Under New Management.

I was at my local FastSigns this afternoon, and I saw some of their recent work on cars. I’m sure you’ve seen cars that are wrapped from stem to stern with graphics, turning them into one big ad. Interesting idea, but I’m not sure that I would want my corporate identity in the hands of somebody who cuts off potential customers in traffic. Nevertheless, it made me think about naming rights.

Naming rights are nothing new, at least in Theory. Way back in the days of the Crystal Palace and the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, Messrs. Gilbert and Sullivan created an Operetta, The Gondoliers, in which the Duke of Plaza Toro decided to “go public,” selling shares in his Dukedom, for those members of the Great Unwashed, allowing them to bask in the glow of his royal blood. The only thing the duke did NOT sell was naming rights on his cloak. (I’m sure if there’d been such a thing back then, G&S would have satirized it.) Corporate HQs have always been named after their lead tenant, but many of these buildings have leased space out to other tenants, thus allowing the tenants to glom off some of the lead company’s fame. From there it was only a hop, skip and a jump to places like sports stadiums to sell their very names to the highest bidder. (Ever wonder why USC doesn’t sell naming rights to it’s home field? I’m sure a certain maker of condoms would like the answer to that one.)

While I hate the idea of some company buying up naming rights, doing something inappropriate, and having the the sports field suffer guilt by association (Enron Field, Invesco Field, Citi Field, et cetera), the idea makes economic sense. Which leads me to ask…

…why are we constantly naming taxpayer-funded buildings after recently deceased politicians? Understand, I’m all for naming things after Ronald Reagan (one of my heroes), but the idea of naming a building after some mook who’s biggest achievement was to get reelected fourteen times is not my idea of a worthwhile idea. Better to come up with creative ways to offset budget deficits by selling the rights to buildings to the highest bidder.

Here are some ideas to get things started:

Of course, for those that want a shorter-term endorsement contract, there’s always the sides of NASA rockets. Think of what this could do for Enzyte. Might even put a smile back on Smilin’ Bob’s face after that nasty business with the states’ Attorneys General.

Should we sell our naming rights to our cherished national sites? Ordinarily, I’d say ‘no,’ but if it would keep us from begging China to buy our dollars, I think I could stand the embarassment of an Extenz Washington Monument.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 9:36 pm and is filed under advertising, marketing.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.