Reader Mail - Billboard Advertising

A reader writes:

I am interested in establishing a billboard. I would like to know the right procedure in order to do that. I wouldn't want to purchase an existing billboard but would want to get it manufactured and than installed.

H. Singh

First let me answer your question, then give you some things to consider. Basically, there are three steps:

1. If it's not going to be on your own property, negotiate a lease agreement with the owner of the land where you plan to put the billboard.
2. Obtain the necessary permits from the appropriate governing body, either the city, if inside the city limits, or the county otherwise.
3. Contract with a sign company to build it.

While that sounds simple, each of these things has a cost associated with it, and the cost varies greatly depending on the proposed size and location. Also, you'll need to investigate the specific costs and restrictions for all three steps before taking the first one.

The traditional way of getting billboard advertising is not to buy or build it, but to rent it from an outdoor advertising company. Why? Consider the three steps above:

1. There's a learning curve associated with negotiating these leases. Outdoor advertising companies have done it thousands of times and have it down to a simple routine. They know the potential pitfalls and have them already addressed in their contracts. And this isn't a common contract that you can just easily download a template from the Internet.
2. Signage permits are also not a trivial process. They will need to know exact dimensions, placement, etc. You'll have to have everything from the sign company in hand before you even go in for the permit.
3. Sign companies aren't ordinarily in the business of making billboards -- they're in the business of making on-site signage. I think they're your best bet for having it made, but unless you happen to find one that does sub-contracting work for one of the outdoor advertising companies, it won't be as cheap to make as it is for the outdoor advertising companies who have crews who specialize in that type of sign and who buy the parts in large quantities.

And a couple of other things to consider:

• What about maintenance? What will you do when, as is inevitable, the sign starts showing wear and tear?
• Are you sure you want to be at that one location forever? In some cases, this makes sense, such as a highway billboard advertising a business at an upcoming exit. But if the location of the billboard isn't directly related to the location of your business, then it's actually better to have your ad rotate among various locations.
• Of course, the biggie: is billboard advertising your best marketing investment? You can't really know until you know how much it's going to cost and have some idea of the traffic it will generate (another advantage of working with a billboard company - they'll have those numbers for you).

For more information, visit the Outdoor Advertising Association of America site, which includes a list of frequently-asked questions and a list of regional and national outdoor advertising companies.

And you may find this especially handy: a list of companies that do structure installation. These would be sub-contractors to some of the smaller outdoor advertising companies and might be able to be contracted for yours.

It's going to take some research on your part to even figure out if it's cost-effective for you to build it. It may be, but I can't give you an easy answer on that since there are so many variables. But this should get you started in the right direction.