“How I Got in the Billboard Business” – Owners share their stories. Zach Hogue from Roar Outdoor
Today we have Zach Hogue from Roar Outdoor in Atlanta, GA. Roar started in 2020 and has approximately 4 structures with 8 faces – 4 digital and 4 static.
What is your first memory of having an interest in the advertising industry?
I was coming back from a trip with some buddies in 2016 driving through a small town south of Atlanta and one of the guys in the truck said “such and such’s dad gets $2,000 a month to have that sign on the side of his building,” pointing to a relatively small digital billboard. I couldn’t stop thinking about that comment and was up at 3am that morning researching the business.
What led up to you deciding to start an out of home advertising company?
I went down the rabbit hole that night and found that Formetco was a major supplier to the industry and they were based in Atlanta. I reached out to Britt McConnell at Formetco, who put me in touch with Marty Williamson. Marty had leases and permits for a couple of great digital sites on 316, just to the northeast of Atlanta. I tried to buy the paper from Marty, but I couldn’t put the deal together because I didn’t have any money and didn’t know what I was doing. Fast forward 4 years – I had a little bit of money and hadn’t found a more appealing business than billboards so I followed up with Marty and he had paper for a back-to-back interstate bulletin on I-85 in Atlanta and I ended up buying that paper and building the sign.
What is one of your favorite projects/campaigns you’ve worked on?
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Is there a funny or unique story you care to share with the community?
I lived in Boston when I built my first sign in Atlanta. We had a hard deadline due to an expiring city permit, so we had to build it on my wife’s 30th birthday. I stayed with her in Boston instead of flying down to watch the sign go up. After it got built, I was told the southbound right-hand read was virtually worthless because it was blocked by vegetation on the neighbor’s property. Naturally, my heart sank and I was nervous I’d made a huge mistake. But luckily I got the neighbor’s permission to clean up the vegetation and that right-hand read became the best read!
What’s your impression of the current state of our business? Are you seeing growth, future predictions, etc…
I am very encouraged. I’m seeing strong demand for our existing inventory and intend to grow as strategically and quickly as possible, by developing, building, and acquiring new high-value assets to create new opportunities for our customers!
-Zach
