The second day of IBO Fall Conference in Phoenix proved to be just as interesting. Here are just a few quotes from the many great presentations provided to the IBO members.
First is from Scaling Smartly, a panel hosted by Max Drachman, featuring Rich Zecchino and Matt Molina
On Adams’ digital build-out: “Prior to this year, the most digitals we ever did in a given year was 23. This year we’ve done 49, and I have 16 more scheduled to go in before the end of the year.”
On small-town digital: “We’ve gone to looking at small communities, like a digital at a stoplight. It’s not the huge home run that your location out on the freeway is, but it means a lot to those local advertisers and it means a lot to the local community.”
On how independents win deals: “Being an independent, we can be a little more nimble, a little more friendly in the transaction and quicker. There are things the big three will require in a purchase agreement that just aren’t as important to us.”
On Frame OOH avoiding private equity: “We went to private family office money because we didn’t want the PE construct. We wanted to make our own decisions.”
On competing with the majors: “We’re very real estate focused, which I think has been lost by the OUTFRONTs and Clear Channels. We prefer to buy the real estate. We’re typically about 20% lower rate-wise, but we have great leases and easements.”
OAAA again had Andy McDonald attending for a Federal and State update:
On AI disclosure laws: “New York, and now California, have passed laws on the use of what they call synthetic actors in advertising. If you have any AI-generated person being used to sell a product or service, you have to have a disclosure on that advertisement. We’ve seen this in the past primarily in political ads, and now it’s spilling over into general advertising.”
On digital ad taxes: “There have been a few states that have passed these taxes seeking to capture taxation on digital advertising, from the Metas and the Alphabets of the world. In state legislators’ minds, it’s an easy tax because it’s typically out-of-state companies. This is a slippery slope.”
Then, Richard Rothfelder speaking to legal issues the industry should be watching:
On the tax threat: “Many states will look at a billboard, determine that it’s an interest in real property, and try to tax it accordingly. You’re going to see more and more of this.”
On why cities are coming for billboards: “The federal government pushes the cost of doing business to the states, and the states in turn pass unfunded mandates on to the cities. The cities are going to be looking for new sources of revenue, and taxes will be one of those.”
On the need for clarity: “Until the Supreme Court gives guidance on these issues, you’ll continue to have different standards in different states. I view that as a problem confronting the industry from a legal standpoint.”
Finally, a sports update:
It was a 100-degree day in Arizona, and we played at Whirlwind Golf Course, finishing 17 under par over 18 holes. We had 36 IBO players participating, representing both vendors and operators.
The course had recently seeded the greens, making it cart path only. Combined with the heat and several long par-5 holes, it created a challenging day on the course. Lots of balls donated to the greens and dessert fairway. This South Dakota girl was not going looking for balls in this heat and rattle snake canyon.
The golf outing was hosted by API and has become a favorite among attendees.
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