Encouraged by agencies to pursue more than just the university crowd, TableMedia of Toronto is trying to sell its table tops in Toronto’s financial core.

The company, which just received a u.s. patent for its table-top advertising, is attempting to broaden its business into the city’s underground food courts.

‘Malls are a little too general,’ explains Chris Braznick, TableMedia’s manager of sales and marketing, adding that competitor Merchant Media has Canada’s mall ad business under tight control.

But tables in non-mall food courts, such as those found under some of Canada’s most prominent office structures on and around Bay St. ­ the city’s financial district ­ are the perfect venue for ads, particularly for financial services firms.

The u.s. patent for TableMedia’s display system ­ in which ads encased in Plexiglas disks are locked into place on a table top ­ is good news for the company, says Breznick, because it will jumpstart the granting of a Canadian patent, currently under review.

The company, which was purchased by Management Graphics in January, still plans on expanding its university business, says Braznick, adding that it is hoping to eventually move across Canada.

So far, its roster includes the University of Western Ontario, University of Guelph, York University and Wilfrid Laurier University, along with two Toronto-area colleges, but it is in talks for a September debut at Montreal’s McGill University, Hamilton’s McMaster University and Ottawa’s Carleton University, according to Breznick.