Ads on School Buses

We all know what's happening with budgets these days. We are feeling the squeeze on the marketing side and certainly we see unprecedented budget pressure at the government level. Schools are suffering too with reduced budgets to support educational programs and teacher salaries. Times are tough.

So people are getting clever. Several states have begun allowing advertising on school buses, and it has become a heated argument.

Advocates are saying "why not"? It generates revenue and can make children's education better.

Opponents are saying that it's damaging educational values, making it unsafe to drive, and in reality drumming up very little money at the district level.

How do I feel? Marketing should always be done responsibly, that's a given. So I am going to assume that there will be rules in place to make sure that any advertising is appropriate. We have guidelines for online marketing and television advertising to minors so we would do the same thing here.

So with that as a given, why not allow it? It's not really that different than advertising on public transportation. And if it generates money to make education better, then go for it. It's just another touchpoint which when used responsibly and effectively can help to market a brand and raise funds for the venue, in this case a school.

As far as it not generating enough revenue, then obviously someone isn't pricing it right. Raise the price. It's a free market so why not market in it.

What do you think ... what's your experience? Jim