How Far Should School Facility Advertising Go in Brick?

Brick's Board of Education has approved a "marketing deck" for all of the district's schools where private firms could, potentially, place logos or advertisements on school property.

The company, Advantage3, has provided the school district with electronic catalogs of the outdoor and indoor crevices of township schools – as well as school buses – with the hope of attracting sponsors to help provide revenue to the district.

While some of the advertising may look invasive at first glance, it is often flanked by artful school logos and colorful paintings of school mascots. But despite the marketing deck's inclsuive nature – which promotes advertising sponsorship opportunities on school lockers, trophy cases and cafeteria seats – school officials said they won't allow the township's schools to become a virtual billboard.

"I can't imagine the students walking through the school and seeing every locker with someone's logo on it," said Brick resident Vic Fanelli.

"Each individual contract for advertising has to be approved by the board," replied Business Administrator Jim Edwards.

The marketing deck provides for most traditional forms of advertising opportunities, including signs at sports fields and other outdoor, public areas.

"The purpose of the marketing deck … is so Advantage3 can move ahead and start to sell these advertising spaces," Edwards said.

Local, regional and national advertisers will be sought by the company, he added. The marketing decks are only a preview of potential space in the district, he said.

Certain heavy traffic signs, including sponsorship of Brick Memorial High School's main sign on Lanes Mill Road, will receive 630,000 impressions – or views by the public – each month. The naming rights for that sign would garner $150,000 according to the price listed in the marketing materials.

All of the marketing decks are available for the public to view on the meeting agenda under the 'Operations' portion.

"From there, the next step is that Advantage 3 can go out to advertising agencies and say, 'these are the spaces that Brick Township has available, which ones are you interested in?'" Edwards said.