Brandon Twp.- School district officials are pursuing advertising revenue as a partial solution to the budget crisis they are facing.
School boardmembers approved at their March 8 board meeting a memorandum of understanding with Alternative Revenue Development, a Bloomfield Hills-based company that aims to bring new and innovative revenue streams to school districts around the state through national, regional, and local brands and sponsors.
‘I think this is a unique opportunity,? said Superintendent Lorrie McMahon. ‘Alternative Revenue Development has found an opportunity in this economic crisis for themselves and for us. It’s the first time I have felt comfortable with doing any kind of advertising, because the companies are well-screened, family- friendly and the displays will all be tasteful. They target the parents, not the students.?
Alternative Revenue Development President and CEO Sam Curcuru began the company in May 2009, after the social media application development company he worked for closed. He has hired several former advertising executives from radio and television stations, as well as numerous publications. ARD, he says, was formed to help school districts develop sustainable, significant and non-traditional revenue as they face reduced state funding, a decrease in tax base and student counts, and increased costs.
With the signing of the MOU, Brandon has reserved a position in the Business United with Schools program offered by ARD and can enter into negotiations for a long-term agreement. ARD has presented the same offer to 50 districts and is proceeding forward with all 50, Curcuru said. The program is beginning in Southgate, Trenton, and Woodhaven/Brownstown in three weeks. Other districts with a signed MOU include Bloomfield Hills, Pontiac, Troy, Dearborn Heights, Monroe and Huron Valley.
The program works, Curcuru explained, by ARD recruiting local and national business sponsors who are interested in advertising to district families. Advertising on campus would be restricted to the high school only, such as in the media center, gymnasium, cafeteria and at the athletic complex. Ads, with the possible exception of the gymnasium, would be on display only when families are present for sporting events, open houses or curriculum nights, for example.
They would not be aimed at students during the course of the regular school day.
‘We are taking safeguards that ads would be done in a tasteful, appropriate and decorative manner,? Curcuru said.
Targeted sponsors include car dealers, realtors, restaurants, banks, health care entities, health insurance, cell phone providers, and cable or internet suppliers. On the local level, Curcuru said all the buisnesses that serve the community could be natural categories, including dentists, flower shops, pizza shops, and hardware stores. Ads for tobacco or alcohol or with any sexual connotations would be avoided, as well as video game and candy advertisers.
Advertising on tickets or programs may be utilized, and other components to the program include school website and e-commerce ads, direct-to-home and new media, including social networks such as Facebook, or mobile and Bluetooth protocol. Families would have the opportunity to help the district get more funding by clicking on advertisers through the school website. Curcuru projects that if Brandon joins the program this fall, they could see revenue as high as $74,000-$105,000 in the first year and up to $210,000 in 2013.
In the revenue sharing model, ARD would receive 35 percent of the profits from network advertising, while Brandon receives 65 percent; from local advertising, Brandon receives 60 percent of revenue, while ARD gets 40 percent, and e-commerce would be split 50-50.
‘The community needs to be comfrotable with the approach and willing to help,? Curcuru noted. ‘It’s a total program effect. The times require that we get serious and find a revenue solution. It won’t solve all the (budget) problems, but we can become part of the solution.?