The morning press - digital signage news for January 19

Here are some of the more interesting industry new items from the past few days:

• The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowment is deploying digital signs across the UAE to "promote awareness of Islamic moderation in line with the country's strategic plan." Digital signs in religious institutions is nothing new. Nor is the use of digital signs by governments to put out public service announcements. But I've not heard of an application where the government was using them to transmit religious messages before, probably because I spend relatively little time in areas where the government still has a role in religion. Pretty interesting concept, though.

• On the heels of that news (or maybe because of it), the digital signage market is set to grow by 125% in the UAE in 2009 alone, according to a recent report in Gulf News. Unlike Iran, the UAE apparently doesn't require $90 oil to balance their budgets.

• Shopper marketing's proving it can finally deliver the goods, according to this Mediaweek article. Their results and conclusions go hand in hand with those of shopper marketing firm Miller Zell, as we showcased in the WireSpring Digital Signage blog last week.

• The International Advertising Association says advertisers are wary of Google. Of course, that Microsoft underwrote the survey probably has nothing to do with that ;) But honestly, considering the explosive growth that Internet ad spending has seen in the last few years (tepid growth at the end of 2008 notwithstanding), how much longer will major advertisers allow a single company to control such a large portion of that medium's overall spend?

• AdAge on digital billboards and digital signage: "So why is it boon time for billboards? It's because digital out-of-home has gone far beyond the static posters the outdoor industry built its business on, and advertisers are able to cut costs by repurposing their 30-second TV spots in new and different ways on screens in taxis, malls, gas stations and other venues."

• Target is adding price points to its line of TV ads for the first time, highlighting their shift to price/value-oriented messaging. The inclusion of a price point works somewhat similarly to a call to action (for example, in direct marketing-style TV ads) in that is tends to incite response better than purely brand- or product-oriented messaging.

Tags: digital signage, digital signage news

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