Because Even Billboard People Deserve a Day Off —
Why the Labor Day story? —Commentary by Bill Board
Because Even Billboard People Deserve a Day Off
Yes, Virginia, we know it’s not Labor Day today
by Bill Board, OOH Correspondent, OOH Today
Labor Day has come and gone. Today is September 8, and it is Wednesday. So why the Labor Day story?
We felt it was a great story, and we know most of you are off for Labor Day (it’s a holiday we don’t publish). We also know that after 8 years of publishing, most of our 44,000+ network are off work. Many of you aren’t reading OOH Today or any of the other newsletters, particularly the much less-read and less-subscribed OOH newsletters.
Labor Day: Because Even Billboard People Deserve a Day Off
Labor Day is supposed to celebrate the American worker. Which raises an important question: Has anyone told the OOH industry?
Because while the rest of America is grilling hamburgers, drinking beer, and pretending Tuesday doesn’t exist, somebody in OOH is still working.
An installer is staring at a 14′ x 48′ thinking, Who sold this as an easy change? A salesperson is checking email from the pool. A real estate guy is driving to the barbecue but somehow spots three possible billboard locations along the way. And an agency is sending an email marked URGENT at 4:47 Friday afternoon. Naturally, they need it Tuesday morning.
Welcome to out-of-home advertising.
We spend a lot of time talking about AI, programmatic, attribution, audience measurement, and whatever new acronym we’re all supposed to understand this week.
But OOH still runs on something considerably less glamorous:
People who actually show up and get stuff done. People climb structures, install vinyls, fix lights, check timers.
People negotiate leases with landlords who suddenly discovered their billboard is apparently worth the GDP of a small country.
People chase creative, they chase agencies, and they chase the checks! And salespeople chase everybody.
That’s the business.
Meanwhile, our product might be America’s hardest-working employee. Think about it. A billboard works 24/7/365. No vacation. No sick days. No Zoom meetings. No HR complaints. No “circling back.” And absolutely no LinkedIn announcement saying:
“After much reflection, I’ve decided to pursue an exciting new opportunity.”
The billboard stands there and does its job-rain or snow, day or night, 24/7/365. Its resilience is a testament to your hard work and commitment, inspiring pride in what we all do.
So this Labor Day, OOH Today salutes the salespeople, installers, operators, graphic designers, real estate teams, permit wranglers, and everyone else whose hard work keeps the billboard industry thriving and resilient.
Enjoy a hamburger, a beer, and truly disconnect-your effort is appreciated, and you deserve a moment to relax this holiday.
Don’t check occupancy.
And for one glorious afternoon, try driving past a billboard without calculating the CPM.
Tuesday morning we’ll all be back at it. Arguing about measurement and explaining yet again that, no, billboards are not dying.
They’ve actually been standing there working tirelessly while everyone else was taking Labor Day off, proving the resilience of our industry and its vital role.
A belated Happy Labor Day from OOH Today
- Advertisement -
