Fifty Million Bucks Seems to Be the Going Rate for University Naming Rights

March 31, 2015

Chasing big money donors is a three-part process: first the begging, then the bagging, then the bragging.

That last is what two institutions of higher education are doing via full-page ads in today’s Boston Globe.

Let’s take them in numerical order. From page 7:

 

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A closer look at the copy:

 

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The hardreading staff isn’t quite sure why the ad ran in the Globe, and this USC puff piece doesn’t provide much of an answer, except that Mark Stevens got an MBA at Harvard. That’s probably enough, eh?

The connection to Boston is obvious in the ad two pages later.

 

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Close-up:

 

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Here’s a BU puff piece.

Eric Randall has a smart piece on Boston Magazine’s website about the $50 million Questrom. He writes, “Back in 2006, Bloomberg Businessweek sounded prophetic in reporting on the business school naming rights trend.”

And it doesn’t have to be just business schools. We’re about to put the Global Worldwide Headquarters up for grabs. Bidding starts at $50. Don’t delay!