“How I Got in the Billboard Business” – Owners share their stories. Glenn and Jennifer Khoury, Co-Owners from Encore Outdoor Advertising
Today, we have “How I Got in the Billboard Business” – Owners share their stories: Glenn and Jennifer Khoury, Co-Owners from Encore Outdoor Advertising.
Northeast PA – While studying advertising my sophmore year at Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) in Glassboro, NJ, I was able to get an advertising sales internship with a small, family-owned newspaper in Northeast Pennsylvania in 1982.*I went full-time after graduating in 1984, After publishing one of our ad packed special sections, a billboard icon reached out to see if I would be interested in selling outdoor advertising. The newspaper and I were on a roll so I declined his job offer but always remembered our meeting and my first introduction to outdoor. Just as well, he shortly sold his plant to a regional powerhouse and unsure what would have happened if I switched careers. My wife was also in advertising sales and management but on the broadcast side.*In 1996, I purchased an interchange property with no zoning (yes, we still have townships with no zoning) on the only interstate in PA’s fastest growing county, Pike County, never realizing it was an ideal for a billboard.*Fast forward 10 years and my wife and I built our first wooden, double-sided 10′ x 20′ billboard in 2007. Then a couple of years later, we built a second wooden, double-sided billboard. This was all done on weekends and after 5 p.m. as I was still employed at the newspaper, now Director of Sales & Marketing.*By 2010, I realized it was time to make a career change. In the good old days, my voicemail would be full with newspaper ad orders. In 2010, my voicemail was filled with cancellation orders. When asked where they were putting their ad dollars, 9 times out of 10 was outdoor and Google search.*Some of my key accounts learned of my side shuffle and asked me to build billboards for them. After they were built, they then asked me to manage their billboards for them..As the newspaper industry continued to consolidate, my wife and I realized the best career opportunity was right under our noses. It took 4 years but In April, 2014, after 32 years, I gave my notice and constructed two 10′ x 22′ digitals. The rest is history.*Great Wall of Honesdale 2025*Our billboard company is more of a hybrid than a traditional outdoor plant. Encore owns, manages, brokers and leases other independent operator’s assets in addition to our own, growing our footprint to 9 digital faces and over 40 statics in 4 counties. All of our graphics and service work are done in-house keeping our expenses low. Encore also works with area Arts Alliances installing wallscapes including the 12-panel The Great Wall of Honesdale.*The best part? I’m still working with many of the same accounts as I did since 1982 just the product has changed. Sadly, the newspaper is no longer published but we took all of those learning years and applied it to our outdoor business.
-Glenn and Jennifer Khoury
