What 25 Conversations at IBO Spring 2026 Revealed

By Jonathan “JG” Graviss, Graviss Marketing

I went to New Orleans with a plan, and that plan was built around conversations.

Before I landed, I had 15 meetings booked with independent operators. By the time the conference wrapped on Thursday, I had sat down with 25. Between the scheduled meetings and the ones that found me in the hallway, the days filled up fast.

Preparation Is What Turns a Conference Into a Sales Event

The meetings didn’t happen by accident. Over the four weeks leading up to IBO, I ran a deliberate outreach campaign with one goal: get operators to agree to a sit-down in New Orleans. Three groups of attendees received different email sequences, each specific to where the relationship stood. Existing prospects heard something different than clients attending the show, who heard something different than operators I had been watching but hadn’t yet engaged.

Before each meeting, I built a brief from CRM data, email history, and calendar context. Relationship timeline, open items, what I knew about their business, and a clear goal for how I wanted the conversation to end. Most conversations started fast because the groundwork was already laid. I wasn’t introducing myself. I was continuing something that had already started.

The contrast was visible on the floor. Some people moved from session to session, collecting cards. Others had agendas—the ones with agendas left with next steps.

What struck me is that this is the same system OOH sales teams need when they prospect and communicate with advertisers every week. Segmented outreach based on where the relationship stands. Preparation before every interaction. A defined goal before every call. Most operators I spoke with at IBO described their sales teams doing the opposite: reactive, unstructured, figuring it out as they go. The conference version of preparation and the daily sales version are the same discipline. The gap is in applying it consistently off the conference floor.

What Operators Are Actually Saying Right Now

Twenty-five conversations in three days produce patterns a survey can’t capture. A few things came up consistently.

Operators are building inventory faster than they are building the infrastructure to support it. I spoke with multiple owners who were adding digital boards, expanding into new markets, and acquiring units, all while running sales themselves or relying on one person who was already carrying too much. The boards are going up. The systems to sell them are not keeping pace.

Online invisibility surfaced in nearly every marketing conversation. These operators know their markets deeply. Local advertisers trust them. But when a regional marketing manager or agency buyer searches for OOH options in that market, the operator’s website either doesn’t show up or looks like it hasn’t been touched in years. The gap between how strong these businesses are in person and how they present online is one of the most consistent problems I encounter.

The owner-operator ceiling is real. Several conversations were with owners simultaneously running sales, managing real estate, handling accounting, and trying to build a team. They are not struggling because they lack skill or drive. They are struggling because one person cannot scale in five directions at once, no matter how capable they are.

They are not struggling because they lack skill or drive.
They are struggling because one person cannot scale in five directions at once, no matter how capable they are.

This Industry Is Different

I have spent my entire career in OOH. Thirty years, 14 companies, three major operators. Operations, real estate, sales, sales management, and general management. OOH is all I have ever done professionally, and I say that without hesitation.

What I saw at IBO reminded me why that is something to be proud of. Competitors sat next to each other and talked openly about what was working. Owners with different market footprints shared honest answers about their challenges, without the posturing you encounter in most industries. There was no territorial instinct, no reluctance to help, no performance of confidence meant to intimidate. People genuinely want to see OOH grow, and they are willing to help the person sitting across from them get there, even if that person operates 300 miles away.

This community is something rare. I don’t take it for granted.

What I’m Taking Back

Twenty-five conversations confirmed what I have believed for years. The gap between where independent operators are and where their infrastructure needs to be is the opportunity. It is not a small one.

The operators who grow fastest over the next few years will not necessarily be the ones with the most boards. They will be the ones who build the marketing presence, sales systems, and operational clarity to match their existing inventory.

At Graviss Marketing, that is exactly what we help operators do. If you left New Orleans with a list of things you know need attention, let’s have that conversation. You can reach me at jgraviss@gravissmarketing.com or through GravissMarketing.com.

Graviss Marketing helps independent OOH operators build the positioning, sales infrastructure, and messaging systems that turn strong inventory into consistent, margin-protected revenue. You can explore our approach at GravissMarketing.com.

Let’s elevate OOH together and make sure your company’s marketing is as strong as your locations.