Late one night in 1982, Jim Wilson walked out into the Christchurch cold with a bundle of posters, a bucket of paste and a brush. Years of experience in the live music business had taught him the value of street posters in attracting fans to gigs. His initiative paid off, and Phantom Billstickers was born. Four decades later, Jim still owns Phantom and we’re all still passionate about helping bands and brands connect with audiences.

The early days, putting up posters meant hanging around some lonely spots in the dead of night. Our billstickers took to bringing their dogs on poster runs, for a little company on the job. Phantom’s logo commemorates one such canine character. A gruff but lovable bulldog, Raymond Louis is sadly no longer with us. But the qualities he stood for – determination, tenacity and a certain street savviness – will always be part of Phantom’s operating system.

We’re proud of our roots. Paradoxically, that makes us serial innovators. You can’t stand still in such a fast-moving market, so Phantom invented the modern street poster business, with its Council-approved sites, payments to property owners, and professional maintenance. These days, our clients’ posters sit proud in custom-made frames and clients get a date-stamped digital record of their campaign in situ. We have a growing network of digital sites and we’re always up for a one-off custom build. Do you want to create something extraordinary for your brand? Challenge us.