Chasing Lamar —What Competitors Are Whispering?

What Competitors Are Whispering About Lamar’s New Outdoor Boss

By William S. Board,  OOH Today , and Anonymous Industry Chatter

Nobody in out-of-home reacts publicly when Lamar makes a leadership move. (Except OOH Today of course and now the others will follow after this salvo). It’s about time.

What is being said about Lamar privately? Different story.

Since Ross Reilly’s promotion to President of Lamar’s Outdoor Division, phones have been buzzing across competitor boardrooms, private equity offices, and agency holding companies. Not panic — but attention. My phone is going nuts and I don’t know half the guys calling and emailing me.  Not sure what gives with that. But what I can share is the other side of the line are soft voices…whispers actually. I don’t think it’s fear. Or is it?

Here’s what’s being whispered.

“They’re Going to Squeeze Yield”

This is the most common take.

Competitors see Reilly’s background and assume Lamar is about to get ruthless about pricing discipline. Fewer last-minute deals. Tighter floors. More centralized control over inventory that used to be flexibly “worked” in the field.

“They didn’t put a relationship guy in charge. They put a math guy in charge.”

One rival exec put it bluntly:

“They didn’t put a relationship guy in charge. They put a math guy in charge.”

The fear isn’t that Lamar raises prices overnight. It’s that Lamar gets better at not leaving money on the table — and forces everyone else to explain why they still are.

Let’s face it, Lamar has been notorious for leaving money on the table. Sorry my Lamar pals, but for the last 46 years, that has been my secret in taking your lunch in the sales battles.

Lamar is typically the lower rate OOH provider. Yes, that is my opinion, with over 46 years of selling I have lived it first hand. And still compete against them with my small billboard plant in Virginia.

I attended 3 sales seminars hosted by Lamar Superstar Sales Guru Tommy Teepell over my career. Arguably there is no one better than Tommy in teaching the OOH sales process. (maybe Bill Austin)

Unfortunately for Lamar and good for competitors, this is where it stopped. When Tommy left the Lamar University auditorium lecture floor, the GM and Sales Managers stepped in. Rates fell and the disconnect was their failure to convince not just the customers but themselves of the value of the OOH product.

Thank God there was / is only one of Tommy Teepell, John Miller and Mario Martinez

Lamar gets better at not leaving money on the table

“Programmatic Is About to Become a Weapon”

For years, programmatic OOH has been something everyone claimed to support and quietly limited. Lamar didn’t.

Competitors believe Reilly will push programmatic beyond “incremental dollars” and into core sales plumbing — especially for national and mid-market buys.

The worry? Once Lamar normalizes programmatic at scale without destroying CPMs, agencies will expect the same from everyone else. And not everyone is ready. Did you read that?… not everyone is ready.

“This Makes Them Even Harder to Buy Against”

Private operators and mid-sized chains are particularly uneasy.

Lamar already wins on:

• Scale
• Balance sheet
• Conversion economics

Now, add tighter acquisition integration and better digital yield, and competitors worry Lamar becomes the default consolidator — again.

As one PE-backed operator reportedly said:
“If they’re putting their M&A guy in charge of operations, they’re not done buying. They’re getting smarter about it.”

“But They Might Lose Some of the Old Magic”

Not all whispers are admiration.

Some competitors see opportunity in the cultural shift. The belief: Lamar’s move toward centralization could open the door for rivals to sell against local flexibility and human touch.

Translation: “We’ll be the ones who still pick up the phone.”

If Lamar leans too hard into systems and automation, competitors hope to position themselves as more customizable, more relationship-driven, and more responsive — especially with local advertisers who don’t want to hear about algorithms.  And in my experience that is the proverbial ticket to success in beating Lamar in the sales field. (not all markets but many)

more customizable, more relationship-driven, and more responsive

“This Is a Succession Signal”

The quietest — but most telling — whisper: this move isn’t just about the Outdoor Division.

Industry insiders see Reilly’s promotion as part of a longer leadership bench strategy. Whether or not that proves true, competitors are reading it as Lamar investing early in next-generation control rather than reacting late.

And that makes people nervous.

chasing Lamar has never been a comfortable position.

“The Unspoken Fear”

Competitors aren’t laughing. They’re recalibrating.

Lamar didn’t announce a revolution — it quietly put the person most fluent in deals, data, and discipline in charge of its most important business.

The whisper isn’t that Lamar will change everything.

It’s that Lamar will change just enough — and do it faster — that everyone else will have to chase.

And in out-of-home, chasing Lamar has never been a comfortable position.

About Lamar Advertising Company
Founded in 1902, Lamar Advertising Company is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in North America, with over 362,000 displays across the United States and Canada. Lamar offers advertisers a variety of billboard, interstate logo, transit and airport advertising formats, helping both local businesses and national brands reach broad audiences every day. In addition to its more traditional out-of-home inventory, Lamar is proud to offer its customers the largest network of digital billboards in the United States, with over 5,400 displays.