Blue Arc Media: Scott Friedberg

 

When you’re a college student, the only things on your mind are how you’re getting to Skytop liquor and if walking in 3 inches of snow to Chucks is worth ruining your 4 inch heels. Regardless of how well you do in school, or your current year of enrollment, most students do not seek out business opportunities and ventures. The seemingly lazy majority do what we are told in class, and nothing more. So, excuse my amazement when I got word of Syracuse University’s very own, Scott Friedberg. Not only does he balance a challenging curriculum as a Finance major in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, but is also a co-founder of Blu Arc Media. Impressive, right? Fortunately for Scott– and his future–his achievements exceed far beyond that. He is also a brother in the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity–the frat we are all too well acquainted with–, a representative on the IDEA Connect Board, a Big Brother at Big Brothers Big Sisters USA, and a fellow of The Kairos Society.

Blue Arc Media is the premier digital advertising agency in Syracuse, NY. Their mission: to provide an effective and affordable advertising medium for businesses to reach their target customers. They currently operate six large screen indoor advertising displays in six diverse venues in the Marshall St. Business District and downtown. Not only have they established an innovative and essential advertising company, they also have a large and continuously expanding cliental. They work for everyone from DJ's on the Hill to Garbos. Fortunately for all of us aspiring, not-quite-there-yet entrepreneurs, Scott has shared some valuable insight with us.

• Where and when did the idea of Blue Arc Media originate?

Scott: I met with a friend from home's cousin, who was the other co-founder of Blu Arc. He had the idea to install little iPad type displays in restrooms to sell advertising. We decided to install them in bathrooms, because there are absolutely no distractions, and it pulls in a large audience. As we started pitching our idea, we realized that we have to go through and pivot the idea. Instead of small iPads in bathrooms, we modified the idea into bigger TVs inside venues, using the same type of advertisement. Our first customer was J Michael's Shoes, and our first advertiser was a small digital promotions company outside of Syracuse.

• Where did the name come from?

Scott: It's funny, whenever I used to get asked this question, I always handed it over to my former co-founder. He envisioned the color blue as a color that could be associated with new technology companies, which made us seem like we were ahead of the curve. When he said Arc, it was again dealing with the innovative ideas of a new and prospering company. Media, of course, came from what we are selling.

• What is your favorite advertising medium to use?

Scott: My favorite form of advertising is Digital Place-Based advertising. Digital Place-Based advertising is the only way you can actively and effectively advertise. By using this strategy, we are catering to people who make premium purchases that are not necessarily essential (e.g. a patagonia fleece from J. Michaels). Also use the various forms of Social Media we have made for Blu Arc for consumers to engage in the advertisements that we put out.

• What are the challenges of being a college entrepreneur?

Scott: Honestly, balancing school, a social life, and running a business. In my opinion, you can only do two of the three. I decided that i'd focus on my social life and my business, which leave school on a back burner. Eventually, I started learning more through my business and self educating, all while maintaining a decent amount of credit hours and work load.

• Has your age ever been a factor to any of your potential and/or current clients?

Scott: At first, age was a negative for me because of the credibility. BUT, I realized you can use age to your advantage. When you're younger, it makes people who you are working with feel more useful and hands on. My age is also an advantage for my company, because people know that I have grown up in the age of technology, and that I'm well acquainted with it. If you talk to me for thirty minutes, you'll see that I know what I am talking about.

• What now?

Scott: I was just recently given the Entrepreneurship Engagement Scholarship for any Masters Degree at Syracuse university. I applied to the iSchool at Syracuse, and plan on continuing and expanding my business.

• What is your favorite part about being in a frat?

Scott: Being in a fraternity works on two levels. It has helped my leadership skills, and has also taught me how to work with large groups of people. It's an awesome social experience. Obviously Delta Kappa Epsilon knows how to have fun.

Far be it for myself, or any other bare minimum achieving student to have the ability to co-found and maintain a company, but Scott Friedberg has done that all, and more. If you work for, or own a company that could benefit from Blu Arc Media, you can contact them through their various forms of social media. Or, who knows, maybe you will stumble into Scott at Lucy's during a six-way keg race. But, then again, continuously hard working entrepreneurs, like Scott, need a little break from "business talk" for a few drinks with their bros.