February 17, 2006 - Recognizing the growing popularity of public/private partnerships, Velocity Sports & Entertainment launched its municipal marketing practice in early 2004. The company helps corporate clients strategize programs and navigate the bureaucratic obstacles inherent to municipal marketing deals. Some of Velocity's current clients include Citizens Bank, Cingular Wireless, Fidelity Investments, FedEx Corp. and CVS Corp. The agency does not represent properties.

Below, Jeff Ferguson, vice president, municipal marketing, shares his thoughts on the current trends, challenges and other issues in the muni marketing space:

Jeff, what are some of the biggest trends today in municipal marketing?

The big move has been transportation authorities entering the muni-marketing field. New York MTA and several others have been exploring deals.

Is there anything in particular driving interest by transportation agencies?

Most agencies hit roadblocks right after they develop their asset inventory and sponsorship policy. At that point it becomes tangible to city leaders and they enter into a long process of vetting opportunities. It can take months until an RFP is created and released. We tracked over 50 municipalities entering consulting deals over the last year, yet there have been very few RFPs released to date.

It takes a long time until they put a sponsorship opportunity out there. To my knowledge, the only deal that ran into a problem was Snapple's sponsorship of New York City, and that was because the solicitor was politically motivated and challenged the deal.

Deals happen quickly after a sponsorship goes through the bidding process. But it often gets bogged down before it reaches that point. It's not just slapping a company's name on the side of a building. Many cities hold workshops and conduct open forums for people to provide feedback. There may also be council members who may not be comfortable with the deal, so the mayor or city manager has to talk to them and get them on board. If it's not unanimous, it's very hard to get these programs pushed through.

I haven't heard of any muni-marketing deals lately. Is the hype over muni-marketing dying down?

If anything, municipal marketing is ramping up. The need is still there, and it's becoming more and more commonplace. You're starting to see some best practices developed.

Dallas just finalized a soda deal, while the History Channel and Chevy are two of New York City's current partners. I think the vetting process is in the final stages and you will see several deals announced in early 2006.

What does the future hold for public/private partnerships? In other words, what form do you see these deals taking over the next two to five years?

Naming rights are losing steam. I see no value on putting naming rights on schools or museums. Those deals lack media coverage; there is little or no value in a deal that doesn't gain repeat media coverage.

In addition, naming rights deals for civic venues typically don't include hospitality. It would oftentimes be better for schools and museums to go the philanthropic route. It would be fine if Bill Gates attached his name to a school, but not Microsoft. They would never get return on investment, so they're better off donating products and having students using it in the classroom.

I see dozens of articles on school districts exploring naming rights from the private sector, and it doesn't make sense.

What is the most interesting deal that you've been involved in, and why?

I am currently working on some health partnerships for CVS pharmacy. Health partnerships can be built on the Federal, State or local levels and it is interesting to see how they can integrate services to reach the community.

Can you elaborate?

In the past when we did a municipal marketing deal we dealt with one property like a city or county. The states did not get involved. States are now getting involved which gives you tremendous reach and integration. Illinois, California and now Florida are all exploring opportunities.

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