Yellow Dog Express, Columbus, OH

Yellow Dog Express is located about 40 miles northeast of Columbus, Ohio, in the small rural community of Utica. It's a Marathon gas station and convenience store combo owned by Brian and Jo Walters. Brian researched LED sign manufacturers before buying and is happy he chose Watchfire saying, “The impact of the sign was direct and immediate. It started making a difference the day it was installed.”

Survival is tough for Yellow Dog Express partly because a 150-station franchise set up shop right across the street in the mid '80s. Walters updated his own reader board to attract customers, but was limited to displaying just one message at a time. That's when he began researching LED signs. He stated, "I knew it let me communicate more things in a bold fashion."

Mike Davis of Kessler Sign Company showed Walters several different Watchfire LED sign models. “I proposed a few different units, in monochrome and full-color,” Davis said. “Once he saw full-color graphics with his products on it, he was sold.”

But Walters' wife wasn't sure. After a few conversations, the couple decided to take the plunge together. “Five minutes after the sign went up, the impact was obvious,” Walters said.

Walters knew the sign was making an impact, but he wanted concrete evidence it was increasing sales. So he implemented three promotions and advertised them on the Watchfire sign, and nowhere else. “Those three  programs continue to generate more than the cost of the sign,” Walters said. “The monthly profit I make from them is significantly more than what I pay for the sign.” He added that his ATM business has increased 23 percent since advertising it on the sign. And he said that he's certain the sign is paying off in other, immeasurable ways. “Any other business increase from the sign is just a bonus. It's doing its job — and then some.

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