Mortgage broker behind popular billboards reveals his operation

If you’ve travelled across London, you probably have seen more than one Mike Hattim billboard around the city.

And you’ve probably noticed his billboard costumes are always changing, depending on what people are talking about or what holiday is coming up. One day he’s up there in a superhero cape, another day he’s sporting bunny ears or parodying your favourite reality TV show.

Until fairly recently, the mortgage broker focused his creativity and graphic design background on digital ads.

“Then I said, you know, why don’t we try something different,” he said.

 

The first billboard design for Mike Hattim.
(Credit: Mike Hattim / @mike.hattim on Instagram)

It almost didn’t happen. A few days before The Broker was scheduled to go up, Hattim called his rep at Pattison Outdoor Advertising Billboards to say he had buyer’s remorse. It was a terrible idea, he thought.

“She’s like, ‘no, no, it’s amazing,'” Hattim recalled. “You’re going to love it.”

The billboard got a lot of response after it was put up. And while not all responses were positive, he liked that people were talking.

“You got a guy selling cars, he’s got a car advertisement, you know, real estate, mortgages, you name the industry,” said Hattim, who has been a mortgabe broker for 23 years and works with Dominion Lending Centres. He started to ask, “If it’s a sales perspective, it’s how can I become a little bit more noticeable?”

The way Hattim gets more noticeable is by doing something that stands out; in more ways than one. For example, you can often see six identical versions of his latest billboard beside each other at Wortley Road and Stanley Street.

Mixed reactions for his billboards can be found all over social media.

“Mike Hattim, please chill,” said one thread on Reddit that shows the group of six billboards adorned by Hattim in a superhero cape.

“I am begging you to chill on the billboard ads. I cannot escape them,” wrote the user scorpio_sunshine98. “The love island-inspired ad you did last summer is etched into my mind in a bad way. . . It’s a lot to take in at 8am on the way to work. I urge you to dial it back.”

But while the thread drew 171 comments, many of them urged Hattim to continue.

“neverchill,” wrote one user. “You make me smile when I see these,” wrote another.

Mike Hattim, please chill
byu/scorpio_sunshine98 inlondonontario

Hattim said he does most of the work to come up wtih the billboards and Pattison’s team also helps.

Every year when Hattim restarts his billboard campaign, they brainstorm ideas of what to do. He makes sure to hit the holiday billboards including Christmas, Valentines day, and more related to special months.

Most of these designs are made in Photoshop by Hattim as he learned the software in school.

These are some more designs Mike used over the years:

Hattim’s biggest design was his parody on the show Love Island. According to his analytics, it had the biggest response through online activity.

According to Hattim, many of his designs don’t get noticed and not everything works.

He says some designs even don’t make the cut or they are on the edge of being implemented. Hattim says he gives it a shot anyways.

The cost of billboard advertising

While Hattim does have a presence on social media, he says the billboards have been the most expensive and the most successful option.

“It’s one of those options where you don’t go out and just do one for a few months and that’s the end of it,” said Hattim. “It’s a commitment long term, just like a commercial or a radio commercial or TV commercial, any of those things. You need long term viewership in order for it to start to maintain and bring back some value. So it’s a heavy initial investment.”

Hattim budgets around $10,000 a month, depending on the time of year and what is happening.

The budget is towards 15 to 20 billboards, ranging from month to month.

Hattim says he is now noticing the effect of the billboards to his business after nine years. People initially for a few years acknowledged the billboards and say something to Hattim.

Now when people book appointments with Hattim, He says 9 out of 10 people bring up these creative billboards. Many seeing them years in advance and contacting mike when they need him.

Who is Mike Hattim?

In addition to being a mortgage broker, Hattim is a proud supporter of the Humane Society. He was also an advocate for the most recent London location on Dundas Street, east of Highbury.

Hattim also supports the Cancer Foundation and local GoFundMe’s.

For those who have gone to Basha Lebanese Restobar on Hyde Park, you may have seen a drink on the menu called “The Mike Hattim.” The drink was named after him as his cousin owns the restaurant.

As a nod to his past, Hattim has an IMDB page for two movies he executive produced for. Mike says it was not glamourous as he had friends in the film industry and they were “more or less investments.”