A recent article on the public restaurant chain Cracker Barrel says the company is a huge billboard advertiser. Cracker Barrel caters to travelers and billboards are great at reaching travelers. Here’s a direct quote from Cracker Barrel’s most recent 10-k: “Outdoor advertising (i.e. billboards and state department transportation signs) is the largest advertising […]
Author: Dave Westburg
US outdoor revenue up 3.5% in 3Q 2013.
The Outdoor Advertising Association of America reports that US outdoor revenues rose 3.5% during the third quarter of 2013. Outdoor revenues grew slightly less than the 4.1% growth in US GDP in the third quarter. Outdoor revenues have risen for 14 straight quarters and outdoor has performed better than most other US Media sectors since […]
The impact of loan fees on a billboard loan’s cost.
What Businesses Benefit Most From Billboards Just read a blog post titled Billboards for Small Businesses: 7 Reasons To Think Twice. The post is skeptical about billboard advertising: billboards are expensive, they created unwanted calls from sales reps, they have a limited run and they can’t be personalized. The article […]
What businesses should use billboards?
What Businesses Benefit Most From Billboards Just read a blog post titled Billboards for Small Businesses: 7 Reasons To Think Twice. The post is skeptical about billboard advertising: billboards are expensive, they created unwanted calls from sales reps, they have a limited run and they can’t be personalized. The article […]
A Digital Billboard Home Run
I’m skeptical about digital signs due to the high upfront costs but here’s a real life success story from one of my clients. This one-sided 10X24 digital sign cost $135,000 to construct. It’s on a road leading to costco. The sign generates revenue of $4,560/month which works out to $570 […]
Are Digital Billboards a Good Investment?
I am making lots of loans for digital billboards. Digital billboards make sense in markets where there are no new sign permits (you can have up to 8 advertisers on face sign) and in urban markets where high rents are possible. A regular 14 by 48 billboard, however, will offer […]
Proposal to cut ad expense deductibility rears head again
Congressional efforts to reduce the deductibility of advertising refuse to go away as this story in Adweek shows. If you own billboards or a radio station you should be concerned and prepared to contact your congressmen if this gets out of congressional committee.
Five Questions for Joe Stephenson of Circle City Outdoor
Joe Stephenson is an expert at selling billboard advertising. He has 24 years experience selling billboard ads for CBS Outdoor, Mobile Ads USA and Penn Advertising. Joe manages Circle City Outdoor, LLC the billboard company which I own. I highly recommend Joe from personal experience. He increased the revenue at […]
Discussion to limit deductibility of advertising will hurt billboard companies.
There is a move afoot in Congress to limit the tax deductibility of advertising. Here are articles from Ad Week and CommLawBlog. If enacted this will raise the cost of buying billboard advertising by 34% because your clients won’t be able to expense the purchase on their taxes. How many of your existing […]
What outdoor advertising deals are hard to finance
I’ve made lots of out-of-home advertising loans over the past 15 years but there are several portions of the industry I avoid, including: Loans to floating billboards. Loans to finance vehicles with billboards on them. Loans to finance gigantic advertisements on fields outside airports which are capable of being viewed […]
