Many good billboard buys are overlooked, forgotten or even not researched by large advertising agencies and buying services. The question is why? The answer is simple and most unfortunate. These services in the majority of cases just don’t do their work. It’s much easier to call your current representative who works for a large national company and let them do the work. The problem is they only represent their company’s inventory; and why shouldn’t they? The client is the one who gets cheated on the best billboard coverage when a thorough search of all local outdoor companies is not performed.
Most local billboard operators concentrate on local business because regional and national businesses generally use large buying agencies and services for convenience, time savings and history of purchases. What if large companies cannot deliver the best coverage because they were not first in the market and desired coverage is dominated by local billboard businesses due to the fact they were first in the market place. They own the zoning/building permits necessary to develop this sought after local billboard coverage? After all, outdoor advertising mirrors itself with the real estate business; location, location, location. Strict zoning laws dictate where and how billboard permits are issued. It’s not that large outdoor companies don’t want to build sites in demand; they simply can’t in a lot of cases. Again, this is why it is of utmost importance for services to do thorough research in local markets. It does take time and effort. You even might have to accept a sales call from these small local billboard owners.
General ADI or SMSA coverage in top markets in the country most of the time cannot deliver quality; especially in sprawling suburbs. Using quantitative numbers with smoke and mirrors won’t cut it. Case in point: Chicago is the 3rd largest market in the US. McHenry County is one of the 6 major counties in Chicagoland. Forget freeway billboards. It has no freeways at all. However they have sign codes allowing different sizes of outdoor advertising in certain areas due to spacing requirements. Many times, a Chicago billboard buying decision needs to consider a mix of outdoor products to achieve a goal. Maybe in McHenry County, coverage is needed in only certain cities such as Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Cary, Woodstock or Lake in the Hills dues to franchise restrictions or congressional district advertising. Maybe Richmond, Marengo, Spring Grove, McHenry and Johnsburg do not fit into the overall plan. How can buyers obtain what they need? Again it’s simple. Consider what small billboard companies have to offer. The beauty of outdoor advertising is you can cover a total market in most cases or you can merely target your audience.
