Joe Spina brings Zing to out of home.

Joseph L. Spina entered the out of home business fresh out of college.  He started his own billboard business in 1998 to develop billboard locations in Philadelphia.  After selling most of his billboards by 2014, Spina formed Interactive Location Media, LLC. to develop a message delivery system called Zing which uses bluetooth and wifi technology to transmit ads to devices within long range of a billboard structure transmitter without the use of an app.

Joe, how did you enter the outdoor business?

The entry for my career started when I accepted a sales position for an independent local billboard company. This company did not have the best market reputation, but I wanted to be part of the billboard scene badly.  I wanted to sell billboards and be part of the billboard world!

What lessons have you learned in a 26 year out of home advertising career.

  • When working for someone else you are actually practicing to run your own business, but you just aren’t aware of it.
  • First priority is sales.  Second priority is sales.  Third priority is continuous prospecting that lead to future sales.
  • If you are going to be accountable for a decision make sure that you are the one making the decisions.
  • Go to extreme lengths to consistently offer something that your competition will not.
  • If the deal feels bad in the beginning, it’s ten times worse later. Do yourself a favor and walk away before you sign.
  • There really are no set rules.  Everything is subject to different interpretations and changing environments. If someone says it can’t be done today, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it can’t be done tomorrow! 
  • Philly Digital Billboard For Sale.

    I love this business!

You still own one digital billboard but it is for sale.  Tell us about it.

Yes, I have one 14×48 digital billboard left in the Philadelphia market that I’m selling.  The board is listed in Billboard Insider’s classifieds.  This is a great opportunity for a billboard operator to add the Philadelphia market to their footprint for the cost equal to building a location.  It’s located on the heavily traveled Route 42 that leads to from Philadelphia to New jersey and all Shore points, including The casino dominated Atlantic City.

What is Zing and how can it help a billboard company?

We have developed a network communication system and method for delivering contect to mobile devices using long-range wifi/bluetooth communication devices.   The unit is placed on a billboard structure either on the highway or in a downtown area.  There is no app needed.  


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