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The Balance Wheel: Summer 2003Inside This Issue | Past Issues | Contact UsDoes Advertising Have a Place in State Agency Publications and Web Sites?By: Michelle Griffin, The Balance Wheel Editor; Darcy Bontempo, Texas; Scott Ball, Florida; and Sheila Gebhard, Minnesota
To no surprise, the ACI listserv has offered up a great topic to share with our members within the fact-filled “pages” of The Balance Wheel. This time, pending legislation in Nevada considers the use of advertising in certain state publications and on the Web site. ACI member Maureen Angel posed the question to members: Does your agency allow advertising on their Web sites? If so, has it been successful? In addition to providing you with member’s responses, The Balance Wheel decided to take this topic one step further and ask a few states how they handle the idea of advertising and corporate sponsorships in their publications and Web sites, and if they have a positive or negative experience with these efforts. You may be surprised at some of the responses. Web Site Advertising: Good or Bad?? Overwhelmingly, ACI members responded that their agencies DO NOT presently allow advertising on their Web sites. States such as Iowa, West Virginia, Idaho, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts said not only do their agencies not allow it, but they did not anticipate it being a viable possibility in the near future. Some of the reasons cited include: conflict of interest, not appropriate for a public Web site, fear of “selling out” to the private sector which may be regulated by the agency, and simply, too much trouble. There are a few agencies, such as Minnesota and Florida, who presently do not allow advertising on their Web sites, but would consider it. These agencies have no policies against it, so could see it being suggested in the future. This brings us to the more comprehensive issue of advertising in all print publications produced by state agencies. Considering there are several states using this as a revenue generating effort, we found a mixed bag of feelings on the topic. States that have been struggling for years to make advertising work for them, seem to now have the most optimistic view of it as a viable source of income while others are settling for a love/hate realtionship with their advertising partners. Minnesota has been selling advertising in their four regulation handbooks for seven years. It generates considerable revenue for each publication, providing full funding for one of the handbooks. Sheila Gebhard, who is in charge of advertising for Minnesota, says the success can be attributed to strict standards being in place regarding content, size and approval processes. For example, the Minnesota DNR has final approval of all ads; they only sell full or half page ads to keep the publication neat and clean; ads may not portray dangerous, illegal, or environmentally unsound activities that violate or appear to violate any DNR regulation or safety message; and they don't accept ads having to do with alcohol, gambling, or tobacco. These boundaries have resulted in tasteful ads that do not conflict with the natural resource work of the agency. Gebhard suggests this success has not come without growing pains. Some state employees carry a strong dislike of the advertising. They believe Minnesota is selling out to industry, and as a government agency they should not subject the public to advertising. Minnesota management looks at it in another light: they believe the partnerships and revenue have an overall positive impact. Presently, Minnesota DNR contracts with a vendor to sell the advertising space. They believe the most efficient and best approach to sales is to let experts handle it. They allow a specific number of pages in each publication to be sold, and the vendor receives a commission for each ad sold. The future of advertising at the Minnesota DNR could include other DNR publications such as the Waterfowl Supplement or their bear hunting packet. The Web site is also not off limits. If they moved in that direction, it’s speculated they would start by allowing the ads that are currently in the handbooks to be posted along with that in the publication. Although it took a few years to iron out the glitches; having deadlines in place and experience with a variety of issues, things now seem to move at a fairly smooth pace. Advertising and Sponsorship CAN BE our Friends! Texas has accepted advertised in its Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine since its inception in December 1942. The Department also solicits advertising for other publications. Darcy Bontempo, head of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Marketing Branch, explains that while advertising in publications is seen favorably, product advertising is not allowed on the Department’s Web site. The Web site is perceived as the key place where the public must be able to easily (emphasize on easily!) access information about Department programs and products, and therefore advertising is not seen as appropriate. However sponsorship recognition and links are currently allowed on the Web site as long as they do not appear on the home page or any main directory pages and as long as they appear only in context of the program or product that is being sponsored. For several years now Texas has also been developing an “Employee Sponsorship Policy and Guidelines” document to guide employees in following legal and consistent sponsorships. A sponsorship is different from pure advertising in that the sponsor receives promotion or is given recognition in exchange for money or in-kind services or goods. For example, a sponsor who supports a program might be recognized in program materials, banners, and on advertising for the program. Advertising on the other hand is strictly a paid ad – the advertiser garners no other benefits. Bontempo says the Department looks at sponsorships as sources of additional revenue to accomplish what they lack funding to achieve. As with state agencies all over the country, Texas does not have enough funding to meet goals. Employees want the freedom to solicit outside funds, and for this to be successful, there must be strict guidelines developed. The goals of the new employee sponsorship policy include ensuring that:
Toyota, through the Parks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is one of Texas’ major sponsors. Beyond this, they also support the Department in ways that go beyond any contractual agreement- for example they promote the Department’s conservation license plates by displaying these plates at their auto shows and at their Texas State Fair exhibit. This kind of real partnership relationship is what makes sponsorships so valuable, says Bontempo. ** SPECIAL NOTE TO ACI MEMBERS: Darcy Bantempo has offered to make Texas’ “Employee Sponsorship Policy” available to ACI members once it is approved. If you are interested, please contact Darcy at: darcy.bantempo@tpwd.state.tx.us ** We LOVE Advertising – No, Wait, We HATE Advertising – No, Wait, We LOVE It!.... Florida has the age-old love/hate relationship with the issue of advertising. Beginning their advertising journey in 1991, Florida has learned its lessons mostly through the type of relationships they developed with the contractors who actually sold the advertising. Scott Ball - Interim Director, Office of Informational Services, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission - says they started in a profit-sharing relationship and heard big promises made about revenues growing beyond offsetting costs, and actually turning a profit for the agency. Of course, with no guarantees, reality fell far short of hopes. Dealings with the contractor were difficult and Florida chose not to renew the three-year deal. For the next three years, they had a different contractor and a flat, discounted rate rather than gambling on a share of the profits. This was an amicable arrangement, and the state saved money, but management philosophy shifted toward a desire for no advertising and patronizing Florida businesses. (the first two contractors were from other states.) They switched to a local company for two years, receiving the same quantity and paying about the same cost without ads, but there were problems with print quality and product delivery. Now they are back with the second company and a deal guaranteeing no cost to the agency for the fishing regs and one-third the previous cost for the hunting regs. The statute allowing Florida to include advertising specifically prohibits ads for alcohol, tobacco products and political campaigns. They never had any serious problems with controversial advertisers, but did have to reject one or two ads for hunting-related products that are illegal in Florida. There are differing opinions as to whether the law covers Web sites, but it is an issue Florida is currently not interested in pursuing. No other Florida agency allows advertising on its Web site. There doesn’t seem to be any agency who is in a big hurry to address the issue of advertising on Web sites for various reasons. However, advertising in print publications along with sponsorship relationships, seem to hold far more benefits than liabilites. As we all struggle with budget constraints and shrinking staffs, perhaps we can use the example of some agencies to look for creative and ethical ways to generate revenue within our own states. top |
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