OOH …Here’s One Thing
by Jim Johnsen,
Managing Director, Johnsen, Fretty & Company
My friend Bill Board, was kind enough to invite me to write a periodic #OOH column. Since I am a man of few words, I promise to keep my riffs short and focused on one thing.
The Green City Solution
Recently I had the opportunity to grab a beer with my good friend Al Leisengang. For those few of you who don’t know, Al recently joined Green City Solutions as CEO. Prior to this, Al was one of the top producers at Vector Media. He also did stints with the Titan, Vista Media and the Federal Reserve of New York. In my humble opinion, Al is one of the best sales and marketing minds in the business.
JJ: Al, I understand you recently became CEO of a young, fast growth Company by the name of Green City Solutions. Congratulations! Sounds like a terrific move. While I always knew, given your skill set, relationships and deep understanding of how the outdoor advertising business works, you would become a CEO someday, did you have this goal in mind or does this come as a bit of a surprise to you as well.
AL: Thanks Jim. It’s been a great first 90 days. Not surprised at all. I have always been a leader, passionate about what I do and hard working in all of my previous positions.
I’ve always said, a great leader must possess many things. I am a firm believer that a leader with clear vision, courage, integrity, transparency and humility, really helps the Company and each member of the team reach its goals. I feel so fortunate to be in a position to help build a culture around these principals at Green City. I know it sounds cliche, but I truly believe that if you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.
JJ: That’s awesome Al. For the benefit of the readers out there, can you tell us a little about Green City Solutions.
AL: Sure, Green City partners with municipalities to offer innovative, street-level advertising opportunities in the most highly trafficked and desirable areas of major cities. We offer advertising opportunities on solar recycling kiosks or as we call them (SRKs) throughout Atlanta, Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia. These environmentally friendly, smart units are located on the most high-profile streets and sought-after downtown neighborhoods where there are few out-of-home alternatives.
The wrap-around branding is one of a kind in the industry and really pops on crowded streets and is visible to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The density of the SRKs downtown enables brands to dominate and reverberate its message in a very impactful way.
Green City is the exclusive marketing partner of Big Belly, Inc. which is the world leader in smart waste and recycling solutions for public spaces. Widely used in cities and towns, college campuses, and retail stores in over 50 countries, these smart, solar-powered, sensor-equipped waste & recycling units communicate real-time status to collection crews to enable efficiencies.
https://drive.google.com/a/bigbelly.com/file/d/18t_PzUGl6efiAj1HjLV0cJ-MWWv0AyfQ/view?usp=sharing
Each SRK is connected to the cloud and informs the proper individuals about the status of the unit. This environmentally smart solution reduces collections by 70-80% on average. Combined with significantly reduced labor costs, vehicle wear, and fuel consumption, a GCS advertising campaign is perfect for our advertisers looking to promote a sustainability message.
JJ: Okay, so you are now 90 days into running GCS. What’s been your biggest surprise to the upside? How about to the downside?
AL: I love that as CEO of Green City, I get to be involved in every aspect of the business, and at the same time, be able to drive our big picture goals. Building out Green City has been a rewarding process, and I love seeing our growth and plans for the future begin to take shape. I am fortunate to be able to map out the direction of the company and look ahead to tomorrow’s successes. I enjoy the team that I work with and get energized by their enthusiasm and dedication to building a great Company. I have been amazed by the advertisers’ positive feedback after running a campaign. It tells me we have a medium that really works to help connect brands with their targeted audience.
I think the downside with any small company that is growing rapidly in this space, and its not really a downside as much as it is a challenge, is the level of strategic thinking and effort (and restraint) needed to grow as fast as possible in terms of new markets, people and building the GCS brand without doing a teacup over the front of your ski tips.
JJ: Al, l, why garbage cans?
AL: Ehem. First of all, they are Solar Recycling Kiosks or as we call them SRKs, not garbage cans. As part of our relationship with municipalities we clean and maintain the smart units so you don’t even know that they are used for waste.
They are an ad medium as well as something that is really helping the environment. As an ad medium they are three or four sided and can penetrate areas where minimal advertising exists, with an amenity which is dramatically needed. SRKs are unique in that they provide for wrap-around branding that really stands out on crowded streets to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The high density of our kiosks allows a client to execute on neighborhood dominations.
Having sold lots of different out of home mediums, I can assure you that if you want to take over the downtown core, there is no better and more cost-effective way to do it.
Having sold lots of different out of home mediums, I can assure you that if you want to take over the downtown core, there is no better and more cost-effective way to do it.
JJ: Al, finally, here’s one thing which I have always wondered, tell me how a guy who goes to work for the federal reserve makes a jump to the outdoor business?
AL: That’s a good question. I have always enjoyed selling and worked in retail throughout high school and college. After spending 8 1/2 years at the FED and a year as a Compliance Officer at Deutsche Bank I decided to go back to my roots and pursue a career in advertising sales and the rest is history. The ability to listen and satisfy the needs of a client has always been the key to my success.
JJ: Al, thanks for your time and as always great to talk with you.
Good luck with GCS. We know you are going to build a great media platform here.
Johnsen, Fretty & Co
Securities transacted through StillPoint Capital Member firm FINRA/SiPC
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