Viewers get his message by watching their steps.

PositionNelson Lemmond Jr. - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

The difference between you and Nelson Lemmond Jr. is this: You look up at a long flight of stairs and think, "There's gotta be an elevator somewhere." Lemmond thinks, "Money."

His Charlotte company wants to fill the vertical spaces between steps with advertising, and nobody can do it quite like he can -- at least not until his patent expires in 2018. Adstep Inc. specializes in big ads composed of two or more 4-foot-wide, vinyl strips stuck on risers to form a seemingly unbroken image when viewed from afar.

Lemmond, 30, got the idea while watching TV sports in 1991, proving that channel surfing isn't always a waste of time. He struggled with high set-up costs, until advances in digital printing reduced the time and manpower needed to get ads from conception to completion. The U.S. Patent Office gonged his application three times because it was too much like one for advertising on escalator steps. In September. he convinced patent officials that the moving parts of escalators distinguished them from static steps. With the patent in place, competitors cannot put ads on two or more steps that combine to form a larger image.

Now he needs some recurring revenues. He did a display for the East Coast Hockey League at its all-star game in Greenville, S.C., and one...

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