BUSINESS NAME: Beach’n Billboard, Inc.

TYPE OF BUSINESS: Advertising

LOCATION: Leonia, New Jersey, USA

Skippy Peanut Butter thought Patrick Dori was nuts. That’s what the publicity director of CPC Best Foods told Dori when he heard his idea about placing Skippy ads in the creamy beige sand of New Jersey’s beaches. Dori said, “You’re right, but the first advertiser who gets this is going to walk away with a ton of publicity.” That thought was enough to convince Skippy to take a chance on the inventor and become his first client.

Dori’s company, Beach’n Billboard, Inc., has been contracted by seaside cities in his home state of New Jersey, along with advertisers that include Skippy, Snapple, 7-Up, Sobe, Yellow Book, and Volvo. It’s also gone international, selling franchises in the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, and Portugal. The company that began as a dream in 1994 now makes 3,000 to 5,000 imprints daily for advertisers, on more than 600,000 square feet of each of its growing list of high-traffic beaches in the United States and abroad.

THE BEGINNING

How did the idea for Beach’n Billboard come about?

I believe my father placed this idea in my head. In 1994, almost one year to the day of his passing, I woke from a dream. The entire vision of Beach’n Billboard was dancing in my head. I went to my drafting table and drew out my vision.

What did you do with the idea?

I had a patent attorney already. The patent process was very difficult. They rejected us three times over four years. We had to do a patent search and submit anything similar. What we do is called “grooming and impressing on compliant ground” like sand or snow.

THE BUSINESS

How does the program work?

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