That’s a funny thing. My Dad and brother have a successful online business and when I graduated from college in 2010 I wanted to help market the business. I looked into generating leads a little differently than they did and I had the idea of using billboards. I called a local company and asked them what their rates were. When they told me, I asked if that was for the year and they said “nope, just a month.” I got off the phone and went looking for my Dad. I said DAD, “We need to start our own billboard business!” He thought I was crazy. In May of 2011, we started Steel City Billboards. Our focus was to advertise our own products and services while helping small businesses advertise along the way. Things started snowballing from there.

Like any small OOH company, we wear many hats on a daily basis. My dad Jim, is a spreadsheet guru. He focuses on many things like scheduling, designing ads,  managing accounts, payroll, project management, technical problems, landscaping and maintenance. He is 68 and still climbs up to change ads! My mom Bonnie, is a go-getter and loves being on the front lines. Now that we’re growing, she’s actively cold-calling, sending emails, and going door to door and making appointments to meet with ad agencies and co-workers in the industry.  I focus on things like selling, designing, hanging ads, real estate development, client management, landscape, site maintenance and growing our social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

What’s new since we talked in 2017

When we first spoke in 2017, we were in the middle of purchasing our first digital billboard. Since then, we’ve added a total of four digital posters and one stacked bulletin that consists of a static on top and a tri-vision on the bottom. Within two years we’ve been able to double in size and provide more coverage for advertisers. We’ve created a unique way for those who typically don’t advertise using outdoor and have given them an opportunity to incorporate OOH into their marketing plan. This method that we use has been very successful and allows us to acquire additional clients. It’s not a one size fits all anymore. Something else we’ve added is BLIP. They have helped us fill last minute gaps that we’d never end up filling. It’s been great!

Our digital manufacturer that we use is Formetco. The things that we’ve learned along the way is understanding how DOOH really works and how companies can benefit from its overall sophisticated ability to drive and connect new customers with their brand. Their software is extremely user friendly and one feature that our team loves the most is being able to view each digital from our phones. Formetco customer service is available 24/7 and is always there when you need them.