Coke Cola Goes Digital!

Big billboard spender Coke Cola is now the proud owner of 28 electronic digital billboards in 27 markets in the US reports Advertsing Age.

This might be a trend to closely watch. Coke Cola a "media owner and operator."

This signage doesn't come cheap as each electrong face has a price tag of $250,000. for a total $7 million. Each LED screen is 14 x 48 feet in size.

A drop in the outdoor advertising bucket as in the first 11 months of 2009 the beverage firm spent $31 million on billboard advertising.

They have rented structure space from such firms as Clear Channell and Boardworks and the terms were not disclosed.

The drink company owns and manages the digital content. Is Coke Cola now
an emerging media firm?

They have screen space to share with "retail and charity partners" and who knows what may come next?

Per the outdoor association, the OAAA, there are now 1,800 LED digital billboard in the US out of a total of 450,000 billboards nationwide. At $250,000 each the cost is prohibitive plus local, municipal and state permiting is becoming tougher and tougher.

Coke plans to add another 15 to 25.

In the morning the firm can advertise Minute Maid and then in the afternoon switch to Spint or Coke.

Great news for Coke Cola as now they have exclusive long term state-of-the-art presence in 27 diverse markets. Is Pepsi far behind? Or Miller beer?

What does this mean for property owners? For those 27 specific sites, if on leased land, walls or roofs, it looks like long term stability. Details were not disclosed. Much more to follow.

Bill McInerney
Outdoor Advertising Consultant.
617 816 3933

CBS OUTDOOR NEWS

2-19-10.  Business Week announced that CBS profits fell 57% on its

radio and outdoor writedowns.     Net CBS income delcined  in 4th

Quarter to $58.8 million ( 9 cents a share) from $136.1 million.

"The outdoor billboard unit operating income 97% to $ 1 Million...."   stated the BW article.

Heads should roll!!

During the easy-credit or so called boom-years, big media as CBS and  Clear Chanell  grossly overpaid

for most of its outdoor advertising inventory. They are now  paying the real price which is a major

financial drag on the entire company.


Big media companies don't have the in-house management to successfully operate  billboards: they lack

common sense know-how, agility and local  and regional advertising savvy.   They purchased just the

physical inventory and didn't absorb experienced outdoor management types.  Fatal mistake.

TV  isn't the same as the outdoor business.


They are to fat at the top and don't have "street sense" required in the businesss which requires

advertising income streams from national, local and regional diverse business firms.   Big LAZY

Billboard wants it the easy way and that is all income from just the big national firms.

Do I smell a stockholders revolt ?  Or will CBS now try to sell it's outdoor unit  to that deep-pocket, well

run French  based outdoor firm?  Or is it late for a sale??

Property owners need to be on the alert.  

Bill McInerney

Outdoor Advertising Consultant
617 816 3933

CRAM DOWN TIME? Unscrupulos Big Billboard sinks to new low!

Febuary 18, 2010

Some major outdoor advertising billboard firms in  have sunk to a new low!

Out-of-the-blue they want, and even demand to greatly reduce contract outdoor advertsing payments to property owners  across the country  It's called a "cram down

In the commercial real estate biz  many national and regional retail firms have successfully negotiated their prime space payments downward because of buisiness condtions. But shopping center and mall owners having  many other tenant  an and did make some "concessions."

Unscrupulous "Big Billboard" appears to be attempting to take unfair and unjustied advantage of the overall state of the economy at the expense of individual property owners.

Don't accept a "cram down!"

Big billboard  fat-cat, over-paid empoloyees and stockholders will benefit  at your loss!

Don't panic or cave-in  should your outdoor billboard firm communciate with you asking or demanding you to agree to  their unwarrent and often times arbitrary demands.

Yes, at some times and under some "rare" conditions  "temporary relief" in the form of some "minor concessions"  might be justified.   

I can help.  Keep in mind that each billboard matter must be analyzed on its own unique merits.
But much more to follow on this subject.

Bill McInerney
Outdoor Advertising Consultant
617-816-3933