Company of the Day – Emerald Outdoor Advertising

Company: Emerald Outdoor

Market: Washington, Idaho.

Headquarters: 9212 E Montgomery Ave, Suite 604, Spokane Valley, WA  99206

Phone: 509-327-0103

Email: tommyt@emeraldoutdoor.com

Emerald Outdoor was formed in 2004 with the acquisition of Sunset Outdoor Advertising of Spokane.  Their General Manager is Tom Townsend and Insider got the chance for an interview.

Tom, can you tell us about Emerald’s plant and where it is located?

We are primarily located in the Spokane area with some inventory on Hwy 97 from Wenatchee to the Canadian border and other outlying areas. We have 14 x 48’s, 10 x 30’s and posters in the Spokane market and various sizes in the out of town markets. We have around 110 faces. Within the last 2 months we converted all our Spokane inventory to LED lighting; the illumination difference is dramatic and we are already seeing huge savings in our power bills.
Your main focus is in Spokane WA.  What’s the Spokane market like?
The economy is pretty good now and we are seeing it in outdoor sales. We have slowly started getting more and more regional and national business but the local dollar is still our bread and butter. I have lived in Spokane for 54 years and been in the outdoor industry for 35 and have seen the zoning codes change dramatically. For the most part, except for the Spokane Valley, the local ordinances prohibit new building. Having great relationships with your landowners is critical to maintaining inventory. They truly need to become your partner if we are to remain a viable industry. Overall I think the outdoor market is pretty strong in Spokane.

I understand the city is not digital friendly yet? What’s the latest update on a digital sign ordinance? 
Spokane County and the City of Spokane do not allow digital but the City of Spokane Valley does allow digital under their ordinance; a cap and rebuild. I do not see any short term changes to the digital ban but you never know in the long term. Obviously getting the industry and the local governments to the table is the biggest hurdle and currently they (the local governments) have no incentive to do that. We, as an industry, need to give them a reason to consider it.
 
Who are your main competitors?    
Lamar Outdoor is our only out-of-home competitor and they are a major force. They have a much bigger inventory than we do but our inventory is pretty good and we have good distribution throughout the market. We feel that our service sets us apart from them and that is our emphasis. Since we are a small, local shop we are not constrained to big corporate rules and policies. We can be more flexible and do things that may not fly in the big corporate structure. Major changes in direction and policies have been made over a cup of coffee rather than running them up and down the corporate ladder. Having worked within the large corporate framework, this flexibility is quite refreshing and helps us be competitive to the big boys.

How has the legalization of marijuana impacted your business?  
The legalization of marijuana has had a positive dollar impact on the outdoor business. Marijuana stores in Washington State have legal limitations on advertising but outdoor is one of their options. We have taken some marijuana business but have turned some down. My biggest concern is that the industry takes too much marijuana business and the local/state governments see that and enact prohibitions on marijuana advertising on billboards similar to what happened to the tobacco industry 20 plus years ago…I really believe the industry needs to monitor itself so that won’t happen. That will not be good for either industry.
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