The naming of Allstate Arena can be viewed either as the latest example of a hot trend in today's corporate world or just as part of a long-standing tradition among American businesses.

With Miller Park, Pro Player Stadium and United Center are some of the more recent examples of corporations buying the rights to place their names on arenas.

Today, the transaction is known as "naming rights."

But such a practice dates to the turn of the century, when chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. placed his name on a quaint brick ballyard in Chicago. Or when brewer August Busch built a gleaming stadium in St. Louis.

Whether trend or tradition, executives at Allstate Insurance Company express excitement at seeing the corporate name emblazoned on a newly renovated arena in Rosemont.

Northbrook-based Allstate Insurance employs 5,000 people at its corporate headquarters. The company takes pride in doing community service work, yet it has a low profile.

Allstate is on a mission to change that perception.

"The Allstate Arena is one of Chicago's most imposing structures, located along one of its busiest expressways. it brings the kind of visibility we're looking for in our hometown," said Michael McCabe, Allstate's senior vice president, marketing and brand development.

"Allstate is the best-kept secret in the Chicago market. We want to have higher visibility in our community," said Jill Weaver, Allstate's vice president of advertising and brand communication.

The genesis of Allstate Arena began almost a year ago, when Weaver was given the mission to heighten Allstate Insurance Company's visibility in the Chicago area.

"It was time to shed our shyness," Weaver said. "We wanted to have a stonger impact in the community that's our home."

Weaver met with one of Allstate's advertising agencies, Kelly, Scott and Madison in Chicago, and issued a challenge.

"I asked them to come up with something ceative, to think about how we would expand our visibility in Chicago beyond the traditional venues."

The mission was assigned to Nick Luciano, a Kelly, Scott and Madison vice president. Everywhere he traveled, he was looking for new ideas, something that would get attention and get it done with dignity.

Then one day in October, inspiration struck on a plane ride home from Florida. Luciano discussed his task while sitting next to Bob McAuliff, president of The Venture Group, a Wood Dale-based marketing firm. McAuliff, who does consulting work for the village of Rosemont, suggested that Luciano might look into Allstate purchasing the naming rights to the Rosemont Horizon.

"He was looking for a big idea," McAuliff said. "I gave him a big idea."

The more the two talked, the more Luciano liked the idea. The Horizon had high visibility and a reputation for offering entertainment that appealed to a variety of interests, from sports to concerts and from the circus to ice shows.

And the arena was about to undergo $20 million in renovations. If Allstate put its name on the building following the facelift, it essentially would be like opening a new arena, Luciano reasoned.

"By the time we arrived in Chicago, I didn't want to let Bob McAuliff off the plane," Luciano said.

Luciano took the idea back to Weaver, who loved it.

"We knew a lot of other companies were doing this, but we viewed this as something different," Weaver said. "Unlike most facilities, which are built exclusively for sports, the Allstate Arena is a place with events that appeal to people of all ages. There is a broad mix of entertainment for the music fan, the sports fan, the family."

McAuliff, meanwhile, approached officials in Rosemont, who also liked the proposal.

"We liked the idea of being affiliated with a partner like Allstate," said Harry Pappas, executive director of the arena. "It is a reputable company. It is also a local company."

Negotiations took place immediately. While it could be assumed that a major corporation and a public body would be slow to act, a deal was reached by spring. Allstate would pay roughly $10 million to secure the naming rights for 10 years.

"It came together so fast because it was the right relationship," Weaver said.

If Allstate is looking for higher visibility, it came to the right place, at least according to projections from Kelly, Scott and Madison. The firm suggests that more than 32 billion pairs of eyes will see the name Allstate Arena annually. It calls those glimpses "media impressions," and they come in a variety of ways:

• Each year, some 62 million vehicles drive past the Allstate Arena on the Northwest Tollway, and passengers presumably will see the name on the sign.

• Reviews of concerts and acts in newspapers and on TV and radio mean that Allstate Arena will be read or mentioned on the air more than 22 billion times a year.

• Coverage of DePaul Blue Demon basketball and Chicago Wolves hockey on radio, TV and newspapers will result in the use of the name another 10 billion times.

• Each person attending an event at Allstate Arena will have 10 "impressions," including the name on tickets, programs, building signs and the logo on the floor. That adds up to 15 million a year.

• And the Internet, with various entertainment Web pages and DePaul and Wolves home pages, will bring an estimated 36 million more impressions.

Those kinds of numbers are encouraging to Allstate in its quest to touch as many people as possible. Impressions left on the public by the Allstate Arena hopefully will indicate the company's commitment to the community, Weaver said.

"Because we are an insurance company, it's hard to get a real human sense about our brand. The Allstate Arena helps humanize us," Weaver said. "With the arena, we are creating a new customer experience. We are going beyond being an insurance company to being a part of our customers' lives each time they bring their families to the arena."