City Joins Marketing Coalition

Billboards on the beach?

It could happen but is not likely, City Council members said Monday after voting to join the Orange Coast Marketing Coalition.

City Manager Kevin J. Murphy said the coalition negotiates contracts with private businesses to advertise in the member cities. Cities are compensated when they agree to allow a particular advertiser to market a product or service.

Most of the ads, council members said, would be small: logos on lifeguard uniforms, for instance, or lifeguard vehicles donated to the city.

The council members in favor of joining the coalition said they supported the idea because the coalition allows them to decide whether they want to work with individual advertisers. If the council thinks a particular ad is too gaudy, for example, it may decide not to work with that advertiser.

Council members Norma Glover and John W. Hedges protested the decision. They said they objected to putting the city’s shore up for sale and because, since it was on the city’s consent calendar, no public hearing was ever held on the issue.

“I don’t think everything in Newport Beach is up for sale. Newport has style; it has flair,” said Glover. “It’s easy to lower standards. But it’s not so easy to raise them.”

Hedges said he doubted that the companies would be satisfied with barely visible ads such as logos on shirts.

“Advertisers don’t advertise because they think people won’t notice,” he said.