Lamar Advertising (Lamar), an out-of-home advertising company serving the United States and Canada, embarked on a multiphase digital transformation that included the creation and deployment of a modernized content management system. The company needed a new content management system and website that could evolve to meet its long-term needs. Lamar turned to trusted technology adviser Cloudforce to manage the transition of its content management system to Adobe Experience Cloud. Cloudforce’s project management team became an integral part of Lamar’s content management system transition. Within nine months, Lamar launched a new public website, crediting Cloudforce’s management as a key driver of the project’s success.
Outdoor advertising company Lamar Advertising (Lamar) combines the resources of a large media corporation with the determination of a small startup company to build strong local ties with customers. With more than 363,000 billboards across the United States and Canada, Lamar is dedicated to helping its customers tell their stories using creative images and easily digestible messaging. “Probably our number one strength is the sheer size of our sales force and their ability to be the boots on the ground and have really great local relationships with small businesses,” says Cheryl Zimmermann, Vice President of Sales Operations at Lamar.
Lamar had traditionally relied on a proprietary, on-premises IT infrastructure. In 2023, the company decided to begin a multiphase digital transformation that would include the adoption of cloud services and integrated business systems. Lamar’s content management system, used to manage digital content, including the company’s public website and future e-commerce capabilities, was targeted for improvement.
Lamar’s existing content management system had reached its end of life and could no longer provide the support and flexibility required by Lamar employees. “We had technical debt and some risks around the ability to support the product that we had,” says Zimmermann. “We also had limitations in being able to help our marketing team and our sales teams achieve more progress on our long-term road map with our customer experience. We had really hit the limit of what we were able to do.”
As Lamar conceptualized a new content management system and website, the company began to consider how best to deploy a system that could evolve and continue to meet its needs for years to come. The system would also need to work seamlessly with other planned digital upgrades. “There were discussions about what we would need in 10 years, and that had to be baked into the requirements for a new platform,” says Zimmermann. “We did not want to be shortsighted about selecting a platform that was just going to let us have a cleaner, prettier site.”
Lamar and Cloudforce’s existing relationship and previous collaborations had created a sense of trust. As the two companies shared their visions for a renewed content management system, Lamar leadership was impressed with Cloudforce’s willingness to listen and expertise in identifying solutions that would meet Lamar’s long-term needs. “There was an emphasis on listening to us and respecting our input, feedback, and questions,” says Zimmermann. “We were treated as the customer in every conversation and felt that we had someone looking out for our goals, someone completely impartial to external stakeholders and partners we work with.”
“There was an emphasis on listening to us and respecting our input, feedback, and questions. We were treated as the customer in every conversation and felt that we had someone looking out for our goals, someone completely impartial to external stakeholders and partners we work with.”
Cheryl Zimmermann, Vice President of Sales Operations, Lamar Advertising
Lamar partnered with Cloudforce’s project management team to spearhead the content management system transition and turned the vision into reality. Cloudforce helped Lamar identify Adobe Experience Cloud as the best solution, even though the product was outside of Cloudforce’s customary solutions. “We felt confident that Cloudforce could help us navigate the waters of testing and looking at these new platforms,” says Brent Neel, Vice President of IT Business Systems at Lamar. “They were able to take that tedious work and [navigate] it without occupying 100 percent of our internal time.”
“We felt confident that Cloudforce could help us navigate the waters of testing and looking at these new platforms. They were able to take that tedious work and [navigate] it without occupying 100 percent of our internal time.”
Brent Neel, Vice President of IT Business Systems, Lamar Advertising
With Cloudforce shouldering much of the administrative burden and coordination between vendors, Lamar could focus on designing a new website that would elevate the customer experience. The company used data analyzed from previous site behavior to streamline how information would be organized on the new website. “Before this implementation, most of our traffic was coming in to view inventory,” says Neel. “Visitors wanted to look at a billboard close to them and see how much it cost. We surfaced that information to the home page, so they can see the information without going through a drop-down menu.”
Lamar’s new website launched in March 2024, only nine months after the company decided to revamp its content management system. The company largely credits Cloudforce with meeting deadlines and ensuring an on-time launch. Working with Cloudforce freed Lamar employees to focus on more strategic tasks and accomplish side projects, such as upgrading the investor relations portion of the website, which required outside expertise to ensure compliance with financial regulations.
The improved website also complements ongoing changes to Lamar’s back-end operations and provides its sales teams with more potential touchpoint opportunities with customers. “We deliberately created multiple touchpoint options for customers seeking more information, whether it is a form integrated with our [customer relationship management system], inquiries from our inventory browser component, requesting custom artwork, engaging with our chatbot, or chatting with a live agent,” says Zimmermann. “We’ve turned Lamar.com into a tool that facilitates lead generation, delivers faster access to information, and supports customer engagement on their terms.”
The company’s new content management system is now integrated with the customer relationship management solution to help sales and marketing teams better understand customer needs and respond quickly. “As people are inquiring about costs and detailed campaign information, we’re on the back end, surfacing inquiries and leads to managers and sales staff so they can respond in a timely manner,” says Neel.
Lamar’s experience with Cloudforce and access to Cloudforce’s expertise in AI and the Microsoft Cloud has further solidified the relationship and will help the company to advance its digital transformation efforts as it considers how to use new capabilities like AI. As Lamar explores potential AI solutions for its sales teams, the efforts to modernize its content management system and IT infrastructure have laid a solid foundation for deploying AI in the future.
Lamar sees its relationship with Cloudforce as integral to the success of its content management system modernization. “One of the reasons this relationship still exists is because of the trust we have in Cloudforce, built over the last three years and specifically with this project,” says Neel. “Cloudforce is helping us with our managed-services hours and making sure we stay within budget. Their assistance and support have been indispensable.”
“One of the reasons this relationship still exists is because of the trust we have in Cloudforce, built over the last three years and specifically with this project. Cloudforce is helping us with our managed-services hours and making sure we stay within budget. Their assistance and support have been indispensable.”
Brent Neel, Vice President of IT Business Systems, Lamar Advertising
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