Porlier Outdoor Selects Watchfire to Install Its First Two Digital Billboards Outside St. Louis, Mo.

DANVILLE, Ill. and ST. LOUIS, Mo. – (August 18, 2009) – Porlier Outdoor Advertising Co., located in the western suburbs of St. Louis, Mo., has installed two digital billboards manufactured by Watchfire Digital Outdoor (http://www.watchfiredigitaloutdoor.com).  The 19mm 14’x48’ billboards are located in heavily traveled, highly visible locations in St. Charles County, a bedroom community of St. Louis.  The first is at the junction of I-70 and Highway 94, which is seen by approximately 120,000 cars per day.  The other billboard, seen by about 55,000 cars per day, is located along Highway 370, just west of Highway 94.

These are Porlier Outdoor’s first digital billboards, although the company has 440 vinyl billboard faces from St. Louis to Kansas City.  With such extensive experience in the outdoor industry and a passion for loyalty and long-term partnerships, Brent Porlier, president of Porlier Outdoor, wanted to see the manufacturing process first-hand and meet the employees before deciding on a digital billboard manufacturer.  Porlier set up back-to-back visits to Watchfire’s manufacturing facility and one of its competitors.  To ensure he could make an informed decision that day, Porlier took with him his head of production and a personal friend who had recently retired from an engineering career in the auto industry where he was charged with examining production processes and making across the board improvements.

“After visiting both manufacturing plants, it was clear to all of us that Watchfire was head and shoulders above its competition in every way,” said Porlier.  “The company is passionate about the manufacturing process…from the quality of the materials, and the superior craftsmanship to the simple aesthetics of the boards.  The way they keep moisture out of the boards is second to none.”

Porlier was equally impressed with the overall attitude of the people working at Watchfire. “Everyone seemed to enjoy their work and take a lot of pride in what they do,” he said.  “That’s the kind of company I like to partner with.”

Since the digital billboards went live, Porlier Outdoor has stuck to a very specific sales strategy that differs from how they sell their vinyl billboards.  “We see digital billboards as a direct replacement for television, radio and print advertisements,” said Porlier.  “With digital billboards, our customers can quickly and easily change their message, the boards are attention-grabbing, and unlike other mediums, the audience can’t change the channel or turn the page.”   Porlier’s strategy has successfully expanded its customer base to include businesses that look for cost-effective and impactful ways to highlight their latest deals or incentives, such as pizza shops, car washes, car dealerships, colleges and credit unions.

Watchfire Digital Outdoor produces the industry’s only 19mm pixel pitch billboard—which packs 768 LEDs into every sq. ft.—and is capable of producing 281 trillion colors, the most in the industry.  It is the only manufacturer that fully encapsulates the LED module in a thick bed of silicone gel, which enables the LED boards to operate in extreme weather conditions: 180+ days completely submerged in water, 60 days in a salt-spray chamber, and temperatures ranging from -40° F to 120° F.  In areas where heat and humidity are both high, the silicone gel encapsulation protects the boards from humidity and moisture, greatly improving projected reliability. All Watchfire boards feature unique extruded aluminum cabinetry that comply with 2006 IBC codes and a streamlined electronics design that improves operation and simplifies maintenance. Watchfire’s warranty, lead-times, customer support, and no-fee software are considered to be the best in the industry.

Watchfire Digital Outdoor offers a free digital billboard financing guide. Top 10 Things To Know About Financing Your Digital Billboard is available at http://watchfiredigitaloutdoor.com/porlier.

About Watchfire Digital Outdoor

Watchfire Digital Outdoor engineers and manufactures the best looking and most durable digital billboards available anywhere.  The company is the digital billboard division of Watchfire by Time-O-Matic, which has been manufacturing outdoor electric signs for more than 75 years, has been manufacturing LED signs for 10 years, and has more than 15,000 outdoor LED signs in daily operation throughout North America.  Watchfire Digital Outdoor is located in Danville, Ill. with marketing and sales operations in Indianapolis. For more information, go to http://www.watchfiredigitaloutdoor.com.