Tuesday, March 27, 2001
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The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Student's business in the toilet
School project becomes a career
Ads in the bathroom of Brown Brewing Co., 729 Massachusetts St, gaze down at Eric Gonsher, Overland Park junior. Gonsher transformed a class project into his own business, E.L. Bailer Indoor Advertising. Gonsher has sold bathroom ad space to Lawrence bars, restaurants and clubs. Photo by Joshua Richards/KANSAN
By Sarah Smarsh writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Eric Gonsher wants to give you something to read on the toilet.
Gonsher, an Overland Park junior majoring in business administration, has created an advertising company that posts billboards in public bathroom stalls. The company, E.L. Baller Indoor Advertising, began last semester as a journalism class project in which students chose an advertising medium and tried to "sell it" to the teachers.
Gonsher said other students in the sales strategy class, taught by John Katch, associate professor of journalism, and Diane OByrne, journalism lecturer, selected traditional media such as newspaper and radio. But Gonsher saw the opportunity to profit from bathroom advertising, which has attracted clients like Nike and Sony since its inception in the mid-1980s.
"I wanted to be different, but I was also looking for a way to make some extra cash." Gonsher said. "After researching the medium, I realized that the Lawrence market is ideal for indoor advertising."
Local public bathrooms—particularly in bars, clubs and restaurants are perfect venues, Gonsher said, because of Lawrence's busy night life and large population of 18- to 35-year-olds.
Gonsher researched about 30 successful indoor advertising companies and went to work starting his own. First, he sought permission
from 20 sponsor locations like the Brown Bear Brewing Co., 729 Massachusetts St.; El Mezcal, 1819 W. 23rd St.; and Royal Crest Lanes, Ninth and Iowa streets.
"I look for locations that fill to capacity at least once a week and cater to the right crowds." he said.
Next, Gonsher lined up his vendors and subcontractors — billboard suppliers, graphic designers, photographers and printers. Then he hit the streets in search of clients.
E. L. Bailer — "reliable" spelled backwards—sold more than $6,000 in contracts in January, its first month, Gonsher said. Each of the 50 billboards in town, installed in February, holds space for four of Gonsher's clients, which include Jamaica Tan, 2311 Wakarua Drive; Jefferson Commons, 2511 W. 31st St.; and Saferide. Gonsher said he planned to expand to at least 20 more locations by next February.
His company has succeeded, Gonsher said, because bathroom advertising "pretty much sells itself."
"Local business owners understand that they can't get this type of exposure with any other type of media," he said. "I am able to offer them a captive audience, seven days a week." Gonsher added that his marketing medium was much cheaper than radio or television spots.
Chris Nyberg, owner of Jamaica Tan, said he bought the bathroom advertising because of its guaranteed audience.
Gonsher added that "advertisers can target their market by gender with 100 percent accuracy."
Gonsher said his most important tasks were maintaining billboards, learning about the industry and developing his business.
"I want to be very careful to take it
slow and do it right," he said.
Gonsher said taking it slow was difficult for him, even while he is a full-time student.
"Icould probably work 100 hours a week, but I make myself stop after 50 to make sure that I don't get burned out," said Gonsher, who said he planned to continue the business after graduating. "I'm very passionate about my work."
Gonsher said he was happy to take his passion to the toilet.
"This is the one time of the day when these active consumers actually slow down and give you their undivided attention for up to two straight minutes," he said.
Work advances house by 2 months
Five use break to help Habitat for Humanity
By Sarah Warren writer@kansan.com Kansas staff writer
Spring break brought about a couple of firsts for Courtney Kaytis. The Easton, Conn., sophomore, made her first trip to Texas and built her first house.
Kaytis was one of five KU students who headed to Austin, Texas, to work on a house for Habitat for Humanity during spring break. Along with Kaytis, Shannon Snapp, Belleville freshman; Mike Leighnor, Overland Park freshman; Therry Eparwa, Overland Park sophomore; and Andy Rahardja, DeSoto sophomore made up the KU contingent.
The group worked Tuesday through Saturday with a group of 15 students from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., and rotating volunteers from local companies and schools. The eventual home owner was also on site, completing a few of the 400 to 500 "sweat equity" hours to receive the house upon its completion.
Kaytis said that four of the KU students, including herself, had never done anything with Habitat before, so everything was a learning experience.
"We didn't know what we were doing at first," Kaytis said. "But they taught us really quick how to do something and then just let us do it."
Learning how to saw, hammer and apply siding along the way, the group worked from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each dayweek and then from 8:30
"When we were done we had a roof and siding on the house."
Courtney Kaytis Easton, Conn., sophomore
"usually the people who work for Habitat work on Saturdays," Kaytis said. "With the work that we did there we put them forward about eight Saturdays."
a. m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The group helped the house to move forward almost two months in production.
The group raised the skeleton and added major exterior work to what had already been constructed by the Austin volunteers.
"When we were done we had a roof and siding on the house," Kaytis said. "That's when it really started to look like it was a house we were working on."
Eparwa said that in her week there, she learned valuable labor skills she wouldn't have learned otherwise.
"Now if you asked me to make a shelf, I could take a staple gun and go at it," Eparwa said.
But the group didn't spend all of their precious spring break as work horses; they also found some time to go out and enjoy the unique Austin night life.
"The Austin Habitat kids took us out," Snapp said. "The first half of the day was pretty tiring but then they let us loose."
That is, if they had any energy left. "We were too tired to stay out too late," Eparwa said.
Edited by Jay Pilgreen
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