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(Mis)Uses of Technology

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Nov 29th 2004 10:42pm





Up Next? High School - Brought To You By....

from the how-it-all-works... dept

mcc writes "A company called Universal Scoreboards has come up with a novel way of getting advertising into high schools. The company is giving away high-tech scoreboards to schools and getting prime ad real estate in exchange. Advertisers get a very targeted, captive audience, USB gets advertising dollars, and the school gets a cool new scoreboard and a share of the ad revenue. While the practice raises questions about the propriety of using schools as marketing centers, the potential for some schools to supplement inadequate funding may help it gain widespread acceptance." This does strike me as an interesting business model experiment, even if some find it a bit upsetting to see schools get more corporate. Companies are increasingly realizing that business models can be a bit different than simply selling things directly, though, when it gets into the school system, it's not hard to understand why it upsets some people.

8 Comments | Leave a Comment..


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  1.  

    ads in textbooks?

    identicon
    aNonMooseCowherd, Nov 29th, 2004 @ 11:20pm

    I supposed it's only a matter of time before product placements (i.e. ads) start showing up in textbooks.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    Satire Or Real Life?

    identicon
    mhh5, Nov 30th, 2004 @ 1:42am

    I think this was a Simpsons episode, wasn't it? Where the school sold commercial soft drinks to supplement their funding...

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  

    No issue

    identicon
    xman, Nov 30th, 2004 @ 4:01am

    There is no issue here : schools should not accept *any* kind of sponsored material. They ought to be funded properly to start with.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  

    Not all that new

    identicon
    John, Nov 30th, 2004 @ 6:14am

    Although the scoreboards may be newer and flashier, the idea isn't all that new. I remember my highschools scoreboard having ads for local businesses in the 70's.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  

    Ads on Scoreboards

    identicon
    Billy Kramer, Nov 30th, 2004 @ 6:28am

    Coke has been giving scoreboards away in Georgia for years. Coke partners with an advertising agency and lets them sell other advertising on the board which is also shared with the school.

    The program has been average at best.

    Schools with great booster clubs don't like the program because of the conflicts that can arise between their sponsors and the ads the 3rd party sells.

    Also, companies don't want to advertise with schools that have poor attendance.

    These two problems leave a small percentage of schools that can really benefit from the program.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  

    Re: ads in textbooks?

    identicon
    DV Henkel-Wallace, Nov 30th, 2004 @ 11:35am

    " it's only a matter of time before product placements (i.e. ads) start showing up in textbooks."
    Sorry, it's already happening. Check out this google link which provides such gems a:

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  

    Re: ads in textbooks?

    identicon
    aNonMooseCowherd, Nov 30th, 2004 @ 5:53pm

    DV Henkel-Wallace wrote: Sorry, it's already happening.

    Thanks, I had no idea. I suppose the next step is teachers interrupting lessons every 15 minutes to give commercials.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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