New school of thought for advertising; wall media on campus pursues teen market

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Feb, 1989 by Liza Frenette

New school of thought for advertising * Stamford, Conn.--A new media has popped up in the $35 billion-$45 billion teen market: WallBoards and GymBoards, appearing in high-school locker rooms and college campuses, are pulling in leading advertisers.

Full-color WallBoards are being launched in more than 300 colleges and universities throughout the United States by Collegiate Marketing and Communications, L.P., a joint venture of CampusUSA and U.S. News and World Report. Meanwhile, American Passage Media Company is setting up three-paneled GymBoards in 3,000 high-school locker rooms. So far, the boards have attracted Kodak, Clearasil, Procter & Gamble and Gillette as advertisers.

Eight categories of WallBoards will be located in various campus areas: sports in the physical education building, computer information in the engineering building, and so on. The WallBoard includes photographs, a feature story and how-to tips and sidebars, flanked by an ad on the right side. Two boards appear in each of the eight categories.

Combination buys

Advertisers can purchase a combination buy in both CampusUSA magazine and the WallBoards, and possibly, in the future, in U.S. News and World Report, as well. Advertisers buy in for a full year at a cost per thousand of $4.53, although the ad itself is changed every two weeks by a student representative.

The WallBoards don't compete with the magazine's advertisting base, says CampusUSA president Daniel Snyder. "They play upon each other. They stimulate each other."

Although U.S. News does not have current plans to introduce WallBoards to its market--businesses--"I wouldn't rule out any possibility," says executive vice president Bill Harris.

The locker-room pitch

Advertisers can market products by gender in GymBoards, which are placed in both boys' and girls' high-school locker rooms. A single ad appears prominently in the center of a three-panel board that features the school colors and logo. One side holds editorial briefs on health care, study tips, and career advice, dubbed "GymShorts"; the other side is a blackboard.

For $47,840, an advertiser can reach 1 million students on 1,840 Gymboards. The editorial changes every two weeks, and advertisers are encouraged to switch copy regularly. The new messages are put into place by the school coach or athletic director, who gets paid as a rep by American Passage, says vice president and general manager Stuart Hochwert.

GymBoards promoters say research shows that teenagers spend between $35 billion and $45 billion a year.