Indiana Secretary of Commerce Victor Smith, who heads the Indiana Economic Development Corp., said the organization's main interest in its recent deal to place on-court ads at Bankers Life Fieldhouse was "the national TV exposure of 40-plus games," according to Barb Berggoetz of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. Smith said, "I'm absolutely convinced we got a good buy. ... If this was solely advertising just for the fans inside the building, it would be less attractive for us." The agency's "A State That Works" slogan is "emblazoned twice on the hardwood floor" at the arena, and is "located just out of bounds, in front of the home bench and the visiting bench." Smith said, "This is really about telling our story and lifting our brand. The one thing I’ve heard consistently is we have a great story in Indiana, but we just need a bigger megaphone to tell the story." Smith said that the ad spend is within the $1.3M "allocated by the Indiana General Assembly for the agency’s marketing" for '13-14. The slogan, along with "several other related IEDC ads, was first visible" at yesterday's preseason game against the Mavericks. The deal also includes "advertising on the digital ribbon board that encircles the mid-level of the fieldhouse, the digital sideboard between the two benches, goal post pads, and logos on the backdrop for Pacers coaches’ and players’ interviews at the fieldhouse" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/17).
