Billboard Insider

Recently, All Steel Structures was tasked with the removal of a billboard structure that came down during a severe storm.
Photos like these are dramatic. A collapsed billboard structure immediately raises questions about safety, engineering, and the integrity of billboard construction. While any structural failure is serious and deserves a thorough investigation, it's important to understand that one isolated incident does not represent the billboard industry as a whole.
Modern billboard structures are engineered to withstand significant wind loads, environmental conditions, and years of service. Before a structure is erected, engineers analyze factors such as wind exposure, foundation design, soil conditions, structural loading, and local building code requirements. Today’s billboards are designed to perform safely under demanding conditions.

When a failure occurs, there is almost always a unique set of circumstances involved.

One Billboard Failure Doesn’t Define An Industry Recently, All Steel Structures was tasked with the removal of a billboard structure that came down during a severe storm. Photos like these are dramatic. A c

Justin Booher of Vital Outdoor appeared this week on Neil Bell's Bell Board Podcast. Some of the highlights.

Find a good banker and stick with them.
You could probably write a book on billboard bank financing. Banks are very friendly when you’re getting into the business, and then a couple years down the road they don’t want to do deals, or they start requiring a lot more down than before. The other thing I found is that community banks will give you a good loan officer who really gets it and becomes your quarterback — and then he leaves, and you get somebody new who knows nothing about the business...Once you find a great loan officer who knows this industry, you just stick with them.
Think carefully about when your billboard lease should start
I added language a few years ago that says the lease commences within 180 days of all necessary permits being issued.

The Walgreens Rule for Sign Development Justin Booher of Vital Outdoor appeared this week on Neil Bell's Bell Board Podcast. Some of the highlights. Find a good banker and stick with them. You c

Billboard Insider is running an interview series with John Music who has more than 50 years experience in the out of home business. John has previously talked about getting into out of home and building signs. Today he talks about building solar powered billboards.

What made you install solar?

My billboard dream was to make one billboard solar. It finally happened in 2018 on a new unipole site in Bolivar, Missouri. My wife helped me with the design. We didn't like paying the cooperatives $35/month for electricity.

John how much did your system cost?

Dave the solar, batteries, solar regulator, 2 lights, solar wiring, box, ran about $2,300. Extra charges for light arms and his labor set up by contractor would be additional- my contractor wanted to see if it could be done so he helped with his cost.

What's maintenance been like?

We didn’t have to service the unipole we built in 2018 for 6 years. Not once. At the end of 6 years we had to replace the batteries.

John Music on Building a Solar Powered Billboard Billboard Insider is running an interview series with John Music who has more than 50 years experience in the out of home business. John has previously talked

Lease terms can impact the value of just compensation. That's the lesson of Dept of Transportation versus Adams outdoor Advertising of Charlotte. Here are the facts:

- In October 2001 Adams outdoor acquired a billboard in Charlotte, North Carolina.
- In 2006 the lease expired and Adams Outdoor negotiated a new lease with the landlord which ran for 10 years and then automatically renewed for 10 years. At the end of 20 years the lease would be extended for additional 10 year terms provided that neither party objected
- In 2011, the North Carolina DOT purchased the property and filed a condemnation of the billboards. Adams and the DOT could not agree as to whether just compensation was due on the billboard. A trial court ruled that just compensation was due. The court of appeals said the billboard was a non-compensable personal property and reversed the ruling. Adams appealed.

Lease Terms impact Just Compensation Lease terms can impact the value of just compensation. That's the lesson of Dept of Transportation versus Adams outdoor Advertising of Charlotte. Here are t

US out of home revenue growth outpaced both inflation and the US economy in the first quarter of 2026 as you can see from the chart below.

- US out of home revenues grew by 7.1% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to 6% growth in the US nominal GDP and 2.4% inflation. This is only the second time in the last 13 quarters that US out of home has grown faster than the US economy. The rebound in US out of home revenues was caused by improved transit, airport and digital out of home revenue
- US out of home revenues have grown by an average of 3.4%/year since 2023 versus inflation of US GDP growth of 5.5% and average inflation of 3.1%.
- 3.1% average inflation is important to keep in mind when you are renegotiating ad contracts. If you are not getting at least 3.1% on ad renewals, your expenses are probably growing faster than your revenues. And the US inflation rate is accelerating.

US Out of Home Revenues Grow Faster than Economy in 1Q 2026 US out of home revenue growth outpaced both inflation and the US economy in the first quarter of 2026 as you can see from the chart below. US out of ho

Yesterday we published Billboard Insider's 2026 list of billboard structure painters. While the topic is fresh we are reprinting Jon Odom's thoughts on the importance of painting your billboard structures. Jon's comments come from a January 2021 Billboard Insider podcast interview.

Jon Odom on the importance of painting a billboard structure

The thing that really should be made exceptional is the paint that’s used. That paint is what’s going to protect that steel for many years…There ought to be a two part system. One that uses a rust inhibitor/primer and then a UV resistant finish coat.

The paint that we use was developed by Sherman Williams for the specific purpose of painting outdoor structures. It’s the same paint that a lot of the buys use that make…propane tanks, trash containers, the same type of structures that are outside and are exposed to the elements.

Reader Greg Hicks of Hicks Outdoor had these comments on painting

Thanks for the list.

Reader Feedback on Painting Billboard Structures Yesterday we published Billboard Insider's 2026 list of billboard structure painters. While the topic is fresh we are reprinting Jon Odom's thoughts on the im

Billboard Insider recently published an article on the 2009 Nebraska Supreme Court case of Lamar Co vs City of Fremont, along with the follow up comments from California attorney Richard Hamlin. Among the several interesting legal issues in the case was Lamar's allegation of tortious interference, which basically consisted of "lease jumping" by a competitor, Victor Outdoor. Because Lamar's lessor had already timely and properly terminated the lease, the trial court granted a summary judgment that Lamar had no claim for "tortious interference with business relationship or expectancy" under Nebraska law.

Richard Rothfelder on Tortious Interference and Lamar vs Fremont Billboard Insider recently published an article on the 2009 Nebraska Supreme Court case of Lamar Co vs City of Fremont, along with the follow up comments from C

California Out of Home attorney Richard Hamlin of the Hamlin|Cody law firm comments on Billboard Permit rights run with the land. We are especially interested in his thoughts on tortious interference. This is an issue for all of you who talk to landlords or who are approached by landlords who have an existing lease with another out of home company.

In California, billboard permits do not “run with the land.” Instead, the permit belongs to the applicant, unless the applicant notifies Caltrans of a transfer. The applicant is usually the operator. In most (but not all) billboard leases, the lease identifies the operator as the owner of the sign and related permits. The contract terms will determine who owns the permit and the sign.

When a non-conforming sign is removed, it generally stays removed (subject to an exception that allows relocation in eminent domain cases).

Richard Hamlin on Permit Rights and Tortious Interference California Out of Home attorney Richard Hamlin of the Hamlin|Cody law firm comments on Billboard Permit rights run with the land. We are especially interested

By Janea McDonald, Owner, Edge Consulting

When good employees leave billboard companies, leadership often assumes the issue is compensation. Sometimes it is. But in my experience, pay is usually only part of the story. More often, people leave because they are worn down by the day-to-day experience of work. The pace is fast, the pressure is real, and the work is demanding. What pushes people out is not just hard work. It is the unnecessary stress created by chaos, poor communication, and preventable frustration.

In too many organizations, employees are expected to just figure it out. Priorities shift without warning, departments stop communicating, and expectations stay vague. One leader says one thing, another says something else, and the employee in the middle is left trying to make sense of it all while still getting the job done.

Over time, even strong employees start asking themselves a dangerous question: Is this really worth it?

Most people can handle hard work.

Why Billboard Companies Lose Good Employees — and Why It’s Usually Not Just About Pay By Janea McDonald, Owner, Edge Consulting When good employees leave billboard companies, leadership often assumes the issue is compensation. Sometimes it is.

Do billboard permit rights run with the land or with an individual? Permit rights run with the land is the lesson or Lamar Co v City of Fremont. Here are the facts.

- Several billboard structures were constructed in Fremont, Nebraska by Bellows Outdoor in 1991 and 1999 on land owned by three separate landlowners.
- The billboard structures became non-conforming when the City adopted a new zoning code in 2000. The zoning code, however, allowed non-conforming signs to be replaced so long as they were no bigger than the previous structure and used a monopole design,.
- Lamar advertising bought the billboard structures in 2001.
- In 2003 Victor Outdoor and the landowners applied and received permits from Fremont to replace the Lamar signs.
- In 2003 and 2004 the three landlowners each terminated their leases with Lamar and Lamar removed its structures.
- Victor Outdoor erected sign replacing Lamar's signs.

Billboard permit rights run with the land Do billboard permit rights run with the land or with an individual? Permit rights run with the land is the lesson or Lamar Co v City of Fremont. Here are th