Buffalo has a new advertising company that is looking to change the way we view the urban environment as it pertains to marketing. Lee Patterson is the owner of Leep Outdoor Advertising, a company that specializes in transforming underutilized parking lots and buildings into marketing opportunities for businesses.
Born in Buffalo, Patterson spends his time between his home town and LA, searching for properties that best suit his operation. “It started in LA with vacant windows and parking garages,” says Patterson. “Now we’ve added vacant lots to the list of places where we offer marketing opportunities.”
One vacant lot that Patterson is currently arranging to occupy is located at the corner of Hertel and Elmwood. The sprawling lot, currently owned by Saperston Realty, has been unoccupied and unsightly for as long as I can remember. Patterson passed along an example of what that lot might look like, when the deal comes to fruition.
While I personally have mixed emotions about the directions that this type of advertising can go, I am happy that someone is inadvertently attempting to draw attention to this corner – the need of a full scale development project at this corner is imperative. As it stands, there is nothing currently on the immediate horizon for this corner, which means that without some sort of temporary creative undertaking, we will continue to view it as a vapid, sprawling wasteland. “It’s a high trafficked corner.” Patterson explains. “There’s no reason that a temporary marketing campaign should not go there.”
Another corner that Patterson is working on is Main and Ferry. One side of the Fenton Building offers up a fairly large scape to create an eye-catching display. At this point Patterson is working with Sinatra to finalize negotiations for the wall. After thinking briefly about this project, I was very upfront about my feelings regarding this specific corner and building. I asked Patterson, “Do you consider yourself a person who has good taste? Because I’m sure that the last thing that people would want to see on this building is an ad for a couple of lawyers.”
I could tell that Patterson had anticipated this train of thought. He answered, “I am of the belief that advertising should bring more energy to an area. It should be a positive message – I really want to try to change people’s perceptions about what outdoor advertising can be. I plan on working with advertising agencies to come up with creative visions that represent the different targeted areas throughout the city. “I understand that there is going to be some negative and positive feedback, which is what I’m looking for,” Patterson stated. “I hope to create reactions with what I’m doing – I don’t want to put up the types of billboards that you see around town.”
Patterson is also eyeing 127 Cherry Street for another whimsical marketing idea that he has proposed (see below). He told me that he is confident that Buffalo is ready for these types of marketing endeavors that will make the city look more vibrant and alive. Patterson earlier wrote to me, saying, “I am committed [to this] and I have a deep passion to give back and to be a part of Buffalo’s growth and I feel I can contribute with my ability to mask a vacant space, dirty construction site or add life and beautification to a vacant lot with humor or beneficial, tasteful message during a process which would normally be extremely unattractive.”
Before ending our conversation moments ago, I told Patterson that his plan to beautify various parts of town with myriad marketing measures is contingent on his ability to recognize something tasteful, instead of simply grabbing at the green that will surely be dangled in front of him. Once again, he agreed that the advertising campaigns must be tasteful, and he is concerned about the overlying creative vision.
“In that case,” I told him. “Can you do something with the big blue wall at corner of Main and Delavan, where Canisius College is? Something eye-catching and colorful, that would draw attention to the blighted corner?” He responded that he would take a look at the wall and come up with something. “Then I’ll see if I can find someone to work with over there,” he added.
Even after our conversation, I hemmed and hawed at how an outdoor marketing initiative such as this could get out of hand, if not kept in check. I also thought about the Green Code, and what sort of regulations would be imposed upon this type of outdoor marketing. In the end, Leap Outdoor could be beneficial and effective, as long as there is an aesthetic upside to every creation that is constructed.
“With ambitions of quickly becoming one of the most exciting out of home media companies in America, with a major appetite to grow in 10 the largest and mid-sized markets in the nation,” wrote Patterson. With both traditional outdoor and temporary advertising properties, Leep Outdoor gives advertisers both breadth of coverage across vast geographies and depth of coverage, providing multiple media opportunities in key markets. The addition of these locations vastly improves the ability to communicate with thousands of pedestrians each day in a unique manner, while also opening up some of the busiest areas in the city to advertisers looking to reach a specific audience. All of this showcases Leep Outdoor’s innovative approach to the advertising business.”
Leep Outdoor Advertising | Where Advertising meets Real Estate | Buffalo, NY | Studio City, CA | www.leepoutdoor.com | lee@leepoutdoor.com