Can labor poster services be improved?

I hope that the powerful Labor Poster Lobby doesn’t come after me for revealing this scoop, but...

Last week I talked about how labor posters are FREE. And yet the labor poster industry is worth...

GAJILLIONS!

Okay, I don’t know how much the labor poster industry is worth. That’s not the point. Focus.

The point is that people pay for services to deliver them.

So, if the posters are free, what’s the actual protectable intellectual property in these companies? How do they differentiate their product?

What’s to keep someone else from, like, offering the Nebraska minimum wage poster for 5¢ less?

The IP is in the delivery.

I’m sure you’ve seen this old break room classic 👇. 

It’s like the Coca Cola of the labor poster industry.

Did you ever notice the copyright in the top-right corner?

That’s right! Some graphic designer in like 1973 slapped a bunch of suggested language and government agency logos on a giant rectangle and started selling it for a profit.

To be clear: I’m not suggesting that this is unethical in any way. 

I’m admiring the ingenuity.

Aren’t you?

All they have to do is swap out the different logos, language, and contact details for each state. And change it when the law changes. 

But laws don’t change that often. The federal minimum wage hasn’t changed since 2009.

So... what’s to keep someone from designing and delivering their own labor posters?

You could just change the font, color scheme, page layout and start charging people for delivery.

Why the hell am I working so hard for my money?

I could create the Punk Rock Poster™ series.

🤘 Black text

🤘 Choppy, angular letters

🤘 Agency logos off-kilter like a spray paint stencil

🤘 All the As have circles around them (Alabama is going to kill!)

Or the Classy Country Club™ series

🥂 Framed

🥂 Gothic headings with a tasteful, thin serif font

🥂 Monotone, not quite black, more like a very dark grey text

🥂 Add “please” into the boilerplate language

You know, classy.

Or, there’s nothing that says you have to use the model language. As long as it conveys the same idea.

I could have the Passive Aggressive Poster™ series with the signature Gentle Guilt™ tone

The Business Buzzword Bundle™

The Polished Pressure Postings™

Why not?

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