From selling ad space on rescue helicopters to fire trucks to subway turnstiles, "dozens of... financially struggling cities, transit systems and school districts around the country... are trying
to weather the economic downturn by selling advertisements, naming rights and sponsorships to raise money," writes Michael Cooper.
Such deals can also help marketers "try to reach
consumers who have grown more adept at tuning out commercials, whether with remote controls or digital video recorders," according to Cooper.
Of course there's still opposition to such
creeping commercialization. As John Balloni, a chief in the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office in Syracuse,N.Y., says in the post, "Some people are a little put off by the idea
that we’re getting sponsorship for what used to be a government duty, if you will.”
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