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FUNDING PATROL CARS WITH ADVERTISING

 By Bill Siuru

 Would you mind if your agency’s patrol cars looked as if they’ve just returned from the Daytona 500 Speedway?

 Your department needs several new police cruisers, but, at $25,000 on up for new wheels, there is not enough money in the budget. Well, now you can acquire free police cars – if your department and (perhaps, more importantly) your community is willing to have cars with advertising painted on their sides. Borrowing the sponsorship concept which helps make motor sports like NASCAR a huge financial success, Ken Allison, a former marketing executive (along with other businessmen in North Carolina), established Government Acquisitions, Inc. Actually, Captain Leon White of the Moorsville, NC, Police Department hatched the idea after President Bush called for suggestions on how to improve homeland security in the aftermath of September 11th. White believes adding more squad cars to a department’s fleet can mean a significant improvement in security. Ken Allison and Government Acquisitions made the idea a reality.

Making It Happen

Here is how the program works. Commercial sponsors contract with Government Acquisitions to have their advertising placed on police cars or emergency vehicles. Government Acquisitions then donates these vehicles to a police department to use for free for three years. It keeps the money paid by the advertiser. The agency does not contract with (and does not receive any money from) sponsors directly. This setup eliminates the appearance of a conflict of interest between the agency and the sponsors. 

Government Acquisitions will not accept advertising from alcohol, tobacco or firearms companies or any other company which may provide an unfavorable image for the police.

Advertising will be sold only to companies which fit a stringent profile. Police departments can stipulate that they have the final approval as to what ads are appropriate for its vehicles.

In some communities, advertising Hooters might not go over well and some police officers may not be comfortable driving a patrol car which advertises Dunkin’ Donuts. Because it is a private company, Government Acquisitions can screen and reject clients without First Amendment concerns; that’s something government agencies cannot do.

Disapproval

As expected, there are critics. Commercial Alert, a nonprofit, antiadvertising organization based in Portland, OR, feels that advertising on police cars would make the officers and their vehicles objects of ridicule and scorn. Commercial Alert, whose advisory board is chaired by Ralph Nader, sent letters to 100 leading national advertisers urging them not to participate in the program. However, Government Acquisitions says it has spoken with departments which have mentioned local sponsors on their vehicles for years. They found that public opinion and sponsor recognition – both needed to get sponsors to buy advertising – were extremely favorable. For instance, car dealers frequently donate vehicles to local law enforcement and, in turn, the vehicles display the dealer’s name on the vehicle. Often, residents scoff at the idea until they realize that these advertisements save taxpayers money (which is their money) and increases their security.

The National Association of Chiefs of Police are leery of the advertising plan, saying the ads could imply a police endorsement of certain products and the public may have trouble spotting police cars which are covered in NASCAR-style ads. Contracts between law enforcement agencies and Government Acquisitions require that the advertisements will not obscure the vehicle’s police insignia.

Who Signed Up?

The program has received tremendous response from government agencies, potential sponsors and the media. According to Government Acquisitions, almost 100 police departments in 20 states have signed contracts. Moorsville, NC, was the first city to contact for the program and will get their first squad cars this spring. Madison, NC (population 2,500), which has not been able to buy a new police car in about 14 years, has also signed up. McCurtain County in predominantly rural southeastern Oklahoma will receive six cars from Government Acquisitions and the Pine Bluff, AR, city council recently voted to pursue an arrangement with Government Acquisitions for as many as 100 police cruisers. Dade City, FL, has contracted for a dozen and Zephyrhills, FL, wants six.

The designs painted on the vehicles can range from traditional police markings (with the sponsor’s name added in several places) to rather wild ones on cars used in DARE antidrug programs. In any case, the vehicles retain their official identity. The bottom line, when citizens dials 9-1-1, they do not really care if the police arrive in a Wienermobile as long the officers arrive quickly and ready to handle the emergency.

For more information, contact:

Government Acquisitions, Inc.
     PO Box 481921
     Charlotte, NC 28269-5319
     (704)777-2424