For Q3 determine if you are on track to make your sales budget. A key to selling more 00H faster is planning for a sufficient prospecting/sales cycle.  Don’t waste valuable, limited sales time pursuing new business with too short of a sales cycle.  It’s unfortunate that management (for their own purposes) sometimes want reps to chase sales too close to posting.

Now is the time to prospect for the third quarter of 2024 to pursue, sell, and post by 3Q.

The most immediate, high-value prospects will be triggered by a “precipitating event” .(It’s an unforeseen event that triggers collective action or marks a critical turning point causing an advertiser to pivot.)

In this hotly contested political season, it may be something like the Arizona court ruling on abortion.  Overnight it’s going to be a major ballot initiative in the State of Arizona, triggering millions of dollars in advertising spend in a very compressed amount of time.

You’ll only be able to capitalize on these precipitating events if you are a student of your marketplace.

Caveat: Don’t spend more than 15% of your time pursuing political advertising this year. This can be great low hanging fruit, but is limited, one-time only sales. The same amount of time put into a general advertiser prospect will reap more immediate and long-term benefits.

Back to school is the second most important retail event of the year (behind Christmas). The National Retail Federation predicts back-to-school spending will increase by about 12% this year.  Back to school spending is not just pencils and erasers, it’s technology, cars, furniture, and real estate: It affects just about every segment of the economy. The average back to school spend per child in the US is $284.

Forty-six states, numerous school districts, and city governments operate on a July 1st fiscal year, meaning they have a fresh budget cycle starting on July 1^st.  This is a great opportunity to secure government dollars.

September is the second most popular month for weddings, accounting for nearly one in ten (9.6%) of all weddings. Forbes predicts the average cost per wedding in 2024 will top $33,000.

With July 4 and Labor Day in the quarter, it’s a great time to upsell current advertisers, and/or pursue large local corporations for institutional advertising. You can also help large local employers with their recruitment messages by saluting their current labor force.

Below is a comprehensive list of hot categories for the third quarter. To sell more faster, identify the top 10 categories from this list for your market, then determine the top 3 to 4 advertisers within those categories. Now have your third quarter prospecting playbook.

1. Auto parts/accessories (new and used/salvaged)
2. Auto sales (new and used/salvaged)
3. Auto service
4. Backup power systems
5. Beer and wine (makers and retail)
6. Bridal stores
7. Building materials/building equipment
8. Charity thrift stores
9. Cigar stores/smoke shops
10. City park/recreation departments
11. Colleges/universities/trade schools (many public institutions are on a July 1 budget cycle)
12. Computers/all tech
13. Congressional Member’s Representational Allowance (MRA).  Each member of Congress has MRA funds to pay ordinary and necessary expenses in support of the member’s official duties.  These funds may advertise important initiatives and outreach in the district.
14. Conservation groups (Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever)
15. Dermatologists
16. Education (all levels)
17. Fantasy Football
18. Financial services
19. Fireplace stores (new, service and parts)
20. Fitness Centers
21. Footwear stores
22. Furniture/household furnishings
23. Garage Door repair/replacement
24. Government agencies/programs(Most begin their fiscal year and new budgets on Jul 1)
25. Holiday lights/decorations
26. Home improvement
27. Home insultation
28. Home Office furniture and tech
29. Hot tubs
30. House painting
31. Housing rentals
32. HVAC
33. Kids classes (swim, tennis, golf, etc)
34. Labor salutes/recognition
35. Landscape companies
36. Lawn maintenance services
37. Mattress stores
38. Mosquito control
39. Office supply stores
40. Paint stores
41. Pet stores
42. Public transportation
43. Quick serve restaurants
44. Real estate
45. Recruitment (extensive categories including all student related activities)
46. Resale/consignment stores
47. Resorts
48. Retail sales
49. Roofing contractors
50. September = Octoberfest Celebrations
51. September = Recycle Awareness Month
52. September = Suicide prevention month
53. Sporting goods
54. Sports betting
55. Storage facilities
56. Supermarkets
57. Tire dealers
58. Tourism
59. Toy and hobby stores
60. Trucks (new and used)
61. Tutors
62. TV stations/networks
63. Vacations/Resorts
64. Water parks
65. Weddings
66. Window replacement
67. YWCA/YMCA

I will be sharing ideas about How To Sell DOOH Faster by Focusing on Building Local, Direct Sales at the @OAAA’s OOH Media Conference 2024 in Carlsbad, CA, from April 29 to May 1. This dynamic event showcases innovators, advertisers, agencies, media owners, and creators to celebrate the rapidly evolving world of OOH advertising. I hope to see you all there!

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