Naming Rights: Are companies putting their names in the wrong places?

“GA 400 and I-285 Interchange to be branded Modig Interchange”

For those LinkedIn users who live in or are familiar with Atlanta, this headline would certainly be news worthy. The interchange of GA 400 and Interstate 285 is considered one of the worst, as in most congested, highway interchanges in the country, with an estimated 450,000 vehicles passing through the area daily. As a former daily commuter through this interchange, I know first hand the additional hours of “windshield time” that is added to the weekly commute.

And because of this congestion, this interchange is a staple ingredient during the morning and afternoon traffic reports on all radio, TV, traffic apps and internet channels, garnering hundreds of mentions each work day. Throw in the thousands of times it is mentioned by commuters in conversations – verbal and on social media – and we’re looking at a huge branding opportunity here.

What If….

Travel with me into this alternative universe for a moment. What if The Modig Group had hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank and the company started examining naming rights at the usual places – professional and collegiate sports venues?

Some consider this a no-brainer, as a May 2019 Forbes article showed the average annual cost for stadium rights in Major League Baseball (MLB), for example, at $5.2 million, yet averaged $12.3 million in exposure in just the first six weeks of the season.

But in this age of increased Corporate Social Responsibility, what if The Modig Group wanted to instead invest its millions in a project(s) which in some way bettered the community AND had tremendous exposure value?

Enter the interchange. It’s a slam dunk, win-win situation for all involved. In the example of GA 400 and I-285, The Modig Group is funding desperately needed transportation remedies for millions of Atlanteans, in exchange for daily exposure, and Georgia’s Department of Transportation is receiving significant funds to help with its cost.

And what’s this exposure worth? It’s hard to be exact, but let’s assume the following:

• Like the MLB example above, annual investment of $5.2M
• Two hundred media mentions of “Modig Interchange” daily
• Avg. value of each mention is $800
• Twenty days per month of morning and afternoon traffic reports
• 200 x $800 = $160,000/day x 20 days = $3.2M x 12 months = $38.4M

For a $5.2M investment, the Modig Group would gain $38.4M in exposure, more than three times that of naming the local professional baseball stadium.

This is not a new idea, and is one which has been met with push-back as local, state and federal departments of transportation are sometimes not willing to accept corporate funding for naming rights of roads, interchanges or even transportation facilities (bus and/or train stops for example). For instance, The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a naming rights policy in December 2016 for its facilities and routes, only to rescind it two months later over potential lawsuits for skipping sponsors (source).

Not to mention the Federal Highway Administration has some strict guidelines in place.

But that is starting to change, with areas like Washington DC, Cleveland and San Francisco recently allowing corporate naming of transit locations and routes, according to a January 2019 article in Advertising Week.

Let’s face it, our streets and bridges are getting older, there are more and more cars on the roads and highways, and tolls and gasoline taxes can only go so far. Thus, we’re probably going to see more corporate names on public facilities and transportation routes.

Does the Modig Interchange have the same pizazz as Modig Park, home of the MLB’s Atlanta Braves? Probably not.

But for perhaps three time more exposure value, maybe the pizazz isn’t worth the investment.