We’ve been running a series with Andy Rebuck who recently retired after a 40 year career in out of home. Last week he gave tips for selling out of home. Today he talks about billboard development and permitting.
Lamar’s first Harrisburg digital billboard
Harrisburg is a great billboard plant. We’re in the same building that General Outdoor built in 1935 and has been home to Capital Outdoor, then Whiteco and now Lamar. We have a fantastic billboard in our shopyard. It was chosen as our first digital– converted way back in 2005— and today is still our number one or two performer. This was so long ago that Lamar asked us to presell all six slots on a one-year contract. Thankfully our local Chevy dealer jumped on board and launched the digital era with a bang.
On making digital billboard deployment a priority
Every Wednesday my calendar was intentionally left open so our real estate manager and I could spend the entire day working on and talking about digital deployment. Our superstar real estate manager Denise Bartholomew would make appointments with landowners. We would go to local municipalities and look at their regulations. We would drive and take photos of potential locations; and really we would focus all day, every Wednesday, on digital development. Looking back, I smile at our success and appreciate that building a great digital network like we have over these past twenty years is all about turning over every stone and looking closely underneath.
Keeping on good terms with landowners
I appreciate our property owners. I tell them we can’t pay you enough money if this is not “quiet income.” Plain and simple, if the billboards is in your way or it’s bugging you, it doesn’t make for good relations so we’re always looking for locations that don’t impede the other functions on the property and the owners day-to-day operations. Of course, a personal visit for a cup of coffee or iced tea is always a great way to experess appreciation for the opportunity and to put a face behind the billboard.
Andy how do you decide when to fight a regulatory authority and when to play nice?
It pays to be nice and maybe never ever more so than when you’re working with local government and you’re seeking permits. When I was in the Albany NY office it appeared to be impossible to build a new billboard. We actually built two units over the three years I was there. That made me appreciate that when it seems impossible, you just have to work harder and smarter to make it possible. Most times you have to smile but also sometimes you might have to growl a bit. I remember one time really growling as the local municipality for our office went over and above to deny our building permit. Despite all of our efforts to talk about the taxes we pay and having a long list of local businesses and charities express support, we finally wound up going to the county court sytem. Fortunately we prevailed. The good news is the majority of times, we avoid going into court and that in the long run is the best way to maintain great relations. Heck, even now when we see the local mayor, we can both laugh as all agree the best thing that happened is adding that digital billboard.
You can reach Andy at rebuckandy@gmail.com.
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