Watchfire Digital Outdoor Attains 100th Billboard Customer; Is Industry’s First

Watchfire Digital Outdoor became the industry’s first digital billboard manufacturer to surpass 100 customers with the installation of nine digital billboards in Grand Rapids, Mich.  GR Outdoor has installed the 19mm boards on all major highways feeding into Grand Rapids: M-6, US-131 and US-196.  GR Outdoor installed two of the boards side-by-side in front of Fifth Third Ballpark, home to year-round events including minor league baseball, outdoor concerts, festivals and tournaments.

“We are happy to welcome GR Outdoor as our 100th digital billboard customer, something no other digital billboard manufacturer can claim,” said Darrin Friskney, director of Watchfire Digital Outdoor.  “We think more billboard operators have selected Watchfire than any other manufacturer because we build the best looking, most durable board available anywhere in the world,” added Friskney.  GR Outdoor President Randy Disselkoen received a plaque commemorating Watchfire’s 100th digital billboard customer.

GR Outdoor currently has 16 of 20 digital billboards located in the Grand Rapids market.  Disselkoen installed his first digital billboards a year ago, and turned to Watchfire for his second investment because the Watchfire boards display a sharper and more vivid image.

100th Customer
“I give Watchfire an A+; they have been terrific to deal with,” said Disselkoen.  “They busted their tail on delivery and ensured installation went off without a hitch.  Advertisers love the billboards because they have better resolution and a sharper image.”

The GR Outdoor boards are networked to provide advertisers coverage over the entire Grand Rapids metropolitan area, which has a population of approximately 778,000.  Advertisers include car dealerships, restaurants, equipment dealers, hair salons, a sporting goods store and furniture store.  A local radio station uses RSS feeds to display updates on music and news.  

Disselkoen said the boards already are one-third leased and he expects full capacity shortly.  The boards are especially popular with advertisers because GR Outdoor offers free, unlimited ad changes, and delivers those changes within a day and often within hours.  This allows advertisers to promote weekend sales, to highlight different products and promote time-sensitive specials.

With its True-16mm, True-19mm and new E-16mm, Watchfire has an entire line of digital billboard products to suit almost any need.  Watchfire billboards have the deepest color palette in the industry and utilize state-of-the-art whole sign color calibration.  Watchfire is the only manufacturer that fully encapsulates its LED modules in a thick bed of silicone gel, enabling the modules to operate indefinitely even in the harshest conditions. Durability is further enhanced by Watchfire’s streamlined engineering, which focuses on driving down parts counts and connections, improving projected reliability.  All Watchfire boards feature lightweight extruded aluminum cabinetry that complies with IBC 2006 standards and allows for low cost, fast installation and streamlined maintenance. Watchfire’s warranty, lead-times, customer support, and software are considered to be the best in the industry.