Photographs courtesy Inspiria Outdoor Advertising.
In 2007, marketing solutions specialist Ronnie Ram co-founded a publishing company that became Inspiria Media two years later.
Fast forward to 2017 and Inspiria Outdoor Advertising, which Ram created to address the difficulty local clients were having in navigating the process of planning and buying outdoor advertising space. Today he serves as president and CEO of Inspiria, a recipient of a 2026 Business Council of Westchester Hall of Fame Award.
In a recent interview with the Westfair Business Journal, Ram related how the company’s first “buy” was for a local restaurant that wanted its presence seen on a Metro-North platform, but didn’t know how to start the process. He went on to explain how outdoor (or out-of-home) advertising is gaining strength in different categories and why – eight years on and with Inspiria’s clients now spanning the country – Inspiria is staying local in White Plains.
Ronnie, thank you for speaking with the Journal. In a space that we assume is dominated by big national players, how does Inspiria differentiate itself?
“(We’re) a media buying and planning agency specializing exclusively in outdoor advertising. What this means is that we’re 100% aligned with our clients and agency partners as we do not represent any specific piece of inventory. Rather, we work with all of the public and independent companies and landlords nationwide to offer the best media mix possible.”
And your most consistent channels for attracting new advertisers?
“We love agency relationships and, in fact, our decision to exclusively work in outdoor advertising stemmed heavily from our knowledge that if we don’t offer (competing) services, agencies will love to work with us as partners. We also believe strongly that you need to be everywhere your clients are. We advertise on Google, we network heavily with organizations like the Business Council of Westchester, we send e-blasts to our clients and we are very active on social media.”
How have your clients changed over, say, the past three to five years, and which categories are growing fastest?
“By far, the largest category growth we’ve seen is in health care. However, there’s been significant growth in education and real estate, as both charter schools emerge and more and more people move from the cities to more suburban areas. (Another) category we’re excited about is the nonprofit space.”
Outdoor advertising used to be seen as hard to measure. What metrics do you employ and how do you prove return on investment (ROI) to skeptical clients?
“The top measurement is and always has been impressions. Almost every outdoor advertising unit is audited so we can tell you how many cars and sometimes even people – based on cell phone data – walk or pass by your ad. ROI is a more complicated question as it is highly determined by your goals. For example, one of the largest advertisers in the world is McDonald’s. Their most common message is a directional ad such as “Next Stop Turn Left” or a product message like “Coffee and Sandwich for x $.” They know their ROI is reaching the potential customers with directions or a promotion, but they don’t ask you what made you come in when you order.”
With clients nationwide, White Plains is still your base. What are the advantages?
“In today’s world, we find that quality of life is much more important for so many people and our ability to offer a hybrid work environment in a thriving city along with our ability to head into Manhattan easily, really sets us apart in terms of culture and satisfaction. Our location in White Plains also provides a great opportunity to know our backyard. As many of our clients and advertisers are in the New York tristate area, our ability to be physically present has made a great impact on our credibility.”
Lastly, what are the biggest challenges you’re navigating right now (regulation/permitting, real estate, technology costs, competition, economic cycles), and what bets are you making to stay ahead over the next two to three years?
“The biggest challenge right now is the political and economic landscape and how it affects many of our clients. For example, tariffs affect costs which affect sales and budgets. Political shifts may affect grants for nonprofits. Cyber security issues affect overhead costs. There are so many factors that affect our business, but our job is to be aware of what is happening and shift accordingly.”
