You just know a good idea when you see it, don't you? The mayor's office of the Belgian City of Ghent for instance just came up with an idea that gives the all to familiar: "Now why didn't I think of that?" feeling.

Here's the thing. The city provides designated places for people to put up posters for their events, announcements, concerts, you know, all that jazz. But just as in any city you'll find posters on just about any lamppost, brick wall, bus stop and public bin available. Sure there are fines to contain the problem, but the profits made on people showing up at your event outweighs the cost of a fine. To some, the 120 EURO fine is actually a good deal. They have that cost calculated in their communication budget. For 120 EURO you get to put up your poster all over town. Not true, but it's a rational many event organizers go by.

So the mayor's office decided to do something entirely different. What if they could come up with a way the enforce the law without adding extra laws and regulations, without spending time and money on police hours and legal actions…?

Here's what they came up with. Where ever they find a illegally put up poster of an upcoming event, they glue a sticker on it that says "Cancelled" or "New date". Done.
(source: http://bit.ly/c4LGNK (Dutch))

It had me in stitches instantly, probably because I'm not an event organizer without an audience, but mainly because it is a perfect example of great creative thinking. A "what if" translated into a simple, effective and totally unexpected action.

My compliments to whomever came up with this.
Taking a deep bow,

Karl

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