Advertising's all about location. And some of the best empty spots are owned by local governments - there's the buses, the athletic fields and the downtown buildings.

Those empty spaces are looking like ripe moneymakers to several local towns. The town of Cary recently moved to allow sponsorship of a much wider range of town buildings and services, while other local governments have in years past ramped up their own policies.

"With the recession, revenues are down and you're looking at options," said Jerry Allen, director of parks and recreation for Morrisville. "Sponsorship programs, I think, are becoming a little more of a focus."

The idea was born long ago, but recent years have brought corporate sponsorships far beyond the traditional Little League jerseys and baseball fields. Nationally, government property has become a target for advertising philanthropy, such as a KFC campaign to rebrand fire hydrants.

Cary sees opportunity on its town buses, Adopt-a-Spot signs and rooms in its arts facilities, while before it limited naming rights and corporate sponsorship to the parks, recreation and cultural department.

"At one point in time, (local towns) were extremely reticent to commercialize things," said David Chapman, chief executive of 919 Marketing in Holly Springs. His clients are showing increased interest in municipal sponsorships, he said, but the field is fertile. Governments hold valuable advertising spaces and are so far selling them at cheaper rates, he said.

And government assets - cultural facilities, transportation routes, sports programs- are often integral, well-loved parts of people's routines.

"Now I can reach you on your way to work, I can reach you doing things in a normal sort of daily life. Now you can see it all day long," he said.

Cary is so far raising significantly more money from businesses than its western Wake neighbors; WakeMed Soccer Park's name alone will draw $125,000 this fiscal year and nearly three times that sum in years past. The town's next biggest recent deal, a private donation, brought $15,000 for sound equipment at the Cary Arts Center.

Overall, the town's sponsorship revenues have stayed level over the last few years, but should increase with the new policy, said Danny Hopkins, director of Cary's parks, recreation and culture department.

A few miles away, Morrisville staff are trying to find more business for their 2-year-old sponsorship policy. It brought in $5,400 in cash and donated materials last fiscal year, mostly by putting local businesses' names on banners at sports matches.

Town leaders often are eager to put companies' names on expensive new facilities, too.

"I'd like to be able to name the center the Pac-Bell Holly Springs Community Center, or the Progress Energy Holly Springs Community Center," said Holly Springs Councilman Chet VanFossen during a debate this year about a community center. His town is working to set uniform prices for recreation and cultural sponsorships.

Ploy has pitfalls

The increasingly popular concept does have pitfalls. Marketing experts say it's harder to track customers' responses to sponsorships than advertisements, which allow more specific messages.

Towns face a challenging question too: What happens when a company's message or mission clashes with local values?

The town of Cary's policy generally forbids sponsorships involving the usual vices: tobacco, alcohol, politics and sex, to name a few. Affiliation with those topics might not be great for the town and its image, the policy states.

"That's one of the risks that you run," Hopkins said. "We have an approval process where we vet it through the appropriate staff, and there's an appeal process if they're denied."

The towns are on solid legal ground when they pick and choose sponsorship deals, according to a 2003 article in Popular Government. First Amendment law allows governments in this case to ban entire topics, such as politics, but not specific stances on those politics.

The towns' policies generally allow companies to place brand and product names and logos, but forbid specific advertising of sales and deals.

So far, according to town staff, local businesses have been the quickest to put their names on the new advertising spots.

Triangle Eye Institute, a Morrisville- and Raleigh-based practice, was a recent sponsor of a Morrisville athletic program.

After seeing little return from mailers and other advertising, the business has shifted 90 percent of its marketing spending to local sponsorships.

"That's one of the biggest things we can do, work ourselves into the community and be a positive influence," said manager Ryan Walsh. "We can actually make a difference while getting our name out there."