Chet Atkins has been in the outdoor business for 35 years. After stints at Steen Outdoor and Matthew Outdoor, he formed his own outdoor company in 1997. Jersey Premier Outdoor owns over 70 digital / static billboards with over 100 faces in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland and Florida. The company is located in Moorestown, NJ and has 5 employees, including Chet’s son Jesse, who is now the Executive Vice President. The company grew significantly with the acquisition of New Jersey-based Vista Outdoor Advertising in November 2013 and Maryland-based Montgomery Bros in 2014. Insider caught up recently with Chet to ask him some questions.
1. Chet, how did you get into the outdoor business?
I have been working in the outdoor advertising business for 35 years. I started working for Steen Outdoor, developing locations in the DE, NJ and PA marketplaces. Although successful there for over a decade, I really wanted to be my own boss. That is when I took the capital I had and began developing my own signs, as well as fixing up others – almost 20 years later, I am glad I followed my intuition.
2. What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
With everything in life, hindsight is always 20/20. If only I didn’t do this or do that, I could be here. Ultimately, I always did my best to grow and put people around me to help me continue to grow and succeed. Learning is half the battle, but it’s also half the fun, too. Looking back on experiences gives me more gratitude, as well as a feeling of accomplishment, when I look at where I am today.
3. Tell us about the acquisitions and how they have contributed to your company’s growth.
When you develop your own locations, the hardest parts are truly projecting what the location will be worth, how much money you will receive, how desired the location will actually be, predicting end of value of the investment, and also predicting how much time the leases and the local approvals will take before you can even start building. Our newest location which will be built in the coming months has been in my radar for 10 years. Acquisitions, on the other hand, have leases, approvals, structures and even advertisers there already – plus you can see the occupancy and desirability of that location. The key is to find a potential acquisition at the right price that will bring about upside revenue potential. We have been fortunate as our Vista & Montgomery Bros acquisitions were purchased at a price we were comfortable with, and we have seen some great upside to the revenue due to our excellent sales efforts by my son, stepson and I.
4. How active are you in digital signs?
Digital signs are really becoming the future of outdoor advertising. We currently have 3 digital locations, and are building up to 5 more locations in the pipeline. Digital advertising allows for multiple advertisers on one face with 8 second interval changes between ads. It’s more high tech as companies are now able to change their designs quickly and efficiently. It’s important to know the market, and how many companies will potentially want ads there. As they bring about more advertisers and are more costly, it’s important to only place digitals in the perfect places, and to avoid having too many in one area as it could oversaturate the market, and lead to less advertisers and/or lower prices.
5. What about the outdoor business keeps you awake at night?
What keeps me awake at night is the development side of the business – the search for great locations to put up a billboard, working out a lease agreement with the landowner, and ultimately putting up a billboard for display. I also love employing people, including my son and stepson, and watching their growth over the years. That part of the business – using my experience to help my family – is the priceless part of this business that fills me up more than any amount of money ever could.
This interview was originally published on August 13, 2015.
