Company: Universal Media
Markets: Nationwide
Address: PO Box 68, Heber City, UT 84032
Phone: 866-950-3331
Universal Media specializes in place based advertising in shopping malls. The company’s owners have over 35 years combined experience in out of home advertising. Billboard Insider talked with Todd Cohen the company’s Co-Founder and CEO.
Universal Media has a great history.
Universal Media has been at the forefront of out-of-home media for over 40 years. My father, Allan Cohen, who was also coined “The Moses of Mall”, approached a manager at a regional mall in Long Island, NY when he was still doing pest control. He noticed the maps were poorly maintained. While chatting with the manager, he discovered how much of a pain it was for them to keep the mall directory maps up to date because stores were always going and coming, and with each change, the directory poster also had to change. That conversation led to the birth of mall advertising, which included taking care of the mall directory maps for the property and selling ads, sharing revenue with the property.
Over the next few decades, our family built and sold the largest OOH Mall media companies with the first sale to 3M in the 80s and another to Clear Channel in the late 90s. Allan was not only the pioneer of mall advertising but went on to pioneer most of the formats seen today in retail environments, including the three-sided mall directory display, wall-mounted backlit displays, empty storefront murals and the large banner spectaculars, among other things.
Universal Media was formed over a decade after selling our business to Clear Channel, as a result of a favor for a local mall in Salt Lake City that needed help with its advertising. Our focus this time around was on mixed-use and lifestyle centers.
Tell us about your plant
At Universal Media, we are taking all of the knowledge we’ve gained over our 40+ year history in the business and building the future of place-based OOH media, with a focus on technology, digital media, and mobility infrastructure. We are focused on leveraging the latest technology and innovation to create a unique and rewarding experience for our real estate and advertising partners as well as the consumer.
A family run business
Sadly, we lost Allan Cohen on July 5th, 2021. He was active in our business until the very end. I don’t think there was anyone as passionate about mall advertising as he was and never took no for an answer. I am now leading the company along with my twin brother, Shawn Cohen. We are excited to be continuing our Dad’s legacy. It’s an exciting time in the OOH space and we see technology playing a key role in our company going forward. I had the opportunity to spend 15 years as an entrepreneur in the internet space and I’m looking forward to continuing to leverage the knowledge gained in this space and bring fresh ideas and new perspectives to the OOH industry.
What are some priorities for 2023?
2023 is proving to be a transformational year for Universal Media. We are working on some very exciting new projects along with the continued build-out of our urban mixed-use and lifestyle center business. We’ve formulated some exciting new partnerships in the technology and mobility space and will be sharing more on all of this in the very near future.
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