Bill Wilkins —True OOH Industry Champion —Founder of Wilkins Media —Passes After 20 Year Battle with Parkinson’s
One of the First National Independent Out-of-Home Media Specialists
W.N. (Bill) Wilkins, former president of the Institute of Outdoor Advertising (IOA) and founder of Wilkins Media Company, passed away on July 2, 2023. His passing marks the end of his nearly 20-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Bill was an innovator, OOH industry leader, and a Parkinson’s awareness and advocacy servant. His OOH career began in 1960 in Los Angeles on the leasing side of the business with Foster and Kleiser. He went on to hold key executive positions in Las Vegas and nationally with Donrey Media. In 1980, he joined the Institute of Outdoor Advertising (IOA) in Chicago and a year later became the first President of the IOA in New York City to come from within the OOH industry itself. He founded Wilkins Outdoor Network (later changed to Wilkins Media Company) in Atlanta in 1987, and in 25 years grew the business to become one of the oldest and largest independent Out-of-Home Media specialists in the country.
Bill was one of our industry’s greatest champions. In recognition of this, he was honored in 1997 with the L. Ray Vahue Award for marketing and inducted into our industry’s “Hall of Fame” by the OAAA. He was greatly respected by all he met and will be greatly missed.
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I worked extensively with the original Wilkins office in Atlanta when I started in the OOH industry with a small regional company, Shubert Media and then Patrick Media. I only worked directly with Bill a handful of times but am proud to carry on the vision he had as I work at Wilkins Media today. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to a great industry.
An amazing and special guy. I will miss him very much.
Absolutely Jim Johnsen. Amazing and special. Like his son Daniel. We will miss Bill
Great message and share Dean Seher. Thank you. Bill was the best. True gentleman and pioneer.