What has worked for you

Frank (or) Viewers

In a local market what type business or industries have you found that use billboards to advertise more.
Is it how each industry or business is doing, as in cash flow in that year or past years.

With this down turn I have found business not wanting to advertise as a long term. They want short lease terms. In the middle of the year. In the times they are busy. I have explained they benefits of billboards working 24-7. And there potential customers see the boards 24-7 and in all months of the year.
They understand the benies. But the problem is CASH FLOW.

Any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated.

We have found that in this economy today there are many new companies exploring outdoor advertising that had not done so in the past. The biggest thing to focus on is to find companies that have the largest advertising budget, PERIOD. Find out who is spending the most money on television, radio, direct mail, and sometimes other billboards, and go after those companies. You will have an easier time renting signs to the companies that can easily afford them.

Billboards may not be the best advertising for a company that is looking for a direct response. You will be better off placing companies on your signs that will use the sign for directional purposes (directing them to their business) or for branding (increasing customer awareness in an area). We have tested direct response marketing on the billboards and it is very low. It is best to do a direct mail campaign directed at your target market with an outdoor advertising campaign that will increase consumer awareness in your market. This test was for a real estate company and every industry will have different response rates, so don’t assume this is the way it will always be.

If they only want short term leases, raise the rate for a short term contract and reduce the rate for a longer term contract. This will entice them to sign on for a longer term. In this economy, It makes sense to get any company on board with you that wants to advertise because they are somewhat scarce right now. You can show them you are the best company to go to in the area by giving them excellent customer service. Set up an email campaign to follow up monthly or bi-monthly, call them on a regular basis (but not too much because you will cause a lot of extra work if you contact them too often) Get them on the board and if you play your cards right they will stay on for the rest of the year.

I am definitely not an expert on renting signs, but maybe you can take some of these ideas and put them to use.

Great answers. I would agree with all of them. Here are some additional ideas for you. Your job is to find the right person for that sign, one that will stay on there forever. To accomplish that, the sign has to make a profit for the advertiser – it has to earn more profits than it costs. Until this can be achieved, nobody will stay on the sign for very long. So you have to really think through who would benefit the most from the sign, and target that small list of potential advertisers. And, yes, the winner is normally someone who needs the sign directionally, like “McDonalds – Exit Now”.

Even though the economy is lousy, there is still demand for anything that contributes to the overall bottom line. Think of billboards as giant salesman. What can your giant salesman sell effectively to earn his keep. Those are the type of advertisers that will stick with it.

Thank you for your input! Very Helpful.
Happy New year!