Case Study

Allentown, PA & Pittsburgh, PA
Market-Based Revenue Opportunities

Market-Based Revenue Opportunities (MBROs) are mechanisms to generate income from the private sector through advertising, naming rights, and other ancillary use of City assets such as beverage "pouring rights" and in-kind provision of goods and services.  Such programs may involve the leveraging of both tangible assets (e.g., advertising on buildings, vehicles, website) and intangibles (a city's "official" product endorsement, access to the workforce as a customer base).  When considering MBROs, it is important to evaluate specific opportunities within a policy framework reflective of community values, and to conduct a structured and proactive process to maximize returns.  In some communities, MBRO programs can grow to yield as much as 2 percent of locally-generated revenues.

PFM has conducted MBRO request-for-proposal processes for the cities of Pittsburgh (2005) and Allentown (2007) to select brokers for developing such opportunities. Pursuant to these processes, PFM developed an RFP, encouraged strong MBRO broker participation, contributed independent technical and market insight into the MBRO broker selection process, facilitated the contract formation process, and provided general guidance on MBRO program formation, policies, and structure.  Pittsburgh and Allentown expect to generate revenues within a range of $500,000 to $1.0 million annually as the new programs take hold.