A First For First Night

First Night Boston, the annual citywide New Year’s Eve festival, has launched its first ad sales program.
Some of the advertisers appearing in the 64-page First Night program, created by Anniversary Publishing in Boston, include BankBoston, Fidelity Investments, Cellular One, The Boston Globe, WBZ-TV and Cablevision.
Ad rates range from $2,500-$6,500 for a full-page ad. The book will be distributed to the estimated 70,000 patrons who buy First Night buttons.
According to Charles Breckling, First Night’s director of marketing and development, this year’s program is really testing the waters for New Year’s Eve 1999, a three-day celebration for the millennium as well as First Night’s 25th anniversary.
“We wanted to get some organizational experience [before] opening up a full-blown program,” Breckling said.