read and they're usually in interesting locations such as alleyways, telephone poles and both inside and outside of local buildings.
These sort of advertisements appeal to an indie crowd and piqué the curiosity of someone walking by. In many cases, if it weren't for seeing these posters, people would have no way of knowing about what's going on, so it also appeals to the exclusivity of the market it's trying to target. A basement show in a house in Riverwest isn't for everyone, but for the people that enjoy that like knowing that not everyone is going to know about the show and it will be more catered to their crowd.
Some posters are funny or make obscure references, which further appeals to the typical Riverwest resident.
It's interesting to note the differences in how advertising is done in two different areas that aren't far apart in Milwaukee, that is, the downtown/Marquette area and the east side/UW-M area. Advertising in the downtown area seems to be predominately made up of PSAs and informing people while on the east side it's for advertising events and cool things to do.
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