Concerned about potential repercussions from the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Bob Bates, General Manager of Lamar Advertising, called our news team this week to cancel a billboard ad campaign focused on local accountability.
Actual First Run Of Ad Campaign
The “DEFUND THE CHAMBER” campaign was to begin in January 2021 with the first effort pointing locals to MBWATCHDOG.com. Skip Hoagland, of Beaufort, S.C. owns the website. The site is currently under construction.
Eighteen billboards were scheduled to be purchased during the months of February through September 2021. The bulk of these billboards were to be located inside the Myrtle Beach city limits.
Lamar received and accepted the initial payment from Hoagland, but decided to return his money.
SUNLIGHT CAMPAIGN
The campaign was scheduled to inform the public about the up to $53 million dollar budget MBACC gets in tax subsidies yearly.
2018 MBACC TAX RETURN – $53 Million
Despite the $53 million in tax funded spending, Myrtle Beach Hotels were down from 33% to 75% this past Summer into Winter.
The numbers are based on reports from the CCU Brittain Resort Center for Tourism, as well as, a November news report by WBTW T.V.
BETTER AT POLITICS THAN MARKETING
Concerns by Lamar clearly indicate the political muscle MBACC maintains in the State of S.C., specifically Horry County.
While the “not for profit” endures questions about the type of budget clientele it attracts to the city, few local businessmen or politicians are willing to take on what small business owners, like Skip Hoagland, call a government funded marketing monopoly.
At the time of this publication, Hoagland was unable to find another billboard company willing to run his campaign inside the Myrtle Beach City Limits.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Skip Hoagland is a Beaufort, S.C. businessman who believes government oversight should exist as it relates to the hundreds of millions in tax dollars given to S.C. Chambers of Commerce throughout S.C. He founded http://scwatchdog.com/ and is currently building MyrtleBeachWatchdog.com.