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Committee approves short advertising run on Greenville digital billboard and discusses Highway 45 messaging
Summary
The committee directed staff to coordinate a six‑week advertising block on a digital billboard on Highway 15 in Greenville, to be paid from economic development funds and offered at bulk rates to local partners; committee also discussed messaging for the city's Highway 45 billboard and targeting the Northeast Business Park.
The New London Economic Development Committee directed staff to coordinate advertising on a digital billboard on Highway 15 in Greenville for approximately six weeks in early spring, using city economic development funds and offering bulk, low‑cost slots to local businesses and partners.
City Administrator Chad described a prior partnership in which the city, the chamber, the school district and several businesses purchased shared digital billboard advertising on Highway 15. Chad said the prior arrangement had offered a low group rate and that “$150 for a week of advertising on a billboard” had drawn positive feedback; he quoted current prices at about $175 per week.
The nut graf: Committee members said the bulk‑purchase model benefits small businesses by lowering per‑week costs and provides a low‑cost marketing channel for tourism and events such as Irish Fest and sturgeon spawning season.
Committee members discussed which messages to run on the city’s static Highway 45 billboard (annual rotation vs. more frequent changes) and recommended promoting development in the Northeast Business Park as a multi‑year theme. For the digital billboard run, members suggested reusing the design themes the city employed for its Highway 45 billboard campaign to provide continuity between static and digital advertising.
Action: Tim moved and April seconded a motion directing the city administrator to orchestrate advertising on the Highway 15 digital billboard during available weeks in March and early April, working with interested local partners and using economic development funds to reserve inventory in advance. The motion passed; the committee recorded one member in opposition (not specified by name in the transcript). The city will coordinate partner recruitment, require partners to reimburse their share, and report back to the committee at the next meeting with specific weeks and partner commitments.
Committee members asked staff to survey other Lamar digital billboard inventory (including the billboard near the airport on College Avenue) and to present options at a future meeting. Members also discussed that some billboards have limited visibility due to trees or angle, and that measurement of direct impact is not possible; members nonetheless cited qualitative feedback from local businesses that participated earlier and said the low per‑week price was attractive.
Background: The group advertising approach previously resulted in several small businesses joining a collective campaign; Chad said the city’s role has been to block inventory and front the cost, with businesses reimbursing the city afterward. The committee authorized staff to proceed within the described timeframe and to return detailed partner and budget information for formal approval.
