There are five conventions for naming out of home advertising companies.

•  Founder names:   This is the most common strategy: Anderson Outdoor, Arnold Outdoor, Reagan Outdoor, Lang Media, Jones Media, Barnes Advertising, Barrett Outdoor, Becker Boards, Buckland Media Group, Connell Outdoor, Divine Outdoor, Driggers Outdoor, Durden Outdoor Displays, Faris Outdoor Displays, George Lay Signs….  One advantage of this is that it impresses clients and landlords when John Arnold of Arnold Outdoor or Dan Divine of Divine Outdoor calls.  They know they are getting attention from the top of the house.

• Founder’s initials names: AR James, JR Promotions, CRG Advertising, TDO Advertising.  Insider thinks a full name is easier to remember than initials and it looks better in a logo.

• Market names: Circle City Outdoor, Billboards of Boston, Chesapeake Outdoor, Cincy Digital, Colorado West Outdoor, Dakota Outdoor, Delaware Outdoor, Evansville Outdoor, Garden State Outdoor, Green Signs Chicago, the Nashville Sign, Kentucky Outdoor,  Las Vegas Billboards,  Rose City Outdoor, Witchita Digital Media, WV Outdoor…  The advantage of using a market name is that you can sell or transfer your ownership interest in the company without creating confusion.  The brand survives an ownership transfer.

• Strategic or industry-related names:  Advantage of Advertising, Outfront Media, Link Media, BeSeen Outdoor, Highway Displays, Link Media, Look Outdoor,  Bulletin Displays, Effective Sign Co, Next Generation Outdoor, Outdoor Displays.  Just make sure your name isn’t too generic or it will not show up in google searches.

• Animal or Thing names:  Bullfrog Outdoor, Koala Outdoor, Pelican Outdoor, Redfish Ads, Wolverine Signworks, Eagle Outdoor.   Animal names are memorable and work nicely into a logo.

Make sure you’re unique.  Nothing is more confusing to your clients, prospective clients and the agencies than if you have the same name as another company in the industry.  You also don’t want to get caught in ligation with another company over your name.  Here are some names used by more than one billboard company.  Avoid them if you want to stand out.

• Ace Outdoor Advertising and Ace Signs Company

• American Outdoor Advertising, American Outdoor and American Outdoor Ad

• Arizona Billboard Company and Arizona Billboards

• Atomic Enterprises and Atomic Outdoor Media

• Mid-America Advertising and Mid-American Outdoor

• Johnson Outdoor and Johnson Outdoor Digital

• Jones Outdoor and Jones Outdoor Advertising

• Look Billboards and Look Outdoor

• RAM Outdoor and RAM Billboards

• Reeves Media and Reeves Outdoor

• Wingate Media and Wingate Outdoor

In a future post we’ll address the issue of what you need to do to protect your name.

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