School District 27J inks partnership to bring in additional bus advertising money

    BRIGHTON — After four months of a pilot advertising program on its propane school buses, School District 27J announced it will partner with Spot On Solutions to raise additional revenue through school busboard campaigns.
    District Spokesman Kevin Denke said the feedback 27J received on the initial pilot program was successful and encouraged the district to expand its program to include advertising on all of its buses.
    The partnership is a creative way to raise alternative revenue for the district and 27J benefits from revenue generated by the advertisements. Denke said the partnership with Spot On Solutions is a 50/50 arrangement and that there’s no financial investment or risk to the district as it’s a revenue share program.
    Spot on Solutions Inc. will work as the marketing arm for the school bus advertising program generating income for the district through exterior busboards with advertisements from local, regional and national businesses. Denke said the amount of revenue generated from the advertisements will depend on the number of businesses interested in advertising on the district’s buses.
    “We believe that with Spot On’s expertise and the appeal of businesses having their messages on our fleet of buses, that we will have a lot of involvement,” he said. “I think we’re optimistic that this will eventually become a steady, additional source of revenue for the district.”
    Busboard advertising is a unique form of targeted transit advertising that reaches families and head of households as buses travel through local communities and busy city streets, five days a week, multiple times a day, a 27J news release said. During the 2011-12 school year, the district’s fleet of 100 buses transported students more than 1.3 million miles to and from school as well as athletic events and field trips.
    “Advertising on school buses is a unique and affordable form of transit advertising,” Spot On Solution’s Chief Operating Officer Michelle Kastner said. “Busboard advertising is a win-win opportunity for all involved.”
    School bus advertising has been effective in many districts up and down the Front Range generating revenue for years.
    “With funding for schools continuing to be under severe pressure, school bus advertising offers a unique opportunity to raise revenue,” Superintendent Chris Fiedler said. “We believe Busboard advertising is a great way for the district to get some incremental funds and I’m hopeful that local businesses will embrace this new advertising opportunity.”
    Chief Operations Officer Terry Lucero said district officials are excited about the earning potential of school bus advertising to help offset expected statewide budget reductions.
    Spot On Solutions currently works with a number of school districts to generate revenue and venue advertising including Mapleton Public Schools, Adams 12 Five Star School District, Aurora Public Schools, Weld County District 6, Thompson School District and the Pinnacle Charter School.
    Denke said the community will probably begin to see a wider assortment of advertisements on 27J buses with the beginning of the 2013-14 school year.