OTX's digital signage research available for download

Back in October of last year we noted that SeeSaw Networks had been working on a research report with OTX which concluded that, "63 percent of adults find that advertising on digital signage 'catches their attention.' Moreover, the study confirms the stopping power of digital signage, as people consider advertising in this media to be more unique and entertaining, and less annoying than both traditional and online media." -- in a nutshell, digital signage works.

Yesterday I got an email from SeeSaw indicating that the full research report (all 46 pages of it, anyway) is available for download from their site. While the press release from October covered the main talking points, the report essentially finds (and backs up with numbers) that:

• People pay attention to digital signage advertising
• People find digital signage advertising to be unique
• Advertisements on digital signage raise interest
• People are entertained by digital signage advertisements
• People find advertisements on digital signage to be credible
• People find advertisements on digital signage to be relevant
• People find advertisements on digital signage to be informative

and last but not least:

• Digital signs are a great way to connect with young people

I think my opinion of where the market is headed, what people think about digital signs, and their overall efficacy is already pretty well documented between this blog, WireSpring's Digital Signage Blog, and the other blogs I write for, but a wider and more varied set of opinions can currently be found in this RetailWire thread discussing the OTX study. Given that most of the RetailWire folks are retail- brand- and marketing- oriented, and not just another bunch of digital signage advocates, what they have to say is definitely worth the read. As of right now, I think one of the most telling comments in the thread is from Anne Howard, SVP at MARS Advertising (a seriously influential shopper marketing shop), who says:

I think the most relevant part of this study for the shopper marketing industry is the percent of consumers who would be likely to "text a response" to an offer they saw in the digital signage medium. That is a good testing opportunity for progressive retailers and brands. If any provider wants to test that proposition, please send up a flag. I'll bet many agencies, including MARS, will take a test program opportunity to all clients.

I'd like to understand the engagement/relevance of the content/message/ offer to the target shopper, why the shopper responded and of course a tracker of corresponding sales.

If raw measurement is today's battle, surely engagement will be tomorrow's. After all, what good is knowing how many eyeballs hit your sign if you don't know what those eyeballs did afterwards? That's why, from time to time, I still think it's best to ditch the eyeballs step altogether (in retail settings at least), and simply focus on behavioral chnages as measured by sales and loyalty data. But that's a topic for another post (and already has been a topic for a number of previous posts :)

Tags: digital signage, out-of-home advertising, advertising, ooh