Schools Lean On Advertising for Funding

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By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

In this whirlwind of economic activity, the nation's attention is stuck on Wall Street and Capitol Hill. What is the financial district doing, and what will the government do to get the U.S. out of this mess? The sector that arguably needs the most assistance (and is being ignored) is the education section. School districts nationwide have seen their budgets slashed when their budgets were small in the first place. If the state and federal governments can't help, where are the school districts that are strapped for cash going to go?

Why else would this topic be here? Of course, schools districts are turning to advertising.

Phillips from Freakonomics covered this new wave of ad placement, and noted that states are suffering a combined $100 billion budget deficit. Phillips noted that seven states are allowing ads on school buses, and businesses are popping up that focus solely on school advertising.

An author at the Advertisement Journal covered a story in Minnesota, where a school is using a board for advertising space. It isn't much, but it is covering the costs for first aid kits, school equipment, and even uniforms. The article also said that other schools may be looking at lockers, school buses, and other places where businesses could get the biggest bang for their buck...and students could get textbooks.

Advertising is helping a school in Philly raise close to $400,000 after its annual budget was cut by a whopping $3 million. The Consumerist reported that the school district made a deal to place over 200 ads in its elementary, middle, and high schools. The cool thing about the ads, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, are that the ads must relate to student safety, healthy nutrition, health, and education and must not directly endorse a certain product or service. Some examples of the companies advertising in that school district are the U.S. Library of Congress and Post-it Notes.

In Georgia, a high school is using its digital school display to showcase advertisers, and will be using the revenue to pay for a new turf athletic field. According to the article, even a utility company, Georgia Natural Gas, has signed up to advertise with a high school in the same county.

Those are just a few examples of a brand-new channel for advertising. Talk about a marriage between free enterprise and education. As advertising is the language of business, and most business is done in the private sector, those people who want government out of their education systems should be shutting up.

A more important question comes to mind as we continue talking about advertising in schools. What role will advertising play in the U.S. education sector from here on out? Will it simply be a pocketbook for schools?

The advertising industry has a fantastic opportunity to do some very positive things for these school districts, and the students in them. Highlighting creativity, businesses displaying the causes they believe in, starting discourses in subjects that matter — all could be accomplished by smart advertising in the schools.

Who would have thought that advertising can help teachers keep jobs and keep school doors open?

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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