The next advertising frontier: Hospitals

In a Modern Healthcare commentary, Patrick Evans of Evans sales suggests that hospitals should charge for advertising:

Walk inside any hospital and you see logos everywhere. Companies such as Hill-Rom Co., Gojo Industries (makers of Provon and Purell sanitizing products), Stryker Corp., Welch Allyn already place their logos prominently on products used in hospitals.The above mentioned firms are marketing to nurses, doctors and the public, so there is monetary value to their name being placed in a hospital room. Not all limit their marketing to providers, however. Visit the Hill-Rom Web site and there is a question on the home page asking, "Want to buy a Hill-Rom product for your home?" Welch-Allyn's Web site states they sell to doctors, medical students, etc. Gojo launched Purell as a consumer product back in 1997.

Evans advocates charging these companies a fee, and removing their logos if they don't pay.But why not take things a step further and plaster advertising all over hospital walls, floors, ceilings, bathrooms, medical equipment and so on? It wouldn't have to be just medical advertising either. Ads for beer, snacks, cars, funeral homes, insurance... Why be fussy?It's only been a few years that ads have been on the walls in airports, on shopping carts, taxis, airplane tray tables and so on. Nothing's sacred so I say go for it!