Top Women in OOH Spotlight 2024: Stephanie Mayberry
OOH Today's Top Women Driving Growth in OOH 2024
“People want relationships, not just transactions.”
by Amber Larkins, OOH Today
We recently posted our annual list of the Top Women Driving Growth in OOH for 2024. Today, we are highlighting Stephanie Mayberry, Sales Manager, Lamar Advertising
Mayberry was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in 1971 and currently lives on a horse farm in Gilbert, South Carolina. She oversees advertising sales activities for the company’s Columbia, SC, sales team and enjoys motivating and managing the sales team through positive leadership, training, and support.
Her OOH journey started with a sign company outside of Philadelphia over 25 years ago, where she started as a vinyl installer. She worked her way up to graphic designer. She worked in the sign business for 18 years and was responsible for permitting and attending township meetings.
“We need to be our own advocates and get a seat at the table when there is a buy with other media,” Mayberry said. “Show the value of what OOH can do. Show the ROI. Show great creative. Do what needs to be done to show our value in the game.”
She took some well-deserved time off to raise her children for a few years, but she never lost touch with her creative side. While raising her children, she worked part-time at a local screen printer, embroidery company, and sign company.
In 2014, Lamar Advertising hired her in Reading, PA. She started as the Digital Charting Manager and was promoted to Sales Manager. She was then promoted again to Sales Manager for the Columbia market in South Carolina. She worked under Territory Manager Scott Shockley.
“He has been with the company a long time and has been one of the best mentors and coaches I have had,” Mayberry said. “Since being in the Columbia market, my experience with our Real Estate department has grown, focusing on many ongoing highway construction projects and possible digital conversions.
Driving Growth in OOH
As a Sales Manager, Mayberry supports the sales team. She helps them drive sales locally and supports the success of their clients’ campaigns. Their clients in the Columbia market consist mostly of local businesses and sales.
“I believe that our team does a great job driving growth by showing the clients their return on investment,” Mayberry said. “OOH has higher ROI than any other media.”
Mayberry has a history of community involvement, including with the Columbia Executives and Owners Association (CEOA), a local business group. She served on their member committee for two years and spent a year as a member mentor for incoming members. Her responsibilities included ensuring new members understood the bi-laws and answering any questions they had during the first few months of joining the organization.
“We are empathetic, we listen, we are collaborative, and a a woman leader, that sets us apart from men,” Mayberry said. “We take notes of special dates, and we remember them. That means something when building relationships with buyers. People want relationships, not just transactions.”
The greatest reward for Mayberry is seeing her team’s success, which makes local businesses successful.
“That is the goal for me. We have great relationships with our clients, which sets us apart from our competitors and other media,” Mayberry said. “We are not just transactional.”
However, Mayberry said OOH needs to advocate better for itself to gain a larger share of total ad spend.
“We need to be our own advocates and get a seat at the table when there is a buy with other media,” Mayberry said. “Show the value of what OOH can do. Show the ROI. Show great creative. Do what needs to be done to show our value in the game.”
Overcoming Challenges in OOH
Mayberry’s biggest challenge was moving from Pennsylvania to South Carolina during the 2020 pandemic.
“Not being able to meet with my team face-to-face for months and having the pandemic while trying to move my family was tough. We took it one day at a time and focused on helping our local businesses stay afloat,” Mayberry said.
They focused on being healthy, and what they could control. Mayberry said staying positive was key to making it to the other side. They worked with their clients helping with digital campaigns to let the public know that local businesses were still open, or that they had special hours, or just thanking their customers for their support.
However, women still face challenges in the workplace and the OOH industry. Mayberry thinks women still face the fear of having others say no to them and the fear of being turned down. She says women should face those fears because when one door closes, another opens.
“Keep going, learn from your mistakes, and never ever stop learning!” Mayberry said.
Though women still struggle in OOH, Mayberry thinks companies are doing a very good job of making headway.
Lamar has a Women’s Leadership Network that sponsors webinars, web lunches, and yearly conventions. It is made up of women across the country who can support each other when they need advice, support, or have questions.
“I think finding your “tribe,” as we call it, is key, whether that is a club, church, or a chamber. I always want ladies, or anybody, to know that they can call on me whenever they need an ear,” Mayberry said.
Promoting Women in OOH
“I make sure that women in particular feel encouraged and supported to express themselves,” Mayberry said. “I always have an open door to my office. My team also knows that I will never ask them to do something that I wouldn’t do myself.”
Women add another element and layer to buying.
“We are empathetic, we listen, we are collaborative, and a a woman leader, that sets us apart from men,” Mayberry said. “We take notes of special dates, and we remember them. That means something when building relationships with buyers. People want relationships, not just transactions.”
Hands down a woman dominated industry would be better – but Mayberry said having the right person in the right position is key.
She believes that increasing the number of women in executive leadership positions in OOH will need to start at the local level.
“It starts from the ground up. We need to do a better job at seeing it at local levels, growing, and having talent sitting on the bench ready to go,” Mayberry said.
Mayberry is extremely active in her local communities (perhaps why she’s such a rockstar in OOH). She is a member of 100 Women Who Care in the Midlands and recently joined the Lexington Chamber of Commerce. She is looking forward to joining their women’s leadership group.
She is proud of Lamar’s Women’s Leadership Network (WLN). This was started by Tammy Duncan, head of Lamar corporate HR.
“I joined this network in 2018, which changed my career path. I feel like I was an ordinary manager with some “it” factors that some key women role models were able to recognize,” Mayberry said. The women in the group helped mentor, challenge, and support her, but most of all, they gave her the tools to find the confidence to do the work herself. She would participate in webinars and find that these high-profile women faced many of the same struggles she grappled with.
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