BEA: Urinal Marketing

In most bathrooms, you see scribblings about phone numbers, who is skilled at what sexual technique, maybe a few drawings, even an occasional Zen koan or two. At BEA, you find determined marketing efforts.

On Friday, I noticed that a business card for a literary PR firm was placed on the edge of a urinal. I thought maybe someone just set it down while they took care of their business. But then I gazed at the wall in front of me and a bookmark for a self-published tome was wedged in a crack. There were a bunch of folks in the restroom and I really didn’t feel like punching my way out, so I refrained from whipping out my camera. I love Chuck Berry’s guitar playing, but I didn’t want to be accused of following his bathroom photographic techniques.

On Saturday, the business card and bookmark were gone, but this handout now rested in that honored place.

I can only assume that people were consciously placing these marketing items where they thought it would be most effective. It’s tough trying to break in as an outsider author. But, I guess this is the best place to communicate with a captive audience.