When is a sidewalk not a sidewalk? When it's also a billboard.
Angel Jennings, STAR TRIBUNE - Minnesota
Published: July 29, 2006

As advertisers try to find fresh ways of attracting your attention, no surface is safe, including streets and sidewalks.

A company in Waite Park, Minn., SignWalk.com, has found a way to adhere logos and other ads to concrete and asphalt. The appropriately named "Signwalks" could turn pavement into billboards.

For joggers and motorists, this could mean running over Nike's swoosh or Target's red bull's-eye. And for gas stations and restaurants, Signwalks could turn their parking lots into moneymakers as advertisers buy space to advertise on their property.

"With Signwalks, you stand on it when you pump gas and again before you walk into the store," said Shawn Peck, who helped develop Signwalks with Lonnie Folsom. "The best advertisement is right before people open up their wallet."

The company said it is talking with Metrodome officials about putting Signwalks in the seating area. And soon, people can check them out at the State Fair.

Peck said Signwalks "last forever," but it recommends replacing the ads every six months. The slip- and weather-resistant ads can be removed only with a special remover.

Just like a billboard, costs vary by size and location. A 3-by-4-foot ad at a gas station would cost $150 a month, but the same logo would cost $1,500 if placed at the State Fair.
Peck said the company is negotiating with Miami and New York to put advertising on city sidewalks.

St. Cloud businesses have started putting down ads on their streets. Sam Heinen said traffic at his restaurant, HR Presty's, has increased since he installed two Signwalks in front of the building. "They seem to attract a lot of attention," Heinen said.

Angel Jennings • 612-673-4685