Do you occasionally suffer from road rage? Are you a Colorado driver that doesn't know how to merge using the full 1/2-mile merge lane? Do you speed every day or do you stop for a full and legal 3-seconds at stop signs? Drivers rarely fully adhere to the traffic laws that stop signs try to enforce. But why? Here are some thoughts on how poorly traffic signs grab our attention and some marketing tactics you can use to avoid these mistakes.

1. Look for one, find two
• What do stop signs and Coca-cola have in common? They both have white writing on a red background and whether they successfully grab your attention depends little with marketing abilities and more to do with the environment. Is there a cop watching the intersection? What did the car in front of me do? Is it convenient to stop by the vending machine or the drive-thru on your way out? Whether you order a Coke over Pepsi depends more upon what the restaurant has to offer and whether your friends are drinking soda or water or beer. Tactic: Choose and control your placement around your competition. 
2. Associated impressions
• No one likes capital letters. STOP is like using all caps in an internet argument to tell other how IMPORTANT this sentence is! Symbols are more effective: European signs, the Apple computer symbol, etc. Do you recognize an octagon shape immediately and image it colored red? Tactic: Use colors and symbols for quick recognition.
3. Surprising alternatives
• Paper or plastic? Twitter or Facebook? Sometimes having an option makes users do a double take. If you are given options or meet abnormal substitutions, it makes you stop and think. Instead of stop signs, traffic controls use roundabout or yield signs because they can be more effective in reducing accidents in certain locations. Can you offer alternatives that keep your audience on their toes causing them to willing consider your product? Tactic: Be your own challenger and have options.

Last week I published a review of Made to Stick. I think this book is read not only by marketing professionals but really anyone that wants to add a little creative spice to their work. What I've found though when talking to people is that not many people (except explicit artists), consider themselves to be "creative". Well, throw all that thinking away because I am here to say YOU ARE.

"If you're a great spotter, you'll always trump a great creator. Why? Because the world will always produce more great ideas than any single individual, even the most creative one." -Made to Stick

1. Borrow it
• Honestly, borrowing someone else's genius idea is genius too. You recognize it is something awesome that can be repeated. Remember being kids in paint class yelling "No copying!" Well copying is a form of flattery... and really, did your fish's blue stripes ever look the same as the original? It is creative to borrow great ideas because you make them great again!
2. Recycle it
• You can easily recycle a old idea and reuse it in a new situation. There are tons of ideas of Pinterest that come up with unique ways to use old jeans, binder clips, and wine bottle corks. Just clear out a closet, find something you bought and never used, and actually use it! That is being creative because you are using it for a purpose you didn't originally intend it for!
3. Combine it
• Creative doesn't mean you have to come up with a brand new idea that no one has ever thought of before. Creativity is also combining any number of "regular" ideas and making them into something new. Facebook is a hit because it combines technology and the little black book. Even a poster slogan or website design can be a combination of ordinary already used ideas that turn into another singular creative masterpiece.