Company of the Day: IMAGE MEDIA®
Company: IMAGE MEDIA®
Headquarters: 5101 Darmstadt Rd. Suite A Hillside, IL 60162
Market: Chicago, IL
Phone: (312) 988-4600
Contact email: sales@imageoutdoor.com
IMAGE MEDIA operates an out of home plant in the Chicago market. The company was started 35 years ago by Michael Scheid Sr. following a career at Foster & Kleiser, Patrick Media, and Universal Outdoor. Insider talked with Michael Scheid Jr. current GM
Who does what?
Michael Scheid Sr. (Dad) is very much involved in the day to day. He handles the real estate and permitting with assistance from Natalie Scheid, my sister. Natalie also works on sales and operations. Aileen Bloomfield is our accountant. I, (Mike Jr.) manage sales, marketing, agency relations, SSP’s, Geopath/OAAA, and POP.
Tell us about your plant
IMAGE MEDIA is an Expressway Tollway bulletin plant in the Chicago market. The plant consists of ~45 faces: all modern steel 20’x60’ Bulletin structures, equipped with Smartlink illumination controllers. We utilize Watchfire Digital Screens, and we also operate some amazing Landmark Mega Walls in the Chicago market.
We sell our inventory directly to ad agencies and end users, with no outside reps. All locations are fully permitted and illuminated: (37) 20’x60’ Expressway Tollway Faces, (4) Watchfire Digitals, (2) Chicago Mega Walls. Chicago Market Coverage includes: I-9094 Kennedy, I-294 Tri-State, I-290 Eisenhower, I-88 Reagan, I-90 Jane Addams Expressways/Tollways, and River North Chicago.
IMAGE recently divested three northside neighborhood wall locations to Lamar, and in years past have also sold inventory to CBS/OF and Eller/CCO. We continue to develop high profile locations and when possible secure permanent easements on expressway assets. In addition to the current plant of ~45 faces, we have a burgeoning development pipeline.
You’ve been building
We have a development list of about 12-15 sites we’ve been working through. This list includes New builds, Digital conversions, “Read improvement” rebuilds, and lastly some existing locations being repositioned for highway construction (I-294 and I-90 are in the midst of a major multi-year construction project).
We rebuilt a structure on I-90 (NW suburbs) to be 20’ taller to overcome a new sound barrier wall. This project had many elements: 24 hour electrical needs to the industrial building below, ComEd, permitting, engineering, fabrication then the actual construction. We were also in the FAA’s purview on this site.
Additionally, we converted an I-294 (2) face static vinyl 14’x48’s structure, into a New (2) sided Watchfire Digital 18’4”x58’4” 16mmOT. This was a total structural rebuild in Franklin Park just south of Rosemont, and O’Hare Airport. The I-294 Digitals are unique in that you have Center Reads in both directions, with very long approaches due to the curve of I-294.
IMAGE MEDIA has somewhat pioneered the public-private partnership approach to Outdoor. We have agreements with many local communities in Chicagoland: Franklin Park, Hillside, Forest Park, Berkeley, Broadview to name a few. IMAGE has developed several parks, playgrounds, and provides considerable revenue streams to our partner communities.
Whose digital signs do you use?
We currently have (4) Watchfire Digital Screens, with an additional (6) Digitals in development. We like working with Watchfire, and with near zero maintenance issues no complaints. We’ve done well selling Digitals to agencies and local clients. We’ve heard from other operators that the programmatic revenues have been minimal for the independents to this point. We are hoping to have some software gaps filled in soon and be up and running in the various SSPs. Great locations will prevail!
Are you connected with any of the automated buying platforms.
IMAGE MEDIA is currently connected with AdQuick, DoMedia, and Adstruct. We’re very close to implementing the IBO Fuze system by Apparatix.
Is it all business?
Most of the time, but we did welcome the next (3rd) generation of IMAGE MEDIA in the Spring 2018 with the birth of my Daughter. Now that she’s running about, it won’t be long before she is marking sites, and checking new foundations as I did 30 something years ago with my dad. It’s great to be a family business, more to come….
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