Baton Rouge, LA – February 29, 2024 – In commemoration of the company’s year-long pro bono partnership with Make-A-Wish, Lamar Advertising today announced that its Colossal Media division has allocated space on a wall display in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn for the creation of a hand-painted mural designed by 12-year old Josie Gibson, an alum of the Make-A-Wish program. The mural was painted from February 19th to 23rd on the side of a building at 41 White Street.
A native of Queens, Josie was diagnosed with leukemia in April 2021 and received a bone marrow transplant from her brother. Her wish to visit the Orlando theme parks was granted by Make-A-Wish in December 2022. Her love of art and drawing compelled her to create the stunning mural design that captures the essence and attractions of New York City, one of the most requested destinations for wish kids around the world.
Colossal Media, responsible for resurrecting hand-painted murals as a form of outdoor advertising, painted the mural based on Josie’s inspirational design – as a part of its Start Today social responsibility initiative and a unique creative collaboration with Lamar and Make-A-Wish. Colossal, celebrating its 20-year anniversary, founded Start Today to champion its team’s creativity and craft with the goal of uplifting the communities, artists and causes they care about.
“We were honored to champion a fellow New Yorker’s craft and creativity,” said Kelly Peppers, President at Colossal Media. “There’s so much power in combining multiple OOH formats to amplify a message. This impactful mural is the culmination of our year-long partnership with Make-A-Wish and a testament to how collaboration feeds creative and memorable outcomes.”
“Providing a gifted 12-year-old artist the opportunity to showcase her talents on a Colossal hand-painted mural is the perfect way to mark our incredibly successful partnership with Make-A-Wish,” said Sean Reilly, CEO of Lamar Advertising Company. “We are honored to have been able to use our national Out of Home network over the past year to help the organization fulfill wishes and bring happiness to so many children and their families.”
Over the past year, Lamar has donated well over the originally committed $1 million in billboard space and digital signage to help Make-A-Wish raise awareness and drive donations. In some cases, Lamar billboards have even played a role in the granting of wishes. Four national campaigns, each strategic to specific marketing objectives, were displayed in 118 markets on more than 1,300 digital billboards. In addition to the national initiatives, 25 campaigns helped promote local initiatives, and 8 digital billboards were utilized to enhance a local wish for a specific child. Collectively, all of these efforts resulted in over one billion impressions for Make-A-Wish.
“Lamar’s generosity has been instrumental in providing powerful opportunities to spread awareness about our mission and the impact a wish has on children battling critical illnesses,” said Leslie Motter, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. “We are so excited to see Josie’s design come to life on a display in Brooklyn. It is truly a fitting way to celebrate this incredible partnership.”
Make-A-Wish helps children build the physical and emotional strength they need to manage and overcome serious and life-threatening illnesses. Since its founding in 1980, the organization has granted more than 375,000 wishes.
The completion of the mural was celebrated with an artist signing ceremony on Friday, February 23rd.
About Lamar Advertising Company
Founded in 1902, Lamar Advertising (Nasdaq: LAMR) is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in North America, with over 363,000 displays across the United States and Canada. Lamar offers advertisers a variety of billboard, interstate logo, transit and airport advertising formats, helping both local businesses and national brands reach broad audiences every day. In addition to its more traditional out-of-home inventory, Lamar is proud to offer its customers the largest network of digital billboards in the United States with over 4,800 displays. Please feel free to explore our website www.lamar.com or contact us at hello@lamar.com for additional information.
About Colossal Media
Colossal Media is the award-winning global leader in hand-painted outdoor advertising. Founded in 2004 from the ashes of a forgotten art form, Colossal is a trusted creative partner for the world’s largest brands, agencies, nonprofits, and artists. Its memorable campaigns build curiosity and excitement through creative storytelling – and continue to redefine and elevate the out-of-home experience.
About Make-A-Wish
Make-A-Wish creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Founded in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the #1 most trusted nonprofit operating locally in all 50 states throughout the U.S. Together with generous donors, supporters, staff and more than 20,000 volunteers across the country, Make-A-Wish delivers hope and joy to children and their families when they need it most. Make-A-Wish aims to bring the power of wishing to every child with a critical illness because wish experiences can help improve emotional and physical health. Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 585,000 wishes in 50 countries worldwide; more than 375,000 wishes in the U.S. and its territories alone. For more information about Make-A-Wish America, visit wish.org.
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