Billboard Battle Brings More Legal Problems for Salisbury

SALISBURY, MA – A national advertising company filed a lawsuit Wednesday against three town officials, claiming civil rights violations dating to June 2014 when the Zoning Board of Appeals granted a permit to a local company to erect a billboard facing Interstate 95.

The lawsuit in Essex Superior Court, filed by Clear Channel Outdoor Inc., with the help of professionals from https://www.denvercocriminaldefenselawyer.com/, is the second lawsuit filed in connection with the board’s approval in 2014 of one billboard company’s permit application over another.

Both billboards would face I-95. One was proposed by Clear Channel and local businessman David Pritchard on land at 74 Main St. The other was proposed by Northvision, run by Salisbury businessman Wayne Capolupo and his partner, Peter McClary, on land owned by Herman Fortin at 75 Main St.

The sites are literally across the street from each other.

Baton Rouge-based Lamar Advertising is continuing its growth in the airport advertising business with the acquisition of Atlanta, Georgia-based Corey Airport Services, a boutique advertising agency that specializes in airport advertising displays. The acquisition, which will close July 1, will nearly double the number of airports in which Lamar is doing business.

Corey Airport Services has contracts with nine airports in seven southern states, including Dallas Love Field.
Lamar currently has concessions in 11 airports, most of which are in the west or southwest.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, though Lamar President and CEO Sean Reilly characterizes the deal as “relatively small”-several million dollars.

It’s significant, however, because it will give Lamar-already the largest outdoor advertising company in the world-a larger footprint in the lucrative airport advertising sector.

“It’s not a big deal but we’ll do about $10 million in revenues out of it and give or take $1 million in cash flow contribution, and that will take our airport business to where it’s doing about $38 million to $40 million in revenues and $5 million in cash flow contribution,” Reilly says. “So it’s a growing part of our business.”

With Lamar’s overall revenues at around $1.5 billion, a $38 million to $40 million airport business still represents less than 3% of the company’s overall revenues. But the sector can be very profitable. It’s also a good way to test new creative concepts.

“It’s a great venue to experiment with,” Reilly says. “You can do fun executions because you have an indoor setting. Airport travelers have lots of time on their hands so you can reach them in new ways. … And when we do a really smart execution, the customer will pay for it.”

Lamar broke into the airport advertising business just two years ago with the acquisition of Alliance Airport Advertising.

Pat O’Donnell, President of YESCO Outdoor Media was recently inducted into the OAAA Hall of Fame in honor of an out of home career spanning 35 years.  O’Donnell started with Donrey Media Group in Reno, Nevada in the 1980’s.  He joined YESCO in 1985 and has been instrumental in the company’s growth.  O’Donnell also serves as a Vice Chair of the OAAA Board of Directors as Chairman of the Legislative Committee and on the boards of Geopath and the Foundation for Outdoor Advertising, Research and Education (“FOARE”).  Insider interviewed O’Donnell last week.

My dad had a small sign and billboard company he started in Placerville, CA after WWII. My first foray into the business was digging holes for wood pole structures in the 60’s. After military service and college I went to work for the Donrey Media Group in sales in their Reno, Nevada office. A few years later I joined YESCO.

 

Beer.  Lots of beer.

This prime frontage property – adjacent to “the loop” in Bridgeport, CT – is a microcosm of two national trends in media and consumer tastes.

Billboard execs John and Bruce Barrett, brothers who own Barrett Outdoor Communications in nearby West Haven, bought the building in Bridgeport in 2002.  They put a billboard on the roof, visible from high-volume Interstate 95.

Built in the late Forties, this site was a distribution center for newspapers printed in New Haven, Waterbury, Hartford, New York, and Boston.  Twice a day, newspapers were folded, bundled, and shipped for home delivery.

Now a 12,500-square foot brewpub called Brewport occupies this space, offering craft beer, pizza, and salads.  Menus are displayed in vintage newspaper vending machines.

 

Antonio Vincenti is the former chairman of FEPE, the international OOH organization which convenes in Stockholm this week (OAAA Chairman Sean Reilly and I will speak there).

By sharing his story, Antonio gives us perspective. We all have problems, but Antonio has faced war and government seizure. The government bulldozed more than 3,000 of his billboards.

In a sense, we all are builders. We build sales, relationships, teams, and growth.

Antonio is a re-builder. 

His story – from halfway around the world – reminds us of key fundamentals:

The power of persistence

The importance of constitutional protections in the US Bill of Rights, particularly the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech and the Fifth Amendment’s safeguard of property rights

Thank you Antonio, for your gift to your colleagues in the US industry: perspective.

Antonio Vincenti overcame them all. His boards are up… and with a powerful message: #LifeBacktoNormal

Based in Beirut, I operate in eight countries. Click herefor a slideshow of my inventory (billboards, malls, and shelters).

I am not trapped in the past, but at times it is important to remember how we got here. In that spirit, I share with you three challenges I have faced, starting with government seizure.