One of the early beneficiaries of the area’s industrial construction boom is Lamar Advertising, as more companies are advertising their job openings on the company’s billboards.
Motorists who frequent the interstates 10-12 corridor may have noticed the increase in the number of billboards advertising openings in a variety of industrial-related fields. About 20 companies have bought outdoor space this year, including Group Contractors, Jacobs Engineering, Exxon, Methanex and Ford Bacon Davis, according to Lamar sales manager Gary Weiss. Most of the ads are running on billboards between Houston and New Orleans.
“Companies are using the I-10 corridor as the focal point for their ads since it has the highest traffic in the state,” Weiss says. “There are some big projects going on and they want to attract new qualified people.”
Weiss says the trend with ‘Now Hiring’ billboards started a few years ago with the competitive trucking industry looking for new drivers.
“The theory is that truckers are already on the interstates, giving them plenty of time to ponder new opportunities they see on the messages on the roads,” he says.
Now that activity has heated up in south Louisiana’s industrial corridor, companies are using the same approach to attract much-needed workers. Based on six-month contracts that have already been signed, Weiss expects the trend to continue through 2015. —Stephanie Riegel
