I like to listen to Econtalk podcasts on the airplane. The format consists of the Hoover institute’s Russ Roberts interviewing a guest for an hour. His guest list is a who’s who of economics and business: Milton Friedman, Thomas Piketty, Nassim Taleb, Reid Hoffman, Marc Adreessen, Jeffrey Sachs… During an […]
Billboard Business
Stock Analyst Skeptical about Lamar
Here’s an interesting Seeking Alpha article on Lamar and the billboard industry. The article mentions two reasons why I like the billboard industry: (1) Barriers to entry caused by the need to get a sign permit. (2) The low cost of outdoor versus other forms of local media. Outdoor has […]
Billboard Loans creates a better billboard financing lease.
Lots of companies want to fund your billboard or digital sign by providing lease financing. The benefits of leasing include 100% financing and sometimes a lack of a personal guarantee. Billboard financing leases often have three big drawbacks: (1) You don’t know how much the lease costs. I once had […]
Effective Billboard Advertising
Mark Dressekie, a London Car Dealer, sent me a terrific infographic on effective billboard advertising. I especially like the five tips at the end of the graphic. 6 words or less. Don’t make your message too long because people are driving and don’t have much time to focus. There’s only room […]
Pros and Cons of Trivision Billboards
I’ve financed numerous trivision billboards and own a couple trivision billboards. Here’s my take on the pros and cons of owning a trivision. Pros of Owning a Trivision Lower capital cost. A new trivision head runs $26,000/side, versus $150,000-200,000 for a digital billboard. Lower Electricity – My trivision has electric […]
What Are Billboard Easements Worth?
“How much is my billboard land lease worth?” I get asked that question by landowners wanting to sell their billboard leases and by investors and billboard companies who want to buy easements under billboards. The answer: 6 to 10 times the annual cashflow associated with the lease. In other words […]
Prepayment Penalties Can Kill You If You Use Billboard Lease Financing.
There are several finance companies which make billboard equipment leases. They are anxious to tell you that leasing will save your capital by allowing you to finance 100% of the cost of the sign. None of them talk about prepayment penalties. Lease prepayment penalties can kill you. It’s normal for […]
Five Questions for Jeff Moore, Media Resources
Jeff Moore is the United States Sales Rep for Media Resources (www.mediaresources.com) a Canadian company which provides digital sign products and services to billboard companies in Canada and the United States. I interviewed Jeff recently to find out what they do and how they can help small billboard companies. Jeff’s […]
Five Facts You May Not Know About Out Of Home
Here are five facts you may not know about out of home advertising taken from an October 8, 2014 Media Life Magazine article: Out of home advertising trails only TV as “most trustworthy media. Out of home advertising reaches nearly 90% of US adults, primarily while they are riding cars, […]
Four Things To Think About When Buying A Digital Sign
I’m a huge fan of Bob Klausmeier. He’s written a terrific article in the September/October 2014 issue of Out Of Home Magazine on what to think about when you are selecting a digital billboard. Here are my takeaways: Square footage matters. Always ask a manufacturer how many square feet their […]
