Marty Williamson is President & CEO of Williamson and Associates – a boutique M&A firm uniquely positioned to assist Outdoor Advertising companies with strategic asset acquisitions and divestitures. As a 40 year veteran of the billboard industry, Marty Williamson has spent his career in the Outdoor Advertising business as Account Executive, General Manager, Regional Manager and Plant Owner. Over the years, he has successfully founded, operated, and divested 5 companies: Williamson Outdoor, Southern Outdoor, Georgia Outdoor, American Outdoor and USA Outdoor. He has personally developed hundreds of billboard locations across multiple markets. Marty has worked in all aspects of the industry from sales, operations, management, finance, real estate, construction, permitting and government-regulatory issues. His connections in the Industry are vast and Insider reached out at his 40 year milestone and asked him a few questions about his time in the business.

Marty, how did you get your start in the business?

In the late 70’s I was managing our family’s radio station, WLOV in Washington, Georgia. As someone who always noticed and loved billboard advertising, I had purchased a poster panel from Georgia Outdoor to promote the radio station. We ended up selling the radio business and so I had to figure out my next career move. The AE I knew at Georgia Outdoor, sort of half joking I’m sure, said hey you should come work with us and sell billboard advertising. I interviewed with the GM, Stan Henderson (father of Marshall Henderson – MH Media) and thankfully, even though I apparently didn’t score well on a sales aptitude test, Stan followed his gut and gave me a shot.

Who were your key mentors?

I’ve had a few mentors along the way, but I would have to start with father, Slim Williamson, who was the best natural born salesman I’ve ever known. He sold his way to massive success in the radio and country music business. Of course, Stan Henderson taught me so much about the billboard industry in those early years. He was such a great manager, teacher, and motivator. My next mentor was Claude Williams, Jr., a member of the greatest generation who was the owner of GOA when I started (Grandfather of Claude Dicks of Allison Outdoor). Claude was an incredible businessman. He could famously dissect a P&L quicker than anyone I’ve ever known, and boy did he show you how to manage expenses. Claude encouraged and supported me and was my financial partner when I made the move to go out on my own and start Williamson Outdoor Advertising – I could never have made that move without Mr. Williams.

What’s been one of your most rewarding memories over the years?

I have so many great memories. When I started 40 years ago, we didn’t have a cell phone, fax machine, or an apple computer, so I remember vividly when they first became available in the workplace and how it instantly changed everything. I remember, and in a strange way sort of miss, the days of hand painted signs- being able to walk back into the paint shop and smell the paint and see your ad come to life one brush stroke at a time. It was impactful in a unique way that salespeople can’t really experience today. The spec art was done by hand and the posting schedule was kept up with on index cards. In 1983, GOA still had one billposter using a long handle brush and a sign painter who would go out and hand paint a face on site in the field. We never could have imagined vinyl in the future and digital was beyond unfathomable at that time. Maybe my most memorable, though, was climbing my first billboard as an owner and putting my Williamson Outdoor imprint on it – a very proud moment!  Of course, selling my first company and realizing the financial reward was pretty amazing. Today I certainly enjoy helping our clients experience that same feeling and achievement.

Any advice for our younger readers, just getting started in a much different OOH business from when you started?

Obviously, our industry has gone through major changes and improvements, but I think at its core it is fundamentally the same: providing an unbeatable advertising product to clients. My advice would be to focus on the basics – maybe the technology, quality, and flexibility has improved but a 14 x 48 billboard, whether static or digital, is still 672 square feet of pure unavoidable advertising space and it’s the message and creative design that make it powerful and effective. The sales calls still must be made, someone still climbs up the pole, sends out the bills and collects the money. For someone around the same age that I was when I started, 26, it’s an awesome time to be joining this Industry and if I couldn’t have dreamt that a digital billboard could have been possible in 1983 – what will our industry be like 40 years from now?

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