Wednesday, September 16, 1998 |
Magnetic schedules scam locals
By MICHAEL BOYLAN Sports Editor
Would you like to have your businesses name advertised on
a magnetic schedule ? How about those cute, little footballs that
the cheerleaders throw out at halftime ? Not your cup of tea ?
What about a poster of the football team with your company's ad on
the bottom ?
If you own or work in a local business, you probably get
asked this question by every school in the area, before every sports
season begins. The problem that you face now is determining
which one's are legitimate or not.
A company in Texas that goes by several names; National
High School Sports Marketing or Sports Promotion, calls area
businesses and says they are working with the school booster clubs
or cheerleaders in putting out a magnetic calendar or poster, as a
fund-raiser. The cheerleaders do not have the funds to put out
the schedules but your advertising makes them free of charge to
the school, students and parents. What they don't tell you is
that they aren't really working with the booster clubs and that
the schools have no knowledge of this company or their venture.
Greg Stillions, Athletic Director and Assistant Principal
of McIntosh High School, says this type of thing has happened a
few times this year. " A doctor's office in Peachtree City
thought they were buying some ad space on the footballs the
cheerleaders throw out. When they received the invoice, McIntosh was
spelled with a K and they realized something was fishy."
McElroy Pest Control also purchased some ad space and
then never received any word about the products. They received the
bill though and paid it, only to find out later that the school had
nothing to do with it and the company that sold it to them cannot
be tracked down.
When this reporter called the 800 number on the invoice,
they did not answer with National High School Sports
Marketing, just National Marketing. Rachel, the girl on the phone,
explained that they have over two hundred different projects going on at
the same time, hence her confusion. She explained that the
magnets are done after making a contact with someone like a
cheerleading sponsor. They offer ad space to the business, which pays for
the production of the magnets and then gets free advertising on
all of the magnets. The magnetic schedules are shipped to
the school which then distributes them at the school to students
or at the sporting events to fans. The problem in this situation is
that McIntosh had no knowledge of this company, their product or
this promotion.
The one name that National Sports said they had contacted
in all of these calls is McIntosh's cheerleading coach, Dana
Camp, who has no idea how they got her name. But in this day and age,
the information is there for the taking. Through a little research
or time on the Internet, names of thousands of coaches and
athletic directors are readily available. Schools are the perfect cover
for disreputable companies like these because they do a lot of
fund-raising, local businesses are used to getting asked for donations
and advertising each year and who feels trepidation helping out
a school and their athletic program, especially if it will benefit
your company in the long run.
" I feel bad that these companies are tricking local
businesses and using my name . I know the companies that I go
through," Camp says. "I know they are
professional and reputable. I get confirmation letters and faxes and
am in constant communication with them."
The way to stop these types of scams is simple, call the
school and speak with the athletic director or principal. They know
about all the fund-raising going on and have put their O.K. on all the
legitimate ones. If you are interested in advertising or
donating to the school athletic programs, you can call and find out
what promotions they are running and with which company.
" The schools are so grateful to the local businesses. We are
not the only school that does fund-raising and I'm sure that
we're not the only school that something like this has happened
to," Stillion said. "The schools can't afford to have businesses hurt
by scams like this and businesses can ill afford it as well. Please call
the schools if you are approached about a venture like this."
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