Huntington Beach is one of the most frequented beaches in the country.
Space on the lifeguard towers is valuable commodity, and now businesses can pay to have their logo there.
The city introduced its new lifeguard tower design for city beach towers at a small ceremony on Nov. 7, using Tower 11, near the lifeguard headquarters, as a prototype.
Each of the 24 towers at Huntington City Beach will have space for an advertisement, Deputy Fire Chief Eric McCoy said, as well as a QR code that visitors can scan to access safebeachday.com, which the city has been using since 2022. There is also safety information displayed on the tower.
The website offers real-time data from each lifeguard tower, as crews are responding to emergency incidents.
“For example, in the middle of July, at Tower 5, that lifeguard is going on a bunch of water rescues,” McCoy said. “We have an algorithm in place on the back end, so that if he goes on a certain amount of rescues in a certain time frame, that lifeguard tower is going to turn red [on the website]. That’s saying that, ‘Hey, there’s a lot of rescues happening here right now, it’s really busy. Maybe this isn’t the best place to go if you’re not experienced in the ocean.’”
Huntington Beach Fire Chief Scott Haberle, acting city manager Travis Hopkins, state Sen. Janet Nyuyen, Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark and Deputy Chief Eric McCoy, from left, unveil the new lifeguard tower design on Nov. 7.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Beyond just live information for people already at the beach, those planning a visit can head to the website before making the trip to the sand.
“If a mom is at home, loading up the minivan with a bunch of kids she’s bringing down to the beach, she can go to safebeachday.com to figure out the safest place for her car full of kids to the beach. There’s not a lot of aquatic rescues, the ocean conditions are minimal, there’s not a lot of stingray injuries happening.”
As for the advertising on the lifeguard towers, the design has a square that simply says “Your ad here” for now.
The idea is to have advertisements on the back of every tower by the time next summer approaches, McCoy said. The program is currently in the request for proposals process on PlanetBid, where there were 16 prospective bidders as of Friday.
“Certain towers are more popular and have more visibility to the public than others and should/may be priced accordingly,” the RFP reads.
Money raised will be used to maintain or replace lifeguard towers, which can be pricey. Currently, that money is coming from the city’s general fund, McCoy said.
“Obviously, we’re in this really harsh environment, so the upkeep on these towers is significant,” he said. “We wanted to make sure that we’re providing the lifeguards with the best possible tools to do their jobs, especially in the busy summertime.”
State Sen. Janet Nguyen and Huntington Beach Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, from left, make comments during the unveiling ceremony for a new lifeguard tower design in Huntington Beach on Nov. 7.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Advertising on lifeguard towers in the city isn’t totally new. In 2010, the Huntington Beach City Council approved branding Towers 1 and 2 with the Hurley emblem, after the surf apparel company paid $90,000 to replace the towers. And Tower 3 currently has the Toyota logo, as the car company is a sponsor of the city’s marine safety program.
Huntington Beach Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark and State Sen. Janet Nguyen also gave remarks at the ceremony.
“People from around the world recognize our city’s iconic beachfront and our pier,” Van Der Mark said. “Our beaches and lifeguards are internationally recognized as the gold standard. Developing and embracing tower design is a welcome addition to our already picturesque city. This innovative design is a great example of a successful public-private partnership, utilizing the unused space on our 24 lifeguard towers.”
Nguyen said a lot of times when parents come to the beach with children, it can be difficult to distinguish the towers from each other.
“This whole new marketing and look of the towers will be so helpful,” she said. “It also helps us to think of our businesses and to honor them as well. At the end of the day, our local economy depends on them.”
Huntington Beach Marine Safety Division Chief Eric Dieterman, Deputy Fire Chief Eric McCoy, Fire Chief Scott Haberle, State Sen. Janet Nguyen, Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark and acting city manager Travis Hopkins, from left, stand in front of a new lifeguard tower design in Huntington Beach on Nov. 7.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)