Sign Maker Central

Rumors continue to mount around the future launch of a line of Apple television displays. Based upon the company's recent $3.9 billion investment in display manufacturing facilties, some analysts are pointing toward the eventual arrival of Apple Internet-connected TVs.

"While Apple's commitment to the living room remains a 'hobby,' we continue to believe the company will enter the TV market with a full focus, as an all-in-one Apple television could move the needle when connected TVs proliferate," Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a research note Feb. 3.

Even though there still remain many outlets that question the practicality and logic behind such assumptions, one can't help but think how Apple TV displays would impact the consumer and enterprise markets.

In the scope of the digital signage and digital out-of-home industries, Apple displays would immediately find their way into high-end deployments. It's easy to surmise that if such a product line ever existed it would be priced at the top end of the category. Such is typical with Apple products. But, as history has shown, if the product's quality and aesthetics are of a high enough level, people will pay.

This is why I think Apple would realize strong results in building an Internet-connected TV division. The timing is perfect for Apple to roll out stylish flat panel displays that would challenge current models on processing power and looks. The Apple creative flare would surely make a dent in the black frame dominated world of flat-panel displays.

If such a product line were ever to roll out, I would recommend that Apple spend a significant amount of its resources on the enterprise market. The digital signage and digital out-of-home media markets alone would make an Apple display business a success. Apple-branded televisions and the company's unrivaled cache would surely win the minds and pocketbooks of Fortune 500 executives.

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Facebook is the center of the social media universe. It has become the de facto social platform for the Internet.

While some claim this is a bad thing., I think Facebook is paving the way for the future of media, entertainment, advertising, and technology.  The critics claim Facebook is here to use and abuse us. "It puts too much power into the hands of one company," some say. "How can we trust Facebook with our personal information?" others argue.

When it comes to personal information, there is a fine line between what we will freely share and that which we will adamantly protect. In the age of Facebook, a lot of our personal information has fallen into a grey area between the two.. Facebook isn't to blame for the over sharing of information. The company has provided the platform. It's Facebook's members who decide how they want to use it.

Facebook and Digital Signage

Digital signage needs Facebook because it delivers unparalleled contextual relevance through which to better communicate with customers. Facebook provides the necessary foundational information to create one-to-one marketing experiences at retail.

Facebook provides the launch pad from which retailers can forge stronger bonds with their customers. It brings the retailer into a customer’s social circle. It offers the opportunity for two-way information sharing, helping to redefine relationships between retailers and their customers.

I have said it before, and I will say it one thousand more times. The power of digital signage lies in its flexibility, immediacy, and relevancy. The medium draws its strength from the information and data that we don’t see. Rather than functioning as the means through which a canned playlist is distributed, digital signage can function as an omniscient marketing and sales tool. It's through platforms like Facebook that digital signage draws its omniscience.

Tying in Facebook Likes and connectivity into digital signage ensures that these systems realize their full potential at retail. They become hubs for real-time social activity that blur the physical and digital. Connecting customers to their social graphs in-store, via kiosks and large-format interactive displays, promises that they will realize the same benefits they find when shopping online.

The web of conversations, social connections, feedback, and recommendations born from Facebook can facilitate a smoother path-to-purchase. A kiosk’s interoperability with Facebook takes the best of our online world and merges it with the best of bricks-and-mortar.

To better understand one’s customers is to more keenly comprehend how to meet their unique needs. It allows retailers to discover nuances about their diverse customer base that would otherwise remain hidden. Facebook’s role in providing greater context around places must not be underestimated..

The better we become at seamlessly integrating Facebook into physical retail locations, the more equipped brands will be in crafting one-of-a-kind customer experiences. Facebook’s integration with kiosks and digital signage allows retailers to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach. In-store marketing campaigns, special offers, and promotions can be changed in real-time in response to data derived from Facebook.

The social network is a hub for information that can be acted on in positive ways. It empowers brands and customers alike to take complete ownership of the unique qualities that define them

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In order to build a digital signage">signage network to support internal communications, business owners must come to terms with the fact that their employees don't always exhibit the best behavior. Once managers and executives grasp the reality that their employees miss emails and lack the conviction to read every piece of paper that comes across their desks, the better they are to face the problem head on.

Enterprise communications is a huge topic these days because the old models of communicating to, and with, employees are rapidly changing. Enterprise Communications 2.0 involves coordinated efforts amongst various departments to free a company from  its reliance on email and print publications. In the same way that advertisers need to harness innovation to reach consumers when they are away from their homes, organization must leverage cutting-edge technologies to connect with their employees.

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I love thinking about the future of technology. I love imagining how new technologies will come to impact every facet of our lives. I often rocket to places that don't yet exist, so to examine how we might interact with digital objects in the future. I relish learning about technological breakthroughs. The information allows me to paint vivid  landscapes of what our world may look like years from now.

Innovation in digital display technology promises the widespread development of seamless gateways between our physical and virtual worlds. The digital signs that are beginning to permeate real world environments en masse can act as doorways, amplifiers, and interfaces through which we can better connect with people, objects, and brands.

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Techcrunch writer Eric Schonfeld took the opportunity today to write about the vast potential that exists in linking digital signage">signage and Foursquare. It's nice to see digital signage">signage get the attention of a blog as large as Techcrunch. The greater attention the digital signage">signage industry receives, the more capital will flow into the sector. This, of course, doesn't come without some negative feedback from Techcrunch's sizeable peanut gallery.

In the article, Schonfeld highlights Screenscape's Foursquare application, which identifies a location's mayor, Foursquare users, and check-in deals, as well as Locamoda's range of social DOOH apps. The piece goes on to cite the many different ways that digital signage">signage can enhance the Foursquare experience, and vice versa.

As I originally wrote in a post entitled. "Foursquare Partnering w/ Digital signage">Signage Networks," combining Foursquare with digital out-of-home screens in bars, restaurants, and coffee shops is a match made in heaven. Digital signs have the ability to extend the Foursquare experience to a greater breadth of potential users. DOOH networks can function as targeted, dynamic message boards which turn a simple check-in into a 360 degree experience. Schonfeld captures this sentiment in saying, "Turning a store visit into a game is the next step in local marketing, and those digital signs could become both public leaderboards and the place where the games themselves unfold."

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GroupTabs is a hybrid check-in and group buying application. Users check-in to bars and restaurants to unlock time-sensitive group deals. Offers tip once a specified number of users check-in at a venue. Every deal has a window, usually a couple of hours. The service works through an HTML5 web application (gtb.me) rather than a native iPhone or Android app.

GroupTabs mixes check-ins with group experiences. It socializes check-ins by tying geo-targeted behavior to the power of the crowd. Mashable describes the application as "Foursquare Meets Groupon."

The GroupTabs service essentially lets merchants activate deals after a set number people check in to their venue, all the while encouraging patrons to spread their checkins via social media to encourage a swarm-like effect. (via Mashable)

I see great potential in GroupTabs' business model. I love the combination of LBS and group buying. With the advent of Facebook Places, offering its vast network of social connections to spread check-in behavior far and wide, GroupTabs could come to embody the perfect marriage of location awareness, social media, and group buying.

Why Should GroupTabs Look to Digital signage">Signage?

Given the time-sensitive nature of place-based deals on GroupTabs, digital signage">signage would be a powerful promotional tool for driving social check-in behavior. Real-time deals could be announced on digital signage">signage networks, providing an engaging call-to-action to promote more user check-ins and to drive venue traffic via social media channels. Location-based digital displays could act as deal countdown clocks, presenting live check-in stats as patrons moved closer to tipping a deal.

Retailers, bars, and restaurants could use digital billboards near their establishments to broadcast GroupTabs deals. Using digital out-of-home media as an advertising outlet for flash group buying offers, would extend the innovative GroupTabs platform to a larger population of consumers. Maximizing user check-ins would provide establishments with valuable data about their customers. The dynamic nature of DOOH networks would give GroupTabs' location partners the ability to promote different deals, working to drive the greatest number of people to their venues.

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Talk about the convergence of digital out-of-home and location-based mobile. I have been talking about the potential for this type of DOOH and LBS integration for a while now. It's great to see American Eagle take full advantage of its partnership with Foursquare by promoting it for all of Times Square to see. AE's massive digital billboard makes for an engaging call-to-action.

In terms of brand recognition, it’s hard to top a huge live display billboard in Las Vegas. But Foursquare has managed to do it. As you can see above, they now have a massive, multi-level and multi-angle display practically screaming about the service to all those in Times Square in New York City.

“Check in, find your friends, unlock your city,” the ad reads. In smaller print at the bottom it talks about checking in to American Eagle for some kind of special. Foursquare head of business development Tristan Walker confirms that American Eagle is behind the ad, which he says is the “largest digital billboard in Times Square.”

American Eagle or not, this is clearly a huge ad (and a huge win) for Foursquare itself. Walker thanks Foursquare’s designer Mari Sheibley for designing the thing. And hints that a version 2 is coming.

The phrase “you can’t buy this kind of publicity” comes to mind — probably because Foursquare, while well-funded, undoubtedly couldn’t buy this type of ad. (American Eagle owns the billboard, Walker tells us.) And yet there it is.

This also managed to one-up the big branding rival Gowalla got in New York City earlier this year when they were a part of a massive billboard that loomed large over Madison Square Garden. (via Techcrunch)

It will be interesting to see the impact that Foursquare's digital out-of-home ad has on check-ins at American Eagle's Times Square store. I'll keep you posted on the campaign's results.

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September 30th, 2008 Nurlan Urazbaev

The Audience Metrics Guidelines that the Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) has been working on for the past year are now ratified and will be presented at the OVAB’s Digital Summit on October 29 in New York. The event will bring together major players on Madison Avenue with members of OVAB, which today include some of the largest digital out-of-home networks and vendors in North America.

Although I was involved in the reviewing of the Guidelines and provided some input as well, I cannot disclose any details of the document until the official presentation. Essentially it is a set of principles long-used in mainstream media buying that are applied to standardize the DOOH ad space and make it easy to plan and buy. The result is a simple formula to calculate the audience metrics in a way that would make sense to media buyers and their clients. The ultimate goal of OVAB is to turn DOOH from an alternative media option, an innovation, into a commodity, i.e., a line item on the media plan, with appropriate budgets allocated ahead of time, and not as an afterthought.

 

As Suzanne Alecia, President of OVAB, explained, the Guidelines are not the actual standards yet, but once adopted by members, they will lay the foundation for ‘best practices’, which will then gradually evolve into standards by way of wide-spread usage by the selling and the buying parties.

It is interesting, though, that the OVAB event comes at a time when a financial crisis urges advertisers to look away from overpriced and not-so-accountable TV and into more pragmatic and sales-oriented media like DOOH. Before, we have seen a lot of upward pressure from networks trying to reach out to advertisers through the barricades of reluctant agencies. Today, as several sources indicate, the pressure on the agencies is also being exerted from above, from the advertisers themselves, who increasingly instruct agencies to explore the digital out-of-home opportunities and report back.

Against this background, the OVAB Digital Summit comes in handy, as a facilitator of relationship between sellers of the new space and potential buyers.

Media Post’s Digital Outsider newsletter shed some light on the forthcoming event: “…the main reason for Alecia’s visit with the Digital Outsider was to update us on plans for OVAB’s Oct. 29 Digital Summit, a day-long event in New York designed to help marketers, and agency media planning and buying executives, understand the state of out-of-home video technologies and advertising issues.

The day will be structured around three key issues: Creative, research and planning, and will feature a variety of case studies from some recent successful out-of-home video ad campaigns. The day caps off with a panel of client-side executives sharing their views, hopes and aspirations for out-of-home video, as well as any pitfalls they’ve encountered along the way.

But the highlight of the summit will likely be the official release of the just ratified OVAB guidelines for audience metrics and measurement. Draft versions of the guidelines already are being circulated among the OVAB membership, as well as key stakeholders in the advertising and research community, and Alecia says they’ve already gotten the tacit blessing of key bodies like the Media Rating Council and the Advertising Research Foundation.” Read the full article: Digital Outsider Taps Madison Avenue Insiders.

Entry Filed under: Digital Signage ROI, The Big Picture, Uncategorized

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November 29th, 2008 Brian Dusho

A few years ago, the first web portal for our industry named itself aka.tv, citing the fact that no single name was universally accepted at the time. Aka.tv’s home page still lists many names the medium went by then: narrowcasting, captive audience networks, electronic display networks, electronic billboards, digital media networks, out-of-home media networks, digital in-store merchandizing, retail media networks, place-based media, digital signage, intelligent visual information systems and datacasting.

Looking back, most of the names ended up to be short-lived, as they failed to resonate with providers or their clients. Out of the initial aka.tv list only ‘digital signage’ remains in heavy use, the rest got either extinct or were modified; for instance: ‘out-of-home media networks’ evolved into ‘digital out-of-home’, ‘out-of-home video’ and ‘alternative out-of-home’ (e.g., in PQ Media reports). ‘Place-based media’ was backed by Nielsen, but did not fly either.

So, unlike the clearly defined traditional media and Internet, we remain for the most part a ‘no name’ media segment in the eyes of agencies, although many advertisers recognize the potential impact of communicating with consumers when they leave home.

Nevertheless, despite the confused identity, since aka.tv was launched, the medium has quickly expanded into a two-billion-dollar-plus sector, with a growth rate of 27% per annum in 2007 (PQ Media Report) and forecasted CAGR of 12.9% from 2007 through 2012 (PQ Media Report). That’s impressive, considering the recession (it was factored in the report) and the fact that digital signage is thus far largely off the radars of major media buying houses.

The recent Digital Media Summit organized by OVAB in New York showed that Madison Avenue finally succumbed to the two-prone pressure – from advertisers and networks, and is now ready to consider digital signage for inclusion in media plans.

However, as I see from my discussions with marketers, agencies and networks, the continuing identity crisis keeps preventing the industry from getting a legitimate seat at the media buyers’ table.

While agencies say they are ‘ready’, they are still structured by silos, or ‘buckets, neither of which gives digital signage any visibility. If we do not proactively help them define the appropriate category for our sector, we risk staying buried somewhere deep in the ‘out-of-home’ or ‘alternative’, or ‘digital’ buckets and, as such, being eligible for nothing but ‘crumbs’ versus real ad dollars.

Due to the fact that we are currently a subcategory of a category, or even a subcategory of another subcategory, most planners are also largely unaware of digital signage. And, as the saying goes, ‘if you’re not on the plan, you’re not in the buy.’

The question is, should we keep hiding within an existing category, or simply create one of our own and get the attention our medium deserves? A separate category would have a much better chance to distinguish itself from other media by clearly stating its unique value in implementing marketing strategies.

The next question is: if we push for a separate category, how should we pitch it, what name would reflect its true identity? Should we promote ‘digital signage’, which is already the most wide-spread and proven term inside the industry, or make a brand new one?

Speaking about a new name, what quality makes digital signage so valuable to advertisers? Undoubtedly, the fact that it reaches people when they are at a location other than home, when they are in a ‘consumer mode’ and are not so opposed to advertising messages, as when they are at home. Following this logic, why not name it ‘location-based media’? Or revive the ‘place-based media’, but make it a stand-alone category this time?

PQ Media in its latest report adopted the general name ‘digital out-of-home media’ for the industry and subdivided it into ’video advertising networks’ (VANs), ‘digital billboards’ and ‘ambient advertising’. This classification makes sense and is in line with recently increased usage of ‘digital out-of-home’, but if we go along this path, we will inevitably find ourselves back in the Out-of-home/Outdoor category, which is “the last one to plan and the first one to cut”. Even certain influential members of the OVAB (Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau) are now doubtful about the ‘out-of-home’ part in the bureau’s name for the above-mentioned reason. Besides, ‘video advertising networks’ can be confused with online networks (just ‘google’ it and see what comes up).

Our trade, by all conservative estimates, is one of the fastest-growing media with unrivaled effectiveness, and it fully deserves a clear voice, a distinct name and an independent media buying category. It all starts with a name that may either help it soar, or stall acceptance by the advertising community. How do we resolve the identity crisis and get to play with ‘the big guys’? I would like to know everyone’s opinion.

Entry Filed under: Digital Signage Evolution, How to: Digital Signage Tips, The Big Picture, Uncategorized

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July 22nd, 2009 Nurlan Urazbaev

The concept of standardizing and packaging ad space from multiple DOOH networks to make media buys easier for agencies is becoming more and more prevalent. For this post I borrowed a smart headline from Rob Gorrie of AdCentricity, who commented on the overview of DOOH aggregators published on Digital Signage Today.

The idea of media aggregation is a relative novelty only in digital signage. Traditional media started using web sites for aggregation of media properties in the late 90s. Online media agencies began doing that almost since the beginning of Internet advertising. This trend was followed by the idea of cross-media exchanges and auctions, all of which successfully collapsed when the tech bubble burst.

What we are seeing today is a re-birth of the idea of media- and cross-media buying platforms, on a new qualitative level. However, when it comes to digital signage, its specific nature inevitably causes ‘aggravation’ of aggregation, at least in its early stages. If we follow Bill Yackey’s overview on Digital Signage Today, it becomes evident why.The trick with digital signage aggregation is that it has little value without an automated campaign execution (see points 4 and 5 in the workflow described in Bill’s article).

No affiliation with a big-name agency platform can resolve this issue, as such platforms deal mostly with the planning and buying aspects, and campaign execution is always based on a manual workflow. In all other media except digital signage campaign execution is a relatively mature process that does not involve complete and complex control at the receiving end. TV sets are controlled by viewers; radios are controlled by listeners, static billboards are updated once in a few weeks/months and are at the mercy of weather and vandals; magazines and newspapers are beyond control once they are distributed; PCs are controlled by users, etc.

Only in digital signage it is required and expected that one must enforce playback to a single screen in a network, fully control what’s showing when and account for it. Add several other networks – and you have a nightmare tech challenge for automation. Most traditional media and cross-media aggregators do not realize this until they try to do something with digital signage… And when they do… many of them give up the idea.

The solution is also obvious – DOOH aggregators must connect their cross-network planning and buying interfaces to a cross-network campaign execution (traffic) tool. My next statement is self-serving, but also true: there is only one such tool on the market today and it is called BroadSign Open API. So far it works only with BroadSign-powered networks (total of 160+networks in 25 countries), but this is only the first step. The technology is there. I invite you click here to learn more.

Entry Filed under: Digital Signage Evolution, How to: Digital Signage Tips, The Big Picture, Toys and Technologies, Uncategorized

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September 23rd, 2008 Nurlan Urazbaev

“Madison Avenue is bracing for the worst ad slump since 2001 as a drop-off in consumer spending is likely to lead marketers to rein in their budgets”, reports New York Post on September 21. “The anticipated drop in spending in 2009 comes on the heels of a slight decline in 2007 and a more noticeable dip so far in 2008, according to industry data,” writes New York Post’s Holly M. Sanders. Most major press relayed a similar sentiment in the wake of last week’s meltdown on Wall Street.

New York Times quoted the CEO of WPP: “In the last couple weeks, you could smell the fear in New York,” said Martin Sorrell, chief executive at the WPP Group, which owns agencies like Grey, JWT and Ogilvy & Mather, as “institutions that were regarded as invincible have gone down or had to be bailed out.””

The downturn in ad spending had started well before the “Black Sunday”: “… the Nielsen Monitor-Plus division of the Nielsen Company reported last week that ad spending in the first half of 2008 fell 1.4 percent compared with the same period a year ago. The laggards included ads in national magazines, down 3.1 percent; national newspapers, down 8.1 percent; and spot radio, down 10.1 percent,” says New York Times.

Reports forecast that traditional media is going to be the segment worst affected by the financial crisis, followed by online display advertising, which had already suffered a 6% drop in the first half of 2008, according to Nielsen. Display ads on the Internet have been largely dependent on financial and insurance advertisers.

New York Post writes that last week’s turmoil triggered memories of not-so-distant past: “No one wants a repeat of 2001, when the dot-com bust and an economic slowdown caused ad spending to plunge 9.8 percent, according to figures from ad researcher TNS.

During that recession, widespread cutbacks led to layoffs at many agencies, including some closings, shrinking budgets for many TV and cable outlets and the failure of several print publications,” (New York Post, September 21, 2008)

However, in 2001 the media landscape was quite different. Internet’s paid search advertising was not yet as proven and accountable as it is now, thanks to Google AdWords. Outdoor was less prominent and not yet regarded as ‘the only true mass medium left’, and the digital out-of-home ad space was almost non-existent. There are clear indications that these media may benefit from today’s difficult times, as marketers will cut budgets and look for more cost-efficient media placement options.

“It’ll be more pragmatic. More measurable. More digital.” — Nick Law, exec VP-chief creative officer North America of digital agency R/GA told Ad Age (“How Creativity Can Carry Your Business through a Recession”).

If we look at the categories falling under ‘more pragmatic, measurable and digital’, and I would add, ‘targeted’, they all continued to grow at an impressive rate throughout the economic troubles that began in early 2008.

“Despite the overall decline, ad spending for cable television, syndication TV, and outdoor advertising remained fairly healthy. Cable TV grew 8.1%,” writes crainsnewyork.com. Paid search was growing too, according to Nielsen Online. Outdoor was boosted by digital billboards, and in-store digital media (digital signage in retail) was expanding, notwithstanding the lack of standardized buying criteria and measurements.

Online display ads, although digital and targeted, were an exception from the above group due to their exposure to financial ad budgets, and, some say, their intrusive nature. A good example of the exception that proves the rule.

Ad Age’s analysis of what the meltdown means for the advertising industry included this abstract:

For agencies: “… there will be further retrenchment in the financial-services and automotive sectors, with some expecting telecom budgets to be hit hard, too. Across the board, the pressure on shops will intensify to prove return on investment. Expect less-brand-based and more-sales-led metrics.

For media: “…By now, if you are in the media, you know the story: fewer dollars to broad-scale media and more for targeted, accountable media and other marketing disciplines, such as direct and customer-relationship management. Some marketers will double down with their most trusted media partners to create big, provable multimedia programs…” (Ad Age, September 22, 2008, bold and italics mine)

Although it is a fast-growing sector, digital signage is still a minor portion of the Outdoor/Out-of-home media which, in turn, is a modest part of today’s media mix. But that is changing.

The recession will inevitably force marketers to scrutinize ad spending and eliminate a lot of marketing waste. At the same time, it presents a rare opportunity (that occurs only once in every few years) for digital out-of-home networks to demonstrate their unique value as the most flexible, targeted, cost-efficient and accountable medium. The medium that closes a sale.

Entry Filed under: The Big Picture, Uncategorized

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October 2nd, 2009 Nurlan Urazbaev

DOOH expert Lyle Bunn continues to diligently cover digital signage industry growth, extracting data from the latest studies and analyzing trends.

In his recent post he estimated, among other things, that the volume of unique ads played across all DOOH networks in North America in 2009 exceeds 1,000,000. Lyle further quotes a research company that puts the total number of DOOH displays in North Amedica at 900,000.

Lyle’s latest numbers are definitely useful to industry players and they most certainly will have an effect on new would-be venue owners, operators, suppliers and resellers researching the industry. However, as exciting as the numbers may look, it is not likely that they will serve as a catalyst to entice agencies or adverisers to put more money into DOOH space.

Unfortunately, to agencies, who for decades have been evaluating, planning and buying media using tools that process impressions, ratings and demographics, the number of ads displayed is not a metric.

The question today is no longer whether DOOH is a significant and viable medium – this much has been proven beyond doubt; the question is: how to buy it? 

The main complaints from media buyers are that the industry has not yet been able to answer  a few simple but critical questions:

1. What is the audience by geography, demographics and consumer behaviour? – so they could plan it like they do other media.

2. What is the ad spend by brand? – a standard metric – so Unilever, for instance, could see if P&G is already advertising on certain networks and decide for themselves… The problem here is that networks are withholding this information whereas in mainstream media it’s a standard parameter.

3. When will DOOH network ad space and audience data be included in agency media mix modelling tools and into syndicated research reports? This is what media buyers use for their media plans and if DOOH is not visible in those tools, it cannot possibly become a line item.

4. Another big question is: what category does digital signage belong to? Is it part of OOH (which in itself is not a big category), should it be a subset of cable, digital or alternative ‘buckets’? In fact, none of those category options actually do digital signage any good, as they do not reflect the unique and enormous potential it carries. So the debate goes back to: what this medium should be called and whether a separate, independent media category should be created to properly identify it.

OVAB is spearheading efforts to resolve all of the above issues. Following the publication of Audience Metrics Guidelines networks are now equipped with agency-endorsed approach to bring their audience measurements to a common denominator – impressions. The next big thing on the agenda is to standardize proof-of-performance metrics (proof of ad delivery, proof of effectivenes). Arbitron is going full steam ahead to assist networks in creating proper campaign performance validation.

Communication is underway between OVAB and syndicated media and consumer research suppliers on ways to include DOOH ad space into regular standard surveys. OVAB is also talking with media mix modelling software companies.

True, despite all impediments, digital signage has been growing even throughout the recession. This is a phenomenal result. But the real growth will commence when real advertising money starts flowing in.

Hopefully, 2010 and 2011 will see a shift towards the integration of digital signage into media planning and buying infrastructure on a systemic level. Only then can we expect a tidal change in ad spending in favor of our exciting but underfueled medium.  

You can read Lyle Bunn’s article that inspired this commentary of mine here.

Entry Filed under: Digital Signage Evolution, Digital Signage ROI, The Big Picture, Uncategorized

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October 27th, 2009 Daniel Parisien

There is a lot of discussion going on in recent weeks surrounding the term digital out-of-home compared to digital signage. Some say digital out-of-home is a subset of digital signage where DOOH is related to advertising networks. Others say digital signage is not related to advertising and is a different category than digital out-of-home. Veterans to this space must remember the cyclical nature of our industry and the compulsive need gurus-of-the-week have to give a new name to digital signage.

Maybe most do not remember the fact that industry portal aka.tv named itself that way for exactly that reason. The tagline used to read “aka.tv for the industry with an identity crisis” right beside a banner with 40-or-so odd names this industry has tried to carry:

Captive audience networksVideo advertising networkOutdoor video advertisingPlace-based mediaDigital Out-of-HomeDigital BillboardsThe Outernet… and dozens more

Of all these terms, the only one to really stick through the better part of two decades is the term digital signage. The new kid on the block seems to be digital out-of-home and to its credit, it is the only alternative to digital signage that has really stuck. The issue with using the term digital out-of-home, or DOOH, for networks that wish to generate advertising is alluded to by my colleague Nurlan Urazbaev in his previous post “Is Digital Signage Ready for Media Buyers?” when he points out some of the complaints from media buyers:

Another big question is: what category does digital signage belong to? Is it part of OOH (which in itself is not a big category), should it be a subset of cable, digital or alternative ‘buckets’? In fact, none of those category options actually do digital signage any good, as they do not reflect the unique and enormous potential it carries. So the debate goes back to: what this medium should be called and whether a separate, independent media category should be created to properly identify it.

Out-of-home, as a category, is already relegated to a relatively small category in the media mix that is one of the first off the planner’s list in times where money is tight. Some of the proponents of the digital out-of-home term probably do not realize they are classifying themselves in a subcategory and aren’t doing themselves any favors.

One of the discussions at the CODACAN meetings we had a few weeks ago really got me thinking about the industry, the technology and our terminology. The discussion we were having was related to the charter of CODACAN and whether it was related to promoting standards for advertising sales or promoting the possibilities of the technology. What came to me is that there are 3 real types of digital signage, all of which have as a core purpose to communicate a message to an audience within the context of a specific location:

Product promotion within a retail location to increase product salesAdvertising sales to an audience targeted based on the type of venue they are visitingUtility functional reasons such as an interactive director, schedule display or queue-and-ticket system

Do all three of these types of digital signage need their own term or bucket? The Internet is considered its own category for media buyers even though it has many different permutations from banner advertising to search advertising to social media advertising. In that respect, isn’t digital signage the term that fits best? In terms of standards, it is the de facto standard. We are always explaining OVAB member networks, DOOH networks and others in terms of digital signage anyways.

What is wrong with with digital signage as a name for this industry?

Is television, radio, magazine or newspaper the most descriptive and appropriate name for those media? We recognize them due to the fact those terms achieved the tipping point and became de facto standards. If you search Google or Yahoo, “digital signage” matches 2.7M results in Google and 8.2M in Yahoo over 0.7M and 0.4M for “digital out-of-home”. The name isn’t what’s hurting the evolution of this space. Instead it is the compulsion to keep changing the name and push through re-education which adds confusion.

Entry Filed under: Digital Signage Evolution

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September 14th, 2008 Nurlan Urazbaev

NBC Universal and Google announced a strategic partnership that would give the largest search advertising company access to cable TV ad space inventory, Ad Age reports.

The move, if successful, could enable smaller marketers, who have been using Google’s paid search ad engine AdWords and who have not been able to afford TV ads before, to buy air time on a number of NBC’s cable outlets, bypassing traditional media sales channels.

According to Ad Age, when the system is in place, it would allow ‘non-traditional’ advertisers to upload their own content and target it to cable TV households based on the desired geographic markets and viewer profiles using an online interface, thus avoiding agency overhead and media buyer commissions.

In addition, these new advertisers would be able to receive high-tech metrics via Google TV Ads application, which can report second-by-second set-top-box data, says Ad Age: “That measure has become more popular as companies such as Starcom USA, TNS and Nielsen have offered plans to help advertisers get more precise data about how viewers watch TV, skip across channels, and use digital video recorders.” The network TV ad space will not be affected by the deal, Ad Age reports.

This collaboration could give NBC Universal a much needed edge against its “Big 4? rivals amid continuing fragmentation of TV market, while providing Google with a revenue stream from traditional media.

Mainstream agencies and research companies are likely to perceive the NBC-Google agreement as a threat, as it contributes to the erosion of their control of TV ad space and has the potential of taking over at least part of network TV sales in the future..

Many attempts of creating online ‘media space exchange’-type of enterprises since the early 90s have been thwarted, not without efforts by the traditional media establishment.

If the collaboration works, I don’t see any obstacle for Google to start making inroads into digital signage (judging by company’s reported patent applications it is already working on it), as there would not be too much difference in the ad sales set up. It would make more sense, though, when digital signage ad space is more aggregated.

Entry Filed under: The Big Picture, Uncategorized

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Digital Signage Spot Blog: Two Scala Projects nominated as finalists for the Digital Signage Best Practice Award 2010Digital Signage Spot BlogDigital signage blog covering industry topics including: digital signage, retail digital signage, digital menuboards, digital advertising networks, digital signage software, and more.Digital Signage
Leaderwww.scala.com« FIRST ANNUAL CODACAN ADLYMPICS: A BLAST FROM THE PAST |Main| Digital Signage in Canada »

September 15, 2010Two Scala Projects nominated as finalists for the Digital Signage Best Practice Award 2010

Today it was announced that two Scala projects are nominated as finalists for the Digital Signage Best Practice Awards 2010.

The Burger King project of Scala partner SIGNATURE DIGITAL MENUS was nominated in the category "Content for Digital Signage".

 

The Miele project -a cooperation between Scala, Troades and House of Media Experience- was nominated in the category "Retail Signage".

 

The competition aims to honour innovative and successful Digital Signage projects which have been efficiently planned and creatively implemented - and to present these to a wider audience within the industry.

The goal is to widen the acceptance of the new medium and to encourage even more companies to make increased use of this form of signage. The public presentation is also intended to stimulate ideas for new projects. The Digital Signage Best Practice competition will give awards to well-conceived Digital Signage projects which, right from the initial design stage through to placement, selection, design and control of the displays, achieve their defined goal. Depending on the application, this may be guiding, providing information or increasing sales.  

The Best Practice Awards are to be presented at Viscom 2010 in Frankfurt, Germany (november 4th-6th) for the fourth time in five categories:
- Retail Signage – Digital Signage applications in the retail sector
- Information Signage – Digital Signage applications showing information on public displays
- Guiding Signage – Digital Signage applications as guiding systems in the public domain
- Content for Digital Signage – Outstanding content for Digital Signage applications
- Interactive Signage – Innovative Digital Signage applications with interactive components

More information: http://www.digital-signage-best-practice-award.eu/

 

 Harry Horn, Marketing Manager EMEA, Scala

Posted on September 15, 2010 at 04:19 AM | Permalink

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Great news. Finally being rewarded for the great work they do.

Posted by:digital signage |September 15, 2010 at 05:13 PM

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CategoriesCorporate CommunicationsDigital Signage IndustryDigital Signage TipsEventsIndustry PublicationsRetail Digital SignageScalaThoughts from ScalaRecent PostsGilbarco Veeder-Root and Scala Partner to Bring New Multimedia Technology to the Gas PumpDigital Signage in CanadaTwo Scala Projects nominated as finalists for the Digital Signage Best Practice Award 2010FIRST ANNUAL CODACAN ADLYMPICS: A BLAST FROM THE PASTCanadian Out of Home Digital Association (CODACAN) Presents ADLYMPICS! The Industry Summer Party & CompetitionScala's 1st ever EXCLUSIVE giveaway on Facebook!Miele Inspirience Centre wins POPAI DACH AWARD 2010 for Best Media TechnologyVery interesting application: digital signage in prisons! Scala announces Award Winners at Connected Signage Conference 2010Scala receives very positive comments regarding the Scala Connected Signage Conference 2010 Recent Comments September 2010SunMonTueWedThuFriSat   123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930  Translate Blog Arabic  German
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Digital Signage Spot Blog: Digital Signage in CanadaDigital Signage Spot BlogDigital signage blog covering industry topics including: digital signage, retail digital signage, digital menuboards, digital advertising networks, digital signage software, and more.Digital Signage
Leaderwww.scala.com« Two Scala Projects nominated as finalists for the Digital Signage Best Practice Award 2010 |Main| Gilbarco Veeder-Root and Scala Partner to Bring New Multimedia Technology to the Gas Pump »

September 16, 2010Digital Signage in Canada

September 8th edition of Canada's National Post newspaper includes a special supplement on Digital Signage. Published by MediaPlanet with input, quotes and reference to many in the industry, it explains the medium, profiles successes, celebrates Canadian supply capability and presents the value of the medium. Click on the image above to access the supplement.

Enjoy the read :)

  
  

 Nancy Biglow, Marketing Manager, Scala Canada

Posted on September 16, 2010 at 04:00 PM | Permalink

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Nowadays there are full of digital ads in cities.Sometimes I feel like the hardcopy and papers are far away from us

Posted by:Mac Keylogger |September 17, 2010 at 11:34 PM

The industry as a whole is booming at the moment. So many improvements are happening it's a really positive step!!

Posted by:is group |September 17, 2010 at 09:35 AM

They seem to be constant improvement on digital signage. It's doing good.

Posted by:digital signage |September 16, 2010 at 05:11 PM

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ArchivesSeptember 22, 2010September 16, 2010September 15, 2010August 30, 2010August 13, 2010July 16, 2010July 6, 2010June 16, 2010June 15, 2010June 11, 2010More...

CategoriesCorporate CommunicationsDigital Signage IndustryDigital Signage TipsEventsIndustry PublicationsRetail Digital SignageScalaThoughts from ScalaRecent PostsGilbarco Veeder-Root and Scala Partner to Bring New Multimedia Technology to the Gas PumpDigital Signage in CanadaTwo Scala Projects nominated as finalists for the Digital Signage Best Practice Award 2010FIRST ANNUAL CODACAN ADLYMPICS: A BLAST FROM THE PASTCanadian Out of Home Digital Association (CODACAN) Presents ADLYMPICS! The Industry Summer Party & CompetitionScala's 1st ever EXCLUSIVE giveaway on Facebook!Miele Inspirience Centre wins POPAI DACH AWARD 2010 for Best Media TechnologyVery interesting application: digital signage in prisons! Scala announces Award Winners at Connected Signage Conference 2010Scala receives very positive comments regarding the Scala Connected Signage Conference 2010 Recent Comments September 2010SunMonTueWedThuFriSat   123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930  Translate Blog Arabic  German
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Japanese  Spanish
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