Billboard Insider interviewed Matt Richman about starting, running and selling Billboards for Education, a Tennessee out of home company with 24 faces.  Today Matt talks about getting started and his first digital billboard.

What gave you the idea to enter the out of home business.

I was part of a family business.  My mom owns seven Steak ‘n Shake restaurants around Chattanooga, TN.  One of the things I had to learn to help her in the business was marketing.  We did a lot of billboard advertising because it was great for restaurants.  I got to ride around with Ken Hall as he showed me his locations that would be good for our restaurants.  I started asking questions and learning about the industry.  I realized that everyone had or was selling out to the big players and there weren’t many independents in my area who were doing billboards.  I thought, “Hey, I’m a young guy.  Maybe I can come in and do things a little differently than the large companies and build a really great out of home company.”

Tell us about your first location and what you learned.

I was lucky.  My first location was at the Steak ‘n Shake in Dalton, Georgia.  My mom owned the property.  She’d had a deal with Ken Hall where he put up the sign and they split the rent.  The agreement was coming to an end and I was able to buy the double stacked sign from Ken and then convert one face to digital.  That was 7 years ago and for the entire time there’s been a waiting list on that sign.  Even in a little place like Dalton, Georgia.

What made you think that digital might be good at that location?

It’s right at a light at the busiest intersection in Dalton.  Right in the heart of the business district.  Everyone who comes through town ends up at that intersection.  And the light lasts forever.  It was a stacked unit but I was able to convert one face to digital.  People loved it.  Just a single sided digital. There were some trees blocking the other side which I wasn’t able to get removed, unfortunately.

Whose digital billboards did you use and what was your experience?

I started out with Watchfire.  My first 3-4 were with Watchfire and then I switched over to Formetco.  I wasn’t unhappy with Watchfire.  Formetco claimed to have re-engineered their signs to use less electricity, presumably by using less fans, so I started installing Formetco signs.  The electricity was less on them. However, I’ve considered building some Watchfire signs as well and I know Watchfire said that they also upgraded their design to be more efficient. I don’t think you can go wrong with either brand.

[wpforms id=”9787″]

Paid Advertisement