For over 34 years, EMC Outdoor, an independent and woman-owned agency, has been committed …
by Amber Larkins, OOH Today
We recently published our annual list of the Top Women Driving Growth in Out-of-Home (OOH) for 2025. Today, we are highlighting Betsy McLarney, CEO, EMC Outdoor.
Betsy McLarney, CEO of EMC Outdoor, leads a nationally recognized boutique marketing agency. For over 34 years, EMC Outdoor, an independent and woman-owned agency, has been committed to providing location-based advertising solutions to connect brands with audiences. Our strategic recommendations are data-driven, tangible/IRL, and integral to driving ROI in an omnichannel marketing strategy. She and her team deliver concierge-level services with efficient, impactful results for regional, national, and international brands and agencies through creative ideation, planning, strategy, and a tactical approach.
Betsy is passionate about maximizing clients’ opportunities to intersect, connect with, and drive consumer behavior in today’s media landscape. People spend most of their time away from home: working, commuting, shopping and living. Integrated location-based marketing is key for advertisers to connect with their audience through multiple touchpoints, gaining market share as a result. Finding the most innovative and cost-effective methods that drive results is what the team at EMC Outdoor does every day.
Betsy’s father started EMC Outdoor in 1991, and she joined him in 1998, beginning her journey.
“I was not part of the OOH industry up to that point and it just became kind of the love of my life after that. It’s a very exciting industry,” Betsy said.
She watched it through its nascent growth stage and how it took off over the years to become a viable medium included in every plan.
“This is my third career, but it’s the one where I was able to run a business. My father was a mentor to me, and I’m grateful. He introduced me to people who supported my growth and understanding.”
Never Propose “Just Billboards”
Betsy and EMC Outdoor have managed to stay on top of a very fluid and dynamic marketplace by listening closely to their clients’ needs and finding innovative and creative solutions.
“At EMC we have never only proposed ‘just billboards,'” Betsy said. They look very closely at the client. The advertisers need to reach a particular audience. EMC creates tailored proposals to meet their goals and help them achieve notoriety.
EMC provides effective traditional OOH campaigns, but they also include experiential activations in most of their proposals as a way for marketers to connect with audiences one-to-one.
“We see the opportunity in the plethora of media formats as an opportunity to differentiate brand messages in real life,” Betsy said.
“We see the opportunity in the plethora of media formats as an opportunity to differentiate brand messages in real life,” Betsy said.
But the pandemic was brutal to this industry, especially with the shelter-in-place.
“Our team was focused on each other,” Betsy said. They came up with adaptable, value-oriented creative solutions to client needs. They focused on gratitude messages to frontline workers and hyperlocal campaigns. At that time, programmatic was in its infancy and they used it effectively for its speed to market.
“One of the best things that came out of it was understanding what needs your team has personally and making that as much of a priority as what the clients needed,” Betsy said. “What was needed at the moment was being flexible and adaptable to both internal and external needs.”
“One of the best things that came out of it was understanding what needs your team has personally and making that as much of a priority as what the clients needed,” Betsy said. “What was needed at the moment was being flexible and adaptable to both internal and external needs.”
Throughout her career, Betsy has seen many campaigns. Her all-time favorite, though, is from the year 2000, and still has a relevant message to this day, “What do you want the internet to be?”. This was before wallscapes and digital screens.
They were tasked with dominating a trade show, which was a forerunner of CES. They hung a gigantic banner adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center parking garage, in addition to other signage.
“It was a monumental effort to get it one and the client was overwhelmed and thrilled with the result,” Betsy said.
Women are Natural Collaborators
Getting out there is important, Betsy said, because women are natural collaborators. Women entering the industry should find a network that supports learning and development, and dive deep on company resources.
“Many groups have mentorship programs or young professional groups that young women should explore,” Betsy said. “Building a network of contacts and resources will be invaluable and stoking curiosity creates critical thinking skills no matter where your career takes you.”
“Many groups have mentorship programs or young professional groups that young women should explore,” Betsy said. “Building a network of contacts and resources will be invaluable and stoking curiosity creates critical thinking skills no matter where your career takes you.”
Over the years, many women have grown and thrived at EMC Outdoor. The company supports continued learning and opportunities to develop careers.
“We talk and listen to our people, understand what they think their career path is and what we can do to support that,” Betsy said. “We encourage them to tackle some of the gnarliest challenges. Those opportunities are where you learn the most and propel careers further.
To get more women further and into positions of executive leadership, Betsy says we need to nominate and promote extensively throughout the industry. Be supportive. Make recommendations. Collaborate. Give more women a chance to excel and gain more visibility within their company’s network.
Measurement is Key to the Future of the Industry
Unequivocally, a universal and unbiased methodology for measuring all OOH formats is the key to unlocking a higher percentage of ad spend.
“If we don’t do that, we risk becoming more fragmented as an industry and forcing advertisers to compare unvalidated and inconsistent data from multiple providers, and the share will get smaller,” Betsy said.
She firmly believes that solidifying the ability to measure results of OOH campaigns, regardless of media formats, will drive this industry forward and get a bigger slice of the pie.
“If planners at agencies are doubting how we are measuring our media and delivering on our plans, we will remain a very small portion,” Betsy said.
She admires how Australia and other overseas areas have 10-20% of media budgets. She says it’s because they insist on verifiable metrics to deliver what clients expect and use it to measure the ROI.
“I don’t want anyone to discount OOH because we can’t deliver verifiable metrics on the plans we have created and spent so much time developing, strategizing, and delivering,” Betsy said.
“I don’t want anyone to discount OOH because we can’t deliver verifiable metrics on the plans we have created and spent so much time developing, strategizing, and delivering,” Betsy said.
As to the future of technology in the industry, Betsy says AI is revolutionizing OOH by transforming how we understand and engage with consumers. It excels at processing vast data from mobile devices, geolocation services, and social media—extracting insights that drive smarter advertising decisions. After years of pursuing more sophisticated audience insights, OOH now has the perfect tool to make it practical and actionable. AI’s ability to detect nuanced behavioral patterns means advertisers can pinpoint audience moments with unprecedented accuracy. It’s not just about where people are but predicting where they’ve been, where they’re going, and why—unlocking deeper insights into consumer movement.
“The result? Hyper-local targeting with broad scalability. Advertisers can craft campaigns that feel personalized to communities while maintaining the expansive reach of traditional OOH, all faster and more efficiently than ever,” Betsy said.
“The result? Hyper-local targeting with broad scalability. Advertisers can craft campaigns that feel personalized to communities while maintaining the expansive reach of traditional OOH, all faster and more efficiently than ever,” Betsy said.
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