BEAM Turns to Watchfire for Two Digital Billboards in Huntsville, Ala.

DANVILLE, Ill. and HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – (October 29, 2009) – BEAM Enterprises, based in Decatur, Ala., has once again selected Watchfire Digital Outdoor (http://www.watchfiredigitaloutdoor.com) for two more digital billboards.  The 10’ x 36’ billboards are positioned side-by-side and are located on University Drive in Huntsville, Ala., where approximately 70,000 cars pass by each day.  The intersection features dozens of restaurants that service the almost 32,000 people who work in nearby Research Park.  BEAM’s other Watchfire digital billboards are installed in Decatur, Ala.

 "These billboards have sold themselves,” said Leo Bouchard, president and owner of BEAM, Enterprises.  “There is no question that Watchfire boards are the best looking and most vivid billboards in the industry.  There is a competing digital billboard down the street from mine and my Watchfire billboards definitely stand out and are far easier to read, both in the daytime and at night; especially on an overcast day.  Customers have been calling since installation to secure ad space.”

Bouchard says that because Watchfire digital billboards attract so much attention, and do not require much on-site management, he is expanding his location search to areas around the country. Regional operators can, for the first time, branch out beyond their local boundaries and still provide customers top-notch service, according to Bouchard.  Much of his customer interaction is done electronically; he can manage ads from anywhere in the world via Watchfire’s Ignite Online™ software, and he is automatically notified of any service issues by the board’s automated diagnostics program. 

“Watchfire has made this process easy,” said Bouchard.  “When you call Watchfire, a live person answers the phone, someone helps answer your question right away…whether the person is in a technical role or in sales, you get first-rate service from beginning to end.  That’s atypical in any industry, but especially in the billboard industry.  Watchfire really is the best in the business.” 

Many of Bouchard’s customers are first-time billboard advertisers and they are drawn to digital billboard advertising because rates are more reasonable than newspaper and television advertising, they can advertise more timely events and, in many cases, create their own ads.  In today’s economy, a digital billboard is a very attractive advertising option.   

Similarly, Bouchard explains that it is getting easier for operators to own digital billboards.  “As the digital billboard technology has developed, the price has come down significantly, yet the quality has gotten better.  The boards essentially pay for themselves.  As a 73 year old who bought my first digital billboard two years ago, I can tell you that it’s never too late to get into this business.” 

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.

For a free video the shows how Watchfire Digital Outdoor manufactures the best-looking, most durable digital billboards in the industry, go to www.watchfiredigitaloutdoor.com/BEAM.

 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.