CFG Bank Arena's ability to attract big names like Bruce Springsteen and Megan Thee Stallion to its stage is not going unnoticed.

The redeveloped Baltimore arena is now starting to attract big-name national advertisers — Google and Ray-Ban among them — with the installation of Maryland’s largest digital billboards on the building's exterior.

The 7,000-plus foot screens are operated by Kevani, a Los Angeles digital marketing company, that until now hasn't had any billboards outside of New York City and Los Angeles. Kevin Bartanian, Kevani’s CEO, said the company likes to get screens in premium locations before an area goes through a renaissance.

The CFG screens are Kevani's first deal with Oak View Group or OVG, the company that runs CFG Bank Arena. OVG is one of the largest arena owners and developers in the country, and Bartanian said partnering with OVG was one of the main reasons for the deal in Baltimore.

“The type of pull they have at OVG, it definitely adds value," Bartanian said. "They can bring in top talent, and we were very excited that they were behind this project."

OVG oversaw the $250 million renovation of the aging 60-year-old arena, which officially opened up in April 2023. It drew about 856,089 visitors through the end of that first year.

Bartanian sees CFG Bank Arena's new life as an emerging business opportunity for advertisers looking to reach the masses.

“We first launched in downtown L.A., and at the time it wasn’t a hot area, now it is, but it wasn’t at the time,” Bartanian said. “We like to be in markets that are not fully matured and on the way. Timing is everything, and we feel right now is the perfect timing with all the development in Baltimore."

Kevani secured the rights to operate the CFG’s screens last June and started advertising on a single screen in October. Bartanian said the arena owns the screens, and that his company manages tfhem. The company had a soft launch for the first six months and showed advertisements from brands like Svedka and Anheuser-Busch alongside ads for concerts in CFG Bank Arena.

Bartanian said a number of major brands reached out and inked deals once the second screen became operational in April. Since April, the CFG screens have featured advertisements for Apple Music, FanDuel, Adidas, Google, Ray-Bans, Deep Eddy Vodka and New Balance.

This was all according to plan, as Bartanian said the idea was always to sell the screens as a pair. Bartanian also said more brands have reached out to partner now that both screens are up, and that there are more big names on the way.

The company opened up its first non-Los Angeles digital billboard in 2022 in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. Bartanian said the company only adds billboards if it feels they are “trophy” locations.

The New York billboard is located a block from Broadway. He said he wanted to expand into Baltimore because he feels that in a few years the screens at CFG could be in the middle of a redeveloped and thriving downtown Baltimore.

“This is a trophy piece for us, these are the most iconic advertising boards in Baltimore,” Bartanian said. "This is already a quality location in what could be a booming market."

Bartanian said CFG arena’s location along Lombard Street was another draw. The company uses software that measures both foot and vehicular traffic, and the CFG screens provide around 35 million impressions a month. Though other digital billboards have come to downtown Baltimore recently, Bartanian said Kevani was able to secure what he feels is the city’s premier location.

Read the article: Baltimore Business Journal