Marketing firm touting togs as next ad frontier.

If you ever find the words "This Space for Rent" written across your chest, you'll know Solomon Emeth designed your outfit.

Emeth puts advertising messages on employee uniforms. His company, EyeLevel Marketing in Los Angeles, hopes to sell the concept to theme parks, sports venues and retailers.

"I'm no longer in the clothing business, I'm in the advertising business," said Emeth, who spent decades in the apparel sector before developing the patent-pending technology behind EyeLevel.

The system uses Velcro-like hooks and fuzzy panels to hold printed advertisements onto the uniform. The messages can promote brands sold in the store or the store itself.

In an early application, the sales staff at Beverly Hills Perfumery wore panels promoting a certain fragrance. Sales shot up 12 percent during the one-month campaign.

Los Angeles-based 99 Cents Only Stores conducted a test with front-and-back uniform advertising. The two products, Shasta Cola and 99 Cents calling cards, improved sales 16 and 6 percent, respectively.

Other clients include Universal Studios theme park and the National Football League's Indianapolis Colts.

EyeLevel offers two programs for retailers. In the first, the retailer gets the uniforms for free. In return, EyeLevel handles ad sales and keeps the bulk of the advertising revenues. Free uniforms and worry-free incremental income appeal to mid-size or small stores, according to Emeth.

The second option is a licensing deal. The retailer pays for the technology and the uniforms, but retains a hand in the selling and revenue stream from advertising. Exact money-sharing percentages are negotiable, but the standard rate is $125 per uniform per year. Emeth said a good retailer could recoup that sum in a few months.

Emeth added that a lot of brands have in-store promotion budgets. His product "allows retailers to offer the opportunity to the vendors to use those dollars on this eye-level platform," he said.

However, EyeLevel comes to market at a time when consumer attitudes toward advertising in general have soured. A 2006 study by Forrester Research rifled "Consumers Love to Hate Advertising" found that interruption, clutter and irrelevance were common reactions to ads, and consumers are increasingly taking action to block, avoid or ignore the messages.

But Emeth believes uniforms, like any other new media, will find their natural place in the consumer experience. "We feel it can present a brand in a very non-abusive manner," he said. "It's becoming a better visual as people understand it better."

BY JOEL RUSSELL

Staff Reporter