Sign insurance is important. Hurricanes and storms can wreck billboards. The digital billboard pictured below was destroyed by an electrical short. One of my lending clients had a digital board damaged by a fire on an adjacent property. Lenders will require you to carry three kinds of insurance. (1) An umbrella […]
Billboard Loans Blog
Small business ad spending to increase 10% in 2014
Here’s a link to a Media Life Magazine Article which predicts that small and medium sized businesses will increase their advertising by 10% in 2014. Much of the increase is going to online/digital but I suspect that savvy billboard operators will be able to capture a share as well. The study’s author […]
Risks of Legal Non-Conforming Boards
Here’s an interesting newspaper story about the risks of owning legal non-conforming billboards. A legal non-conforming billboard does not comply with existing zoning rules but has been grandfathered because it was constructed before the rules were put in place. Most zoning rules forbid you from replacing or repairing non-conforming boards so you […]
Lending Standards Easing
The federal reserve surveys senior bank credit officers four times a year about whether their lending standards are tightening, stable or easing. Here’s a table summarizing the trend in bank lending standards for small businesses over the past 10 years. The table shows that after tightening during the three years […]
Cracker Barrel a top billboard advertiser.
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 […]
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 […]
