Little-Known SpongeTech Seizes Opportunity In Soft Ad Market

SpongeTech Has Signage In 26 MLB Ballparks, Seven NFL Stadiums, One NBA Arena

A year ago "nobody had heard of SpongeTech," but now fans "can't watch a sporting event without at least being vaguely aware" of the company, according to Tim Keown of ESPN.com. The N.Y.-based company that makes sponges with built-in soap came up with the idea last year to "approach professional sports teams with the idea of taking over in-stadium advertising space previously used by companies that were either defunct or not interested in taking huge bailout funds and having to answer questions about why they're spending to litter America's backstops." SpongeTech worked with teams "desperate to fill space and cash checks," and now the company has placement in 26 MLB ballparks, "seven NFL stadiums, a few hockey -- and one NBA -- arenas." SpongeTech COO Steven Moskowitz said, "We took up a lot of the advertising space that had been used by AIG." Moskowitz indicated that the "increased exposure has paid off exponentially." Moskowitz: "We've had a tremendous increase. The response has been way beyond anything we could have imagined, but we never could have afforded this if the economy hadn't gone in the tank." Keown noted last Saturday was a "huge day for SpongeTech, mostly because Serena Williams chose to blow a gasket in the U.S. Open semifinal directly in front of the SpongeTech logo" (ESPN.com, 9/15).