We are slowly restoring our story archives following our hack.  This interview with Dick Rhodes, which Insider published on September 14, 2015 is one of the first stories we’re adding back.

Insider wrote a post discussing the shortcomings of setback signs. Dick Rhodes of Dusty’s Outdoor Media wrote a thoughtful response taking issue with my comments. Dick’s company operates 403 billboards in Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois and Indiana, including some setback boards. This week Insider talked with Rhodes about his time in the outdoor business and what it takes to make setback boards a success.

Dick, how’d you get into the outdoor business?

I had a business partner that wanted me go buy a restaurant building as investment property we could lease. We bought the building which came with seven interstate billboards. We quickly realized that the billboards were worth more than the property so we sold the building after 3 years and kept the billboards.

How many of your billboards are setback?

75 out of 403 total

What does it take to make a setback board a success?

Setback board copy tips: large print, simple, bold.
Setback board copy tips: large print, simple, bold.
It is all about controlling the copy. The letters have to be at least four foot tall and the CARDINAL rule of a billboard is not to have more than 7 words in the ad copy. My billboards are easily read and desired because they are not bunched up with a lot of other billboards or on-premise signs distracting the drivers attention.

Do setback boards sell at a discount? If a freeway billboard in a market sells for $1,500/month what can you expect from a setback board?

We do not discount any of our setbacks. Our customers love when we design the copy and we get great feedback from our clients on how they are driving traffic to their business. One of our clients has multiple billboards with us and has commented numerous times that if it wasn’t for the billboards he would be out of business in 6 months and most of his locations are setbacks. (Driftstone Pueblo in St Elmo, IL)

What’s a fact about you or your company that people would be surprised to know?

After graduating from college my son Travis came to work for me and after a year he decided to work for CBS Outdoor. He started working in St. Louis and then transferred to Denver and then to Indianapolis office. In the 3 years Travis worked for CBS I made a couple of more acquisitions and needed someone I could depend on in the sales department and he gladly returned to help me build Dusty’s to what it is today.