Company: Franklin Outdoor Advertising

Headquarters: 20092 Edison Circle East • Clearwater, MN 55320

Markets: Minnesota, Wisconsin

Phone: 320.558.3000

Email: mail@franklinoutdoor.com

Franklin Outdoor is a three generation,family-owned business started in 1978.  Dan Franklin is the company’s CEO. The company employes 28 people and is a proud member and supporter of the Independent Billboard Operators USA. The company operates a plant of approximately 1,000 billboard faces located throughout Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.  The company also has an on premise sighn business, a fleet and trailer graphics signs business and portable 4′ by 8′ and 6′ by 10′ signs. Last month we wrote about how Franklin Outdoor brought an abandoned sign back to life.  Billboard Insider talked with Dan Franklin.

Dan, how did you get in the out of home business?

I got into the billboard business when I was 13 sanding and blocking out panels for the paint shop to reuse for painting the next sign. A few years later I moved into installing and posting in the summers through high school and college. After graduation I started full time for the business in the operations side of the business.

What’s new over the past year?

Over the last year we have continued our organic growth by adding 47 faces and on schedule to end the year with 54 new faces. Should be closing on a smaller acquisition by year end as well. With the closing of the acquisition it will put us over 1,000 faces! We have increased our operations crew to have the ability to keep up with building all the new signs along with servicing our existing signs.

What’s one out of home thing which you are thinking about right now?

Buying easements and land under our signs. I think there is so much value in adding the security for long term, less work on the real estate team renewing leases, being able to more accurately forecast out expenses in the future, and added value to the plant makes buying easements and sites really worthwhile. As long as you can find a willing land owner that is reasonable with their price to sell.

To receive a free morning newsletter with each day’s Billboard insider articles email info@billboardinsider.com with the word “Subscribe” in the title.  Our newsletter is free and we don’t sell our subscriber list.