John Arnold says SignSprings is a game changer.

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Company:   Arnold Outdoor

Markets: Oklahoma.

Headquarters: 5121 N Sante Fe, Oklahoma City, OK  73318

Phone: 405-620-5708

Arnold Outdoor was started in 2000.  The company has digital signs, bulletins and posters across the state of Oklahoma.  The company has a number of locations which serve Oklahoma City’s hispanic community.   The firm is owned by John Arnold who was one of the co-founders of the IBOUSA.

Here are John Arnold’s “Four Rules for Outdoor Operators” taken from a talk Insider heard Arnold give at a 2016 IBOUSA meeting.

  • Never build a double stack with a face taller than 8 feet.  It means you only need 1 light fixture.
  • Never build a board more than 100 miles from your house because it will always be the farthest board away which needs the most maintenance.
  • Always build the best board for the money.  You owe it to your employees to keep them safe.
  • Buy your employees safety harnesses with straps which allow them to let themselves down after a fall.

John, how did you enter the out of home advertising business?

I wanted to be a rock n roll dj when I was in school. Shortly after college I went to work for a guy that had a country music station and billboards. I was intrigued by billboards and ended up at the billboard company. Worked there 11 years.

Tell us about your plant.

I started my company 16 years ago and have built over 95% of my signs. We have 300 6 x 12 faces in the okc metro area and 150 12 x 24 faces in small towns surrounding OKC.

Whose digital signs do you use?

We have three digital signs. Two from Watchfire and one from Formetco.

You installed Signsprings clips on one of your billboards last year.  How has it worked out.

We invited Billy to come down from Lind Springs to demo and install on one of our boards. The Oklahoma operators work well together so there were several billboard companies there. The wind was blowing 30 MPH that day. Billy said they could do the install and we did.  An hour and a half later all the hardware was installed and the vinyl was up. There’s no way we would have attempted one of our regular installs.  So then we decided to convert a few more of our signs. The first conversion took us two hours and 45 minutes to install hardware and install vinyl. I was disappointed. Then we moved to the other side. One hour and 45 minutes.  I’m smiling again! The big time saver came on our trip back to that sign to install a customers ad.We started unloading the truck. The guys needed some spray paint. I drive into town and get the paint. By the time I get back the new vinyl in installed. So we go to another sign and install hardware and an ad.  An hour and forty minutes. This sign has wood poles and a six foot ground clearance. I’m so happy I celebrate by lighting up a cigar in the truck!
To date we have installed the Lind system on seven faces. We will install four more in the next week. I take an active role on installs. I try to be “in the field” every week. I want to know what works and where the problems are. The Lind install system is a game changer!

How will out of home be different in 10 years?

I think the out of home business is poised for exciting times in the next ten years.There are great operators that are sharing new ideas and bring new customers a different brands into the business.I think the out of home operators are working closer together now than ever before. Broadcast has seemed to lost its sparkle. Too many boring commercials. Viewership of the Super Bowl was down. The Olympics were down. Outdoor is up! I think it can climb 3.5% a year in growth the next decade! If that happens, at the end of that decade our industry will have seen a 50% growth. If you think its not possible look at what has happened since 2000!

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