In on the ground floor

Sports events are the best places to see creative marketing at work. Every swing of the bat, every layup, every seat and cup and song and time-out and perimeter fence is sold, labeled, branded or sponsored. I’m always amused and inspired to think of the most audacious ways to wring pennies out of space and time.

Sports marketing was at its finest at the Indy 500 this weekend, but brand frenzy spilled beyond the oval. In the lobby of the downtown Marriott, lighted logos were splashed onto the stone floor at the entrance, rotating images from banks and restaurants right in front of the logo-wrapped car parked in the middle of the room.

So why stop there? Why weren’t the sofa pillows stitched with logos? Shouldn’t the elevator doors be emblazoned with moving signs? What about corporate sponsorship of, say, Floor 15, with a logo on the elevator button?

We’ve seen signs posted on the backs of stall doors in the ladies’ room. I think there’s potential for a message on the plastic covers that slide over toilet seats at the push of a button in airports. You could sell me on hand sanitizer there. Parking meters could draw more revenue if gas stations and auto repair shops paid to post their brand identities under the coin slot, don’t you think?

People have sold ad space on their bald heads and pregnant bellies. Is any moment devoid of a marketing message? What space is just screaming to you for a creative concept?

--Julianne W.