Though finding new places to put ads is not my favorite marketing game, I'm very interested in Billboard Bands' nightclub wristbands advertising network. I've certainly seen branding placements on wristbands before, usually for alcohol, but I have not encountered news of a national network before now.

Billboard Bands' surprisingly useful recent press release, if taken at face value, reveals that the company has "struck exclusive, long-term commitments with over 150 trendy nightspots in the top 20 markets, offering a reach of over one million branded bands per month" including such spots as NY's Webster Hall and LA's Knitting Factory.

Of great importance for their longterm dominance of this space is the claim that "all nightclubs have signed contracts as their exclusive distribution partner." Though they're focusing on wristbands, once the network of clubs is established, they'll have strong lines of communication for related efforts.

The wristbands have flexible uses according to the release:
Billboard Bands provides advertisers with the opportunity for numerous promotional and transactional overlays, such as sequential numbering, promotion codes, tear-off coupons, drive-to-web sweepstakes and even scratch-and-win and scratch-and-sniff applications. We also offer our clients a 3-week lead-time on delivery of their final creative, and the opportunity to target their buys based on geography and flight requirements.

They're also reaching an important demographic, based on a recent survey of club-goers that surprised me with the info that 29% of respondents say they don't remove the bands till the next day.

There's something about the notion of wristbands becoming a crucial marketing platform that really appeals to me, much more so than the eggvertising platform.

Clyde Smith • ProHipHop • clyde(at)prohiphop(dot)com