Affordable, always-on screen advertising across the Driftless region of Wisconsin, Minnesota & Iowa — built to be seen, not to disappear into a loop.
Rural towns have print, radio, and one aging TV-screen network — nothing built for how small businesses actually buy ads.
The existing network caps at 60 advertisers with ads shown every 15 minutes — diluted enough that its own founding advertiser walked away.
Commercial displays, mounts, and install run roughly $200–500 each — a 25-screen network is buildable for a few thousand dollars, not tens of thousands.
The host gets one free slot as the price of hosting a screen. The other seven are sold across three tiers — every dollar of inventory sold on the open market, no dependency on one relationship. Each spot runs a full 15 seconds, so the eight-slot loop cycles every two minutes.
Runs on one screen. The affordable on-ramp for a single storefront.
Runs on every screen in the county. Real local frequency for one flat rate.
Runs on all 25 screens across 5 counties. Regional reach for a regional brand.
Capped at 8 advertisers per screen — real frequency, never the every-15-minute dilution of the incumbent.
Every screen sells 7 slots across three tiers. Move the sliders to price them, fill them, and pick a build phase — the whole model recomputes live.
| Hardware $/screen | Total capex (25 screens) | Approx. payback |
|---|---|---|
| $200 (planned) | $5,000 | 1.3 months |
| $300 | $7,500 | 1.9 months |
| $400 | $10,000 | 2.6 months |
| $500 | $12,500 | 3.2 months |
Real local businesses already pay for managed screen content — month after month.
The founder has direct relationships with hosts and advertisers — no cold outreach required for Phase 1.
The ad network is a new product built on top of that proven base — not a pivot away from it.
Direct relationships already exist across MN + core WI — the fastest, cheapest path for the first 25 screens.
Every host business becomes an unpaid referral force — they earn only when an advertiser they bring in keeps paying.
Standard local media sales comp, added once the network expands past the founder's direct reach.
MN cluster (Houston / Fillmore) + core WI (La Crosse, Vernon, Monroe). The founder's existing relationships carry the launch.
WI remainder (Trempealeau, Buffalo) plus the Iowa cluster (Winneshiek, Allamakee, Howard) — anchored by Decorah.
Directional estimates — Year 1 pulls from the live 12-month model; Years 2–3 extrapolate average revenue per screen. Assumptions are editable in the interactive model above.
| Channel | Typical monthly cost | Fit for a small local business |
|---|---|---|
| Local newspaper (¼ page) | $200–500/mo | One-time impression, no repetition, print-only |
| Local TV / cable spot | $500–5,000+/mo minimum | Out of reach for most small local advertisers |
| Direct mail | $0.50–1.00/piece | One-time reach, 2–5% response rate |
| Direct local competitor | $99–149/mo | Broad reach, but diluted — every 15-min rotation |
| VisionCast | $79–299/mo | Always-on, tiered to budget, capped rotation for real frequency |
Payback moves from month 4 to month 7 with no guaranteed day-one revenue.
The larger 25-screen network more than makes up for it by month 12 ($3,865 vs. $1,762/mo).
County / network tiers run 2.5–2.7× the direct local competitor's rate.
Launch with a 15–20% introductory discount for the first 90 days; lock in full rate after.
The $200/screen estimate is on the low end for screen + mount + install.
Sensitivity analysis shows payback stays under 3.5 months even at $500/screen.
All direct sales rely on one person's relationships and time.
Host referral network + planned Phase 2 commission rep reduce this over time.
The network is profitable on 25 screens today. Capital simply compresses a three-year, self-funded rollout into a faster, better-resourced buildout — all three phases at once.
Phases roll out sequentially as cash allows — 25 → 39 screens.
All 39 screens at once — both phases together, plus part-time sales support.
Year-3 run-rate revenue across the full tri-state network.