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For novelty in advertising, we see that Flush Media, a company that specializes in indoor advertising, announced it has signed up Town Sports International (TSI). The numerous fitness clubs in the TSI network include the popular New York Sports Clubs (NYSC), Boston Sports Clubs (BSC), Washington Sports Clubs (WSC) and Philadelphia Sports Clubs (PSC). Flush Media estimates that the TSI frames placed above urinals and in stalls as well as locker rooms will reach 1.5 million consumers, creating 12.6 million monthly impressions. You may recall in the early 80s, "indoor advertising", or restroom advertising placed inside stall doors and above urinals was met with decidedly mixed reactions. However, the more adventurous businesses immediately saw the potential in an upscale, captive audience. Well, now it appears to have exploded on the fitness center scene. "Alternative advertising" companies as they're also called sprang up in response to the advertisers for cheap, highly targeted ads. Most broadcast and print campaigns can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars, which prohibits many small companies from advertising effectively. Bathroom advertising offers the ability to target by age, income, and gender for a fraction of the cost of "traditional" media--and it's guaranteed that the ads will be stared at, every day.
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Reaching the Health Conscience Consumer
"TSI boasts a membership of more than 350,000," says Mark Ghermezian, president of Flush media, "Marketing managers and advertising agencies of consumer products and services, from power bars and athletic equipment, to techno gadgets and vacation destinations, can now reach the health-conscious, 18- to 40-year-old man or woman - or both - in this unique, cost-effective venue." "High-end restroom/indoor advertising offers an opportunity to reach an unprecedented gender specific, captive audience while attaining a retention level unsurpassed by any other advertising medium," explains Ghermezian. For example, a survey conducted by Rice University found that restroom advertising delivers recall up to 40 percent more effectively than magazine, newspaper, Internet, television, radio and outdoor billboard advertising.
"TSI club members," he adds, "are health conscious, stylish and are committed to being physically active. In addition, the majority of members work full time and have above-average annual incomes. This demographic represents large buyers of CDs, videos, computers, software, sporting equipment and health and beauty products, providing endless opportunities for advertisers in these categories. In fact, we just recently signed contracts with Turner Network Television (TNT), an AOL Time Warner Company, NYK (weighted workout vests) and Decathlon (a sporting goods and apparel store), allowing them to reach their target market on a very affordable and manageable budget in the TSI venue."
Extra Revenue for Health Clubs
 Challenging economic times and stock market jitters are causing many advertising budgets to be cut, forcing advertisers to look for more creative, less expensive ways to reach their target audience. "Restroom advertising is a win-win situation for everyone," says Ghermezian. "The host of the frame -- in this case, TSI -- gains a percentage of the gross revenue of advertising to put toward programs, maintenance or their own internal advertising (to members). The advertiser gets an opportunity to reach a gender-specific, captive target for a fraction of the cost compared to other methods of marketing." TSI's director of corporate marketing, Kristine Eglitis, says, "We are very protective of our members and want to ensure that they are not bombarded by advertisements when they are in our clubs. Restroom signage is an ideal medium because it allows advertisers to reach our members without distracting them from their workouts." Frames within the TSI clubs will be hung in the locker rooms and in the restrooms, above the urinals and inside the stalls.
About Flush Media
Flush media, whose parent company is Triple Five Group based in Nevada and Canada, specializes in upscale restroom ad design and placement in the United States and Canada in sports clubs, stadiums, airports and malls. www.flushmedia.com
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