
By David Sher
It dominates the Birmingham skyline.
Some folks are okay with it and some are not.
But you have to admit, it’s genius from a name recognition standpoint.
I’m talking about the Alexander Shunnarah billboard atop the Two North 20th Building downtown.
It makes perfect sense that the billboard king of Alabama appears on the ‘mother of all billboards.’
People even tell me they see it when they fly into Birmingham.
The downtown billboard is obviously good for Shunnarah
Alexander Shunnarah dominates billboards all over the state. When my family takes a road trip, we often play a game predicting how many Shunnarah billboards we will pass.
According to an interview in the Birmingham News Lede earlier this year, Mr. Shunnarah said, “Give or take, depending on the month, and sometimes we’re doing things like a poster, we typically have about 2,000 billboards.
“Our annual budget this year is pretty extensive. Because we’re now a nationwide firm. And so half of it is spent traditionally on like the radio, the TV, the billboards in the community. And the other half is now spent in the digital space, like pay per click and the social platforms. But it’s roughly about $60 million this year. It’s about $5 million a month, but it’s across the U.S.”
Is the downtown billboard good for Birmingham?
When you think of Hollywood, California, you picture the iconic Hollywood sign.
Think of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge comes to mind.
St. Louis has its Gateway Arch.
We hope when people picture Birmingham they think of Vulcan, but Vulcan may be getting competition from the Shunnarah billboard dominating the Birmingham skyline.
A win-win solution for Shunnarah and for Birmingham
According to al.com, “The sign has been a feature of Birmingham’s skyline for more than 50 years. It was formerly an electronic sign with more than 1,330 lights, projecting changing messages. The sign went dark in 1988.
“A plan to replace the electronic sign with a vinyl covering advertising Pepsi generated controversy in 2013 and was rejected by the Birmingham Design Review Committee, with committee members calling it a ‘glorified billboard…but it appeared the law was not enforced.’ The sign later advertised LP Building Products and the Wind Creek Casino.”
In the early days when the sign was a message board, it often posted public announcements.
Why not have the billboard serve the public good, while at the same time promoting the Shunnarah Law Firm?
Maybe the firm would consider monthly/quarterly postings–something great about Birmingham? An achievement? An historical event like the recent MLB game at Rickwood?
This would be a recurring reminder about what’s great about Birmingham and be a public relations boost for the firm.
Mr. Shunnarah is investing heavily in Birmingham
According to the Birmingham Business Journal, the Shunnarah firm recently bought the 125,000 square foot former home of the Birmingham News Building downtown for $13.3 million.
In The Birmingham News Lede interview mentioned above, Mr. Shunnarah said “We started here in Birmingham, and obviously, this is home. This is our headquarters. But in Birmingham we had one building and then a second building. So, we were pretty bifurcated.
“We never were able to find a headquarters that could fit everyone in it. And I’m really excited to be able to actually consolidate all seven offices into one building, because I think it’ll be great for the culture, everyone being under one roof finally.”
A creative public-centric marketing plan for the downtown billboard would be a big win for Birmingham and for a law firm who takes great pride being headquartered here.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
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Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown..com.
Well, I understand that the Shipt building f/k/a Wells Fargo f/k/a SouthTrust (???) is looking for tenants. Maybe Alexander Shunnaraha could use the space–with naming rights…
I would prefer the electronic billboard gets placed back into service. A vinyl wrap billboard ad looks tacky and cheap. An electronic billboard can cycle through dozens of messages and ads in a certain timeframe. Shunnarah can advertise his firm, but it can also feature special announcements or other advertisements.
The technology used by the original electronic billboard is now very dated. I think I remember there was later an attempt to revive its use but it was not cost effective. Maybe someone can fill me in on this.
At the time, that electronic roof billboard was the crown on the first high rise built Downtown in forty years – the 18 story Bank for Savings Building. It was widely acclaimed nationally by WESTINGHOUSE who supplied its modern construction features – elevators -lighting-electronics-movable office partitions- and more. Its shining metallic/glass skin lit a night was a beacon for progress Downtown. David hopefully your suggestion for upgrading the crown on this iconic landmark will be implemented.
Not sure a personal injury law firm is what corporate Birmingham and corporate Alabama
are in sink with ? The law firm does do a lot of community engagement it seems which is very positive!
For a number of years, I made periodic drives from Louisville on 65S to visit my son while he attended Auburn. I avoided 280 and just drove to Montgomery then headed west. Well, a little groggy when I drove into this area around 6 am, and I keep seeing these signs with the name Shunnarah and a picture of a lanky guy. At the time, I thought the name of the town was Alexander Shunnarah and he was the mayor. Never could find the place on a map until I realized later that the place was actually Birmingham. Go figure. Just officially change the name of the city to Shunnarah. You have the signs and a face to go with it. Great free advertising for the area.
So funny!
Jack pot justice on trial
I suspect that yours is one of many families that play Count the Billboards while travelling!
Hello David, I always enjoy your columns. Although I left Bham 20 yrs ago my daughter lives there so I keep up. We have a similar situation In Jacksonville (FL) with the Farahs, it is a bit obnoxious. Oh for the days of when attorneys could only post their names in the yellow pages….keep up the battle its a very long war
This billboard cheapens the entire downtown area. It is embarrassing for Birmingham.
Tara Della,
You have correctly answered the question. Thank you for your comment.
Mike
Here’s how all the trouble started:
https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Two_North_Twentieth_sign
“In June of that year [2013], Harbert and Buffalo Rock proposed covering the sign with a vinyl billboard for Pepsi-Cola. They presented the proposal to the Birmingham Design Review Board, which objected to the idea of installing a “glorified billboard” in place of the well-known scrolling marquee. The Birmingham sign ordinance, as amended in 1989, prohibits the construction of new billboards in the city.
Harbert claimed that the sign was costing them $500 a month to maintain and that the covering would be temporary, until the company was “ready to spend” $4 million or more on a completely digital upgrade.
Harbert returned to Design Review in July with a modified proposal developed with Pepsi and O2 Ideas which read “Birmingham: The City with Great Taste” alongside a smaller Pepsi logo. When that proposal was also rejected, Harbert’s representative, Tab Bisignani, openly questioned the board’s authority to prevent them from carrying out their proposal. According to Bisignani, an official with the Birmingham Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits said that because the overall dimensions of the sign would not be changed, a permit was not required. Department of Planning Engineering and Permits deputy director Edwin Revell replied that Harbert misunderstood, and that, “[w]hile there is not a permit requirement associated with wrapping the sign, this structure/property is located in a design review district with restrictions for signs as it relates to advertisement,” and restated the city’s position that approval from the Design Review Board was required.
Harbert ignored that interpretation, and began installing a vinyl sign reading “Pepsi: A Southern Original” in February 2014. They also added flood lights to illuminate the new billboard.
Mayor William Bell’s Chief of Staff, Chuck Faush, acknowledged that since the project did not require a permit, there was no mechanism in place to enforce the authority of the Design Review Board. Completion of the new sign was celebrated by Buffalo Rock with a party on the roof of the Kress Building on Monday, March 3. CEO Jimmy Lee III enthused that the new sign “definitely looks better than that rusted can that was up there.” The party featured hostesses clad in dresses made from Pepsi, Grapico and Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale packaging.
In early 2015, Harbert Realty sold the sign to 84 Outdoor (now Transformation Media), a billboard company based in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania. That sign was removed in early 2016.”
Harbert purchased the sign, complained that $500/month was too expensive to maintain the billboard (while claiming it was only temporary until a newer, LED billboard was purchased), discovered a legal loophole to vinyl wrap the billboard to evade advertising restrictions, only to end up selling the sign to an actual billboard company – which is where it is now.
Transformation Media (the current owner) does maintain electronic billboards in its inventory; however, it is not known if it has plans to replace or refurbish the sign atop Two North Twentieth with a custom-sized display.
Just bring back the electronic billboard; that is all I have to say. I am an electrical engineer – I could possibly repair it if it’s broken. Having a vinyl-wrapped ad up there looks cheap and trashy. The electronic billboard is unique – it is unlike anything I’ve seen in other cities (and I’ve seen a lot).