Two tech traders paid for San Francisco billboards urging individuals to maneuver to Miami

Few San Francisco residents left the city for sunny Miami during the pandemic, but that could change if the Miami Mayor and two tech investors get their way.

Two billboards designed as mock tweets by Miami’s Mayor Francis Suarez made their debut on the streets of downtown San Francisco this week, part of a campaign to attract remote workers to Florida’s burgeoning technology center.

“Are you thinking of moving to Miami? DM me, ”it says on a billboard labeled with Suarez’s Twitter handle that looms over an Interstate 80 exit into downtown San Francisco.

Another billboard encouraged residents to send a message to Suarez, showing a picture of a laptop on a beach with the caption, “You may as well code from here.”

The billboards are the result of months of collaboration between two tech-friendly Miami residents: Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Shervin Pishevar, an early investor in Uber and Airbnb, according to the Miami Herald. The couple, both vocal supporters of Miami’s tech scene, reportedly began discussing ideas via email in December.

Suarez wasn’t part of the planning process, but he unsubscribed on the billboards, the Miami Herald reported.

Pishevar is said to have paid for the two ads. AdQuick, the company that sold the two poster ads, wasn’t immediately available for comment Thursday night. The average cost to rent a billboard in San Francisco is $ 2,740, according to the company’s website.

The faux tweet ad campaign comes as Suarez tries to capitalize on the growing exodus of San Francisco tech companies amid the pandemic. The Republican mayor cemented his role as Miami tech cheerleader with a Twitter exchange in mid-December.

“What if we move Silicon Valley to Miami?” Wrote venture capitalist Delian Asparouhov, to which Suarez replied, “How can I help?” The exchange quickly went viral and Suarez gained thousands of new followers.

San Francisco residents left the city in record numbers last year, but most didn’t get far. While a vocal minority headed for cheaper, more business-friendly states like Texas and Florida, most moved to other Bay Area counties, according to the United States Postal Service.

Nora Mishanec is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email to nora.mishanec@sfchronicle.com