OOH …Here’s One Thing
by Jim Johnsen,
Managing Director, Johnsen, Fretty & Company
“Wow, Johnsen, I like your little posts on OOH Today, but wow, your music references are stuck in time.”
So that’s what I heard from an outdoor brother at the OAAA conference a few weeks back. We both chuckled, and I agreed. But to say it did not sting would be a white (hot) lie. Walking away from that insignificant 30-second interaction got me thinking, which is never a good thing. I have to admit that I have genuinely arrested development when it comes to music. Arrested what? Here is what ChatGPT has to say:
“It’s not a formal DSM-5 diagnosis, but more of a conceptual or therapeutic term….A condition in which a person’s emotional or psychological development stops or is severely delayed, often at a specific stage, leading them to continue reacting or functioning in ways typical of a much younger developmental level…
- An adult may have impulse control or emotional regulation issues that are more typical of a child.
- Someone might struggle with relationships, responsibility, or self-identity because they didn’t develop healthy coping mechanisms during key life stages.
- It can manifest in rigid thinking, dependency, poor boundaries, or immature behavior.
Johnsen, you are usually non-linear, but this one is hyperbolic. Where are you going with this? As Mike Tyson once said, everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face. So here it is. Our entire industry suffers from arrested development. How many more conferences will we discuss why we don’t get more share? How many more will we talk about making it easier to buy? How many more…” It is such a good value? How many more…”let’s all work together”? We suffer from arrested development, for gosh sakes. Let’s change the conversation. I must say, I can count on one pinky toe how many have crossed the Rubicon from the buy side to the sell side and made a go of it, but some of Nick Brien’s comments during the Morgan Stanley Investor Day resonated with me. Didn’t have time for that? I didn’t either. But I am glad I did:
Outfront Media at JPMorgan Conference: Strategic Shift and Growth Focus By Investing.com
Let’s reinvent ourselves…for real. “Making outdoor easier to buy”. That was Magic Media’s (or was it Matthew Outdoor’s) chant in 2004. Can we please lay it to rest…or at least put some meat behind it? Good luck with the Excel RFP’s this week. I will be trying to automate my NDA process.
Securities transacted through StillPoint Capital Member firm FINRA/SiPC
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