Name-dropping may still be considered crass in some circles, but in commerce it’s big business.
Corporations around the country have eagerly bought naming rights for the chance to re brand landmark buildings and sports arenas with signage and logos. The New York Mets now play at Citi Field, what was Chicago’s Sears Tower is now the Willis Tower named after the insurance company, and here the old Boston Garden became the Fleet Center and is now the TD Garden.
That’s why I am surprised that the MBTA got just one taker for the chance to name one of Boston area MBTA stations. JetBlue was interested in rebranding the Blue Line. But according to T officials, the bid didn’t meet the $1.2 million, five year contract.
From my seat on the Red Line train, naming rights are a win-win for the T and for sponsors. The T offers a guaranteed consumer connection, a daily opportunity for a company to get its products, and messages in front of T riders. And there are more people to see those ads since T ridership is up again. Most importantly, T riders are a captive audience. I know. No matter how many times I’m on the subway, I find myself re reading the same advertisements for no contract cell phones and community colleges.
Naming rights could be good for riders, too. Extra revenue could hold off or slow additional fare hikes. Higher fares, by the way, that still would not be enough to pay for long overdue repair, and much needed maintenance for the nation’s oldest public transportation system. Selling naming rights would bring in an infusion of cash in addition to the budgeted funds.
Having said that, I admit I’m ambivalent about corporate naming; I prefer the elegant sponsorship of old-- with the company logo front and center, but not as a replacement for the original historic or community name. Much of today’s “in your face” rebranding is strident and tacky. Cleveland’s Quicken Loan Arena, Corpus Christi’s Whataburger Field, and New Orleans’s Smoothie King Center just seem wrong.
There is evidence that many people don’t entirely share my discomfort. They don’t want higher fares, and there is acceptance of ubiquitous corporate and pervasive designer names as an entrenched part of the American cultural landscape.
Given the tight state budget, and the precarious state of Boston’s MBTA, I am resigned to the inevitable.
So, get ready to meet me at Benetton Boylston, you know the stop- right after PepsiCo Park Street.
Callie Crossley is the host of Under the Radar with Callie Crossley.
