We are a perfect case study for a Harvard business School students on how it is that most successful businesses in this country make money in spite of themselves, not because of all the smart things they are doing.  When I was in school, they hammered it into our heads “The 4 P’s”.  The four P’s refers to the four key components to any business that when executed properly, will optimize results.  Those 4 P’s are:

1)  Product

2)  Price

3)  Place

4)  Promotion

Great Outdoors scores an “11 out of 10” on Product.  We have locations that have traffic flows that are sometimes 10 times that of our competition’s, and we have nothing but 14’ x 48’ faces (no posters).  While most billboard sales teams try to think up arguments on how to “steer clients away from picking the locations that they think are the best ones”, our approach has simply been,”If a location is anything less than 4 stars, don’t build the board in the first place”.  We also have begun to digitize, and when doing so, we do it with the best digital technology available…as in, Times Square quality.  Another strength is our leasing portfolio.  Our leases are exclusively long-term fair deals with clients in a market that has shut everything down as of about a decade ago.   Our “weakness” is, we have only 14 faces.  We’re long on quality, but short on quantity, that’s for sure.

Our prices are about 4 or 5 times that of our competitions, but our boards are 14’ x 48’ (instead of 12’ x 24’) and as mentioned about, the traffic flows at the locations where our boards are located are sometimes 10 times, so we’re priced very reasonably with respect to value.

Our bulletins are in the Washington DC  DMA.   I have lived in the Washington area all my life, and there is not a better market in the country.  It’s the nation’s capital, and that alone commands advertising dollars.  Washington DC is the only true recession-proof market in the country.

We flunk in this department, and the other owner of this company, JP Thal-Larsen and I would be lying if we didn’t admit it.  We are two guys who make our families the priority over our business, and we have no (That’s zero as of now) salespeople.  So actual sales calls are few and far between, made by JP or me.  We are not members of OAAA, which keeps us out of the loop in many respects.   Does this mean we make no sales?  Of course not.  Nonetheless, we are off most planner’s and buyer’s radar screen, so the sales we make are to those buyers who are a little more investigative, and are wiling to turn up a few extra stones trying to locate the best locations available to their clients.  Ultimately, word does get around, and that’s how we wind up with significant local and regional clients like the local auto megadealers and Maryland State Lottery.  Additionally, there are a few national buyers who stealth themselves onto our digital bulletins for advertisers of movies and cell phone providers. 

Grand Graphics out of Richmond Virginia.  They are NOT the cheapest; we are aware of this.  They’re not expensive, but not cheap.   The 2 things that keep us going back to them are:   When they ship a vinyl  regular UPS ground today, we get it tomorrow without fail.  Secondly, they’ll do anything within the realm of possibility to do what you ask of them.  Part of this, I’m sure, is due to the fact that we don’t take advantage of their willingness to do whatever’s needed.  I highly recommend them.