Tom Giesken of Giesken Outdoor recently sold his remaining billboards to Lamar Advertising after more than 25 years running his own out of home company. We will run a series of interviews in which Tom reflects on his out of home career. Today Tom talks about getting started.
How did you get started in out-of-home advertising?
Well, I had just finished helping to get the YMCA built in my hometown. I was looking for the next step and decided it was time to hand off leadership to someone else — someone who had more experience running a YMCA. I didn’t have a college degree, and I knew I couldn’t continue long-term as the Executive Director. My brother Mike helped me focus on figuring out what was next. He walked me through some exercises to list out goals, visualize opportunities, and start training for a new career. I wanted a sales job. Through my cousin Sue Hohenbrink, who worked at Root Outdoor in sales, I landed an interview. I didn’t get the sales job I originally applied for, but they noticed something interesting on my resume: a development project where I had turned some of our farmland that my dad and I used to farm into a residential cul-de-sac, complete with utilities and streets and all the permitting processes. They were looking for a leasing agent, and because of that experience, they offered me the role. Long story short, I accepted — and it turned out to be something I was truly meant to do. In my first year working for Root Outdoor, I secured more leases than anyone else had in the company’s history. It was amazing. Dave Root, the owner, rewarded me every few months with a raise or bonus. After a couple of years, he finally said, “I can’t keep giving you more bonuses — people are getting mad and jealous.” He asked what else he could do for me. At the time, we had three offices (in Lima, Defiance, and Sidney, Ohio), and laptops were just becoming a thing. I asked for a laptop so I could work more efficiently between offices — and he got me one. Not long after that, Dave’s son — who was set to take over the company — tragically passed away. Soon after, they decided to sell the business, and about 80% of the employees were let go. I was one of them. I was right in the middle of building my dream house in that cul-de-sac I developed. That’s when I started my own OOH business.
Tell us about your first billboard.
It’s a pretty unique story. Right before Root Outdoor sold, they decided to close the Lima and Defiance offices. Most of the employees from those offices lived in Ottawa and it was half way between Lima and Defiance, so it made sense to shift operations there. There was a cement plant located next door to one of our old offices. I had a good friend who worked there, and I approached him about putting up a billboard on their property — right outside the windows of the Lamar office that they had taken over. He agreed and signed a lease with me. Every single day after that, everyone working at Lamar would have to look out their windows and see a billboard owned by Giesken Outdoor. Smiling face emoji!!! Lol
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