Digital Signage News

Surveying the size of your industry... and your wallet

2010-02-02T23:26:00.001-05:00

POPAI has posted a couple of quick surveys to study the size of the marketing at-retail industry (which includes many flavors of digital signage), and to figure out how much we all get paid (probably way too little).

They'll of course be releasing the results of this information to members later this year, so I highly recommend you take a few brief minutes to fill one or both out, depending on how much you wish to share. Here are the links:

POPAI Compensation Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q9P5R5X

POPAI Size of the Industry Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q56FXRW

Running on MicroTiles on Digital Signage EasyStart

2010-01-29T09:48:00.002-05:00

As Andrew Neale posted on DailyDOOH yesterday, they decided to try and use our entry-level Digital Signage EasyStart system to power a Christie Digital MicroTiles 1×5 column that will be in the DailyDOOH Blogger Lounge at ISE2010 in Amsterdam next week. Since nobody on my team had yet seen or worked with MicroTiles, we were rather curious to see how easy (or hard) integration would be. And having worked with all sorts of weird display formats, video distribution systems, and matrix splitters for video walls, I was a little bit worried about hooking such a display up to a product who's driving design mantra is to hide all of the low-level tech stuff from the end user.

Still, Andrew and his team are experts, and perhaps more importantly, apparently Christie's MicroTiles just work. Configuration was literally as easy as plugging a DVI cable into the controller powering the stack of MicroTiles, clicking the "detect monitor and video card" button in EasyStart, and then picking the right resolution, which in this case was an improbable 720x2700.

While I don't normally bother expounding on every new whiz-bang technology that crosses my path (and as Andrew pointed out in his post), I am greatly impressed when you can just take something out of its box, plug it in, turn it on, and have it do what you expect. And that's precisely what happened with Christie's brand-new, high-end and (currently) low-volume offering, which is particularly remarkable since that combination of adjectives is like the unholy trifecta of excuses for why so much stuff in our industry (and the AV industry in general) doesn't just work when you plug it in and turn it on.

So, my hat goes off to Christie Digital.

If you are at ISE2010, a tower of MicroTiles powered by EasyStart will be on display at booth 10N118, so you can check it out for yourselves. Unfortunately I won't be there this time around, but I'm sure Andrew, Adrian and their cohorts will take good care of you :)

pre-DSE mixer/party/free beer event details announced

2010-01-25T16:58:00.001-05:00

Per last Friday's pre-announcement (which I got yelled at by Dave Haynes for), the Preset Group is now taking all comers for their digital signage mixer, which is scheduled for Tuesday, February 23rd from 6-8 at Lavo (a restaurant in the Palazzo/Venetian complex).

There's room for about 150, but there are only about 50 slots left as of the time of this writing. So if you want to go, I suggest you RSVP now.

Sponsors will be picking up the tab for the first round of drinks covered and some some food. Many of the digital signage cognoscenti (which I think is an oxymoron) will be in attendance. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not, but I'll check it out first-hand before passing judgment :)

If you're interested, you can sign up here: http://dslvmixer2010.eventbrite.com/

Free digital signage content to help Haiti

2010-01-25T11:18:00.001-05:00

I'm stealing this directly off of Dave Haynes's blog for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it's a good cause:

A series of very simple hi-rez video spots are available now for download that help continue to drive awareness and donation for the relief effort in Haiti. Network operators can use to help direct funds to Red Cross groups in the US and internationally.
The downloads are available here: http://www.presetgroup.com/downloads/index.html
Landscape and portrait versions are available, and there are a few different file formats. We also left the Final Cut Pro file up there for producers to download. (That alone saves them 2 - 3 hours of work).
ANYONE can have these, including other networks, any end-users. You can even download the Flash versions and resize for your website, if you so choose.

Raise 'da roof with a bunch of digital signage geeks in Vegas next month

2010-01-20T18:11:00.002-05:00

The Preset Group is having a free digital signage industry mixer on Tuesday, February 23rd at Lavo, a restaurant in the Palazzo/Venetian hotel between 6 and 8 p.m. They expect a good turnout, and have promised to provide a vendor-neutral, hype-free zone (as much as that's possible in our industry, anyway).

The sign-up sheet goes live on Monday, so check back here to find out how to sign yourself up.

See you there!

Bloggers of the world, unite!... in comfort

2010-01-14T12:38:00.001-05:00

Adrian Cotterill of DailyDOOH fame sent this over to me this morning, and I'm posting it because:

a) as a blogger, I hope he does the same at DSE so that I might not have to pay $7 for crappy Starbucks coffee outside the expo hall, and

b) he said that if I wasn't nice to him, he wouldn't vote for me for digital signage man of the year

So, without further ado, here's the good news for digital signage bloggers who will find themselves in Amsterdam next month:

Comfy Couches and Espresso Machines Lined Up for Blogger Lounge at ISE
2010 AV Trade Show

DailyDOOH news portal and blog for digital signage sector arranges
industry-first new-style press room for bloggers on hall floor of
major European technology show

LONDON - Bloggers have re-written the rules on how industries are
watched and analyzed, and now a leading technology and media blog is
changing the way trade shows are covered by these new-style
journalists.

Bloggers at next month's Integrated Systems Europe show in Amsterdam
will have comfy couches and chairs, free high-speed Internet and a guy
on hand making them all the espressos and lattes visitors can sip.

The Blogger Lounge, organized by digital signage/digital out of home
business DailyDOOH, is thought to be the first of its kind for such a
large AV show. While press rooms for mainstream and trade press are
typically hidden away far from a trade show's action, the DailyDOOH
Blogger Lounge will be located right among the booths and attendees in
the trade hall.

"We wanted to put together an area that was comfortable and relaxing,
and would allow our own writers and our friends who cover the industry
to sit, write, meet and catch their breath," explained Adrian
Cotterill, UK-based DailyDOOH's Editor in Chief. "This is going to be
the place where a lot of the buzz around ISE will be created and
relayed to readers all over the globe."

Cotterill added his hopes that the lounge attracts not only the
digital signage crowd, but writers more focused on the AV and systems
integration sector.

"People tend to not always realize the influence that bloggers and
social media in general has on how companies, and the industry as a
whole, are viewed," noted Dirk Huelsermann, the president of OVAB
Europe, whose booth will be next to the Blogger Lounge. "We're going
to see blogging and social media right in the middle of the event, and
that's fantastic."

The International Systems Integration show runs Feb. 2-4 at Amsterdam's RAI.

The DailyDOOH Blogger Lounge will be located in hall 10 at stand 10N118

One bad apple spoils the whole...

2010-01-02T18:23:00.004-05:00

pie? cake? tart? I don't know how that expression ends.

Regardless, Happy New Year!

No, this blog isn't dead. I just had a much busier than anticipated end-of-year, and frankly there wasn't that much digital signage news worth talking about (and plenty of other folks do a good job of covering the news anyway).

This is just a quick update to note that a) yes, I'll continue posting in 2010, and b) I'm enabling comment moderation on posts older than 2 weeks, because some asshat has been spam-commenting on this blog for the past couple of days in what appears to be a , very amateurish attempt at search engine optimization.

So I'm sorry if that inconveniences anyone. Obviously I'm not going to mention who the spammer is, since that would just draw attention to them, which is exactly what they want, the jerks.

Here's to a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

-Bill

A Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale on digital signage!

2009-11-25T10:02:00.001-05:00

If you live outside of the US, you might not know that this coming Friday (the day after our Thanksgiving holiday, which always falls on the fourth Thursday in November) is the so-called Black Friday, when retailers pull out all the stops to get you started on your holiday shopping in hopes of moving out of the red and into the black. A typical Black Friday scenario looks something like this:

Drag yourself away from the table after stuffing yourself with far too much turkey, cranberry sauce, cake pie, and other holiday goodness.
Get in the car at around 10:30 PM.
Drive to the Walmart/Best Buy/Target/Macy's or other store that you have picked as your primary Black Friday target after carefully weighing its location versus the population of the surrounding area, and the outside temperature.
Wait in line until about midnight.
Push you way through hoards of other shoppers to get one of the 5 $199 plasma TVs or $50 Egyptian cotton sheet sets (or whatever else) that the store has been advertising for 3 weeks, but hasn't bothered to stock any more of.
Leave with a sense of ultimate victory (if you're one of the lucky few), or, more likely, a bitter taste in your mouth and a bunch of bruises from where you got crushed by the aforementioned hoards.

In short, it's basically a combination of typical holiday shopping and American Gladiators.

The Monday after Thanksgiving Day has now been relabeled "Cyber Monday", as it's the day when everybody (ostensibly) goes back to work after the long holiday weekend, and proceeds to spend the entire day online shopping for deals. It's the more laid back, refined way to shop like a crazy person, even if its name lacks the pirate-esque panache of "Black Friday."

Back here at HQ we were thinking about how we wanted to approach this holiday season -- normally a less-busy time than the August-November period preceeding it, and decided that consumer products companies shouldn't have all the fun. So we decided to do a Black Friday/ Cyber Monday deal of our own for our Digital Signage EasyStart product. There's precious little data out there on whether such short-term promotions work on B2B products (honestly, how many B2B "impulse purchases" have you made in the past 5 years?), but we figured it's worth trying out. Here's our ad:

While I'm not normally a fan of discounting, I have to admit that if I were a business buyer, I'd be pretty psyched about getting a deal by just playing along with some silly American tradition.

In any event, if you or anyone you know does happen to be looking for a digital signage player or interactive kiosk for small networks, just click on the ad above, file an info request, and finalize your purchase by next Friday, and you automatically qualify for the deal.

If not, it's OK, I still like you. Just not as much as before.

So happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the US. And to everyone else, happy rest-of-the-week!

Technorati Tags: digital signage, digitalsignage

PlayByPee encourages radio listening

2009-11-19T09:19:00.001-05:00

I'm having trouble deciding whether this is brilliant or insane, but it's definitely unique. AdAge reported a few days ago about a decidedly #1 way to promote sports radio:

Canadian sports radio station AM640 wanted to promote its live commentary of ice hockey games. To show fans how exciting audio can be, it installed a poster over a urinal that provides commentary of the person doing their business.
The radio station targeted a toilet it knew would be full of ice hockey fans -- the one at Air Canada Bowl. When a fan approached, an excitable commentary lifted from an ice hockey game -- but one equally applicable to taking a pee -- began to play. Lines such as "He's approaching the bowl" played in an audio clip culminating with an ecstatic cry of satisfaction from the commentator.

This isn't the first time that people have tried to bring some kind of digital advertising to the urinal. In fact, I've have a couple of clients who have been putting up digital screens in men's rooms for quite some time. Heck, we've even seen interactive games where men are instructed to pee in certain places/directions to "drive" a car on a screen. (Ostensibly this was done to test whether the player was too drunk to drive home from the pub, but c'mon, we all know the truth).

Personally, I'm not too sure how I'd react to a play-by-play of stepping up to the urinal.

Wireless Ronin (RNIN), running out of money, asks public for more

2009-11-05T12:07:00.003-05:00

After reviewing Wireless Ronin's quarterly statement yesterday, I noticed that they're down to a bit less than a year's worth of cash -- at least their current, totally ridiculous burn rate of something like $700K/month.

Consequently, I was not at all surprised to see this announcement pop up that they're now seeking an additional $6.7M by selling new shares at $2.90/apiece to an anonymous investor.

What I want to know is, honestly, who's going to invest in them at this point? Their model is broken, as is evidenced by the fact that they're getting further and further into the "consulting" by doing software development and content production projects. And believe me, there's nothing wrong with that at all. But that's a very different business than the digital signage game, one that's very hard to scale, and (amazingly) one that's even more crowded with competitors than the digital signage software space.

Still, I'm jaded to the point where I expect this round of funding will close, the firm will get a stay of execution, and will once again not have to make the difficult decisions, like:

1. Really slashing their headcount. RNIN ought to be able to get by (on those revenues, at least) with a headcount of 15-20 people, not 4-5x that number. It's not fashionable to talk about layoffs these days, I know. But as a publicly-traded entity RNIN is accountable to their shareholders first. Which is why they probably out to think about...

2. Going private. Yup, it's also not fashionable, but at this point I have to imagine that RNIN's ticker symbol is hurting more than helping when they go to pitch big deals. Admittedly, being public (and apparently having a totally genius financial adviser) gives them the ability to back for money over, and over, and over, and... well, you get the picture.

3. Giving their cash to me. There, I said it. I'm certain I could put it to good use :)

When digital signs leave a bad taste in your mouth... or something

2009-10-27T09:05:00.001-05:00

Ran into two articles that seem to fit well together.

The first comes from The Consumerist, where reader Grey was confronted (and affronted) by a shelf-edge signage system for Bumblebee Tuna:

This absurd Bumblebee Tuna display was jutting into the isle at my local Safeway. It had a black screen, single silver button, and a card stock sign demanding I "push the button." Out of nothing more than utter disbelief and morbid curiosity I bow to the will of the sign.

"Will it start talking to me, the grocery store shopper?" I wonder. "Perhaps it will suggest some Tuna-themed dish for me to prepare for dinner tonight?" No. Instead I see the lowest resolution version of some 30 second, made for TV ad I'd ever seen.

The guy sounds a little whiny, and is obviously saddled with a either a serious TV addiction or else a terribe lack of willpower if the mere presence of the diminunitive screen was enough to "force" him to push the button or see what happens. That aside though, the remainder of his complaint is completely valid. 30-second TV spots have no place at the shelf-edge, especially if/when they rely on audio and will be presented on a postage stamp-sized display. Kudos to Bumblebee and SmartSource for taking a stab at low-power and presumably low-cost digital shelf-edge advertising, but guys, seriously, you need to do a lot better. At least bundle some coupons with the thing. If you want a laugh, I recommend you read the comment thread attached to that article at The Consumerist.

The inanity of the Bumblebee display must have primed my brain because when I ran into this article at Advertising Lab it seemed like it might as well have come from the same company. Straight out of the what-were-they-thinking department of RightGuard's R&D lab comes this inspired idea to put digital advertising not where one might purchase the product, but where one might actually use the product. That's right, we're talking about armpit advertising! Awful puns aside (and there are lots of them), there's really not much else I can say about this. In fact, I think the expression of the woman on the left pretty much says it all...

Putting signs between you and your fix

2009-10-26T12:27:00.001-05:00

First Dave Haynes notes the creation of a new smoothie vending machine with digital screens attached and now this (from Engadget):

While it's still a concept, [Douwe Egberts]'s so-called BeMoved coffee machine promises to finally bring the disparate worlds of hot beverages and motion control together at last, and do nothing short of raise "human interaction with a coffee machine to a higher level" in the process. Because, really, you can never truly feel close to a coffee machine until it's taunted you to jump up and down to fill your cup of joe. Of course, you can also do some slightly more practical things like tailor your coffee exactly the way you like using the massive touchscreen, and even check up on the weather and news while you wait.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY1uDPO_3ps&feature=player_embedded

Online Ads Not Working for You? Blame the Creative

2009-10-21T13:32:00.000-05:00

Digital: Online Ads Not Working for You? Blame the Creative - Advertising Age - Digital

Something we've harped on for a long time over at WireSpring is the need for great content on your digital signage systems. Too often, people blame their network failures (and there have been many of these over the years) on cost management, technology problems, unwilling advertisers and dozens of other things, when in reality the real problem was that their content wasn't compelling, and consequently their network wasn't achieving its goals.

We're not alone in this problem, as the above-linked AdAge article explains:

It's bad creative that makes online advertising ineffective, so stop obsessing over targeting and placements, according to a study from online-ad-research group Dynamic Logic.
After analyzing the highest and lowest performers from its database of more than 170,000 online ads, the Millward Brown company determined that creative factors such as persistent branding, strong calls to action and even human faces -- and not super-targeted or high-profile ad placements -- make for better ad recall, brand awareness and purchase intent.

Simply put, an ad is only as strong as its weakest links, and according to the Dynamic Logic study, that weakest link is frequently the quality of the creative itself. Not planning, not placement, not measurement, but content.

Digital signage content producers and ad network owners need to keep this in mind when deciding how to apportion their budgets. Don't leave enough in for good creative, and you might be deploying a very expensive, very failure-prone network.

In-Store Marketing Beats Traditional Ads

2009-10-21T11:07:00.000-05:00

In-Store Marketing Beats Traditional Ads, according to a new survey conducted by the National Research Network on shopper marketing firm Miller Zell’s behalf. The study notes:

Nearly a third (32 percent) of the 999 shoppers polled online in March said that in-store marketing is "very effective." Only 27 percent said the same about ads living outside of the store.

The report, which is part three of the “Gone in 2.3 Seconds: Capturing Shoppers with Effective In-Store Triggers Series,” found that the shopping experience is crucial for marketers. Sixty-nine percent of those polled called the in-store experience a “make or break” scenario. While 65 percent of shoppers are making lists, brand decisions are still being made at the store, according to 60 percent of respondents.

End-aisle displays are the most engaging according to 70 percent of those polled, followed by merchandising displays (62 percent), and department signage (58 percent). Ceiling banners and overhead mobiles have the least impact.

Shelf strips (55 percent) and shelf blades (50 percent) have become more important, especially among the Gen X and Gen Y crowds, who feel the more information the better, per the report. Overall, women and Gen Y consumers were most influenced by in-store marketing efforts.

I don't really have any commentary to add here -- the results more or less speak for themselves, and in my mind make a lot of sense. We continue to see data posted indicating that in-store marketing is a must-have component of any CPG marketing mix, and certainly big guys like P&G have been pouring resources into making their in-store presence more effective. While one might treat data compiled on behalf of a company that stands to profit for them as suspect, I think in this instance we're seeing further corroboration of past studies and common sense understanding of how marketing at retail works.

Now THAT's a digital sign!

2009-10-09T14:27:00.001-05:00

Repurposing vacant storefront windows as giant pedestrian-level digital signage is all well and good. But what about those times when you want to be seen from more than just a few feet away? Well, if you're pharma giant Bayer, you just cover your entire ex-headquarters building with LEDs and turn the whole thing into a gigantic digital billboard that can be seen from miles away. Pics and videos courtesy of Engadget's article on the matter:

(here's the YouTube link for anyone viewing through Bloglines)

... and if you're fluent in German and tech, here's an explanation of how the whole thing was put together:

(youtube link)

How the economy might be (should be?) affecting digital signage screen placement

2009-09-21T09:39:00.000-05:00

I've been catching up on my reading lately, and last night found myself looking at the September issue of Shopper Marketing. As I read Executive Director William Schober' editorial, I learned two things: first, there's a PBS special where Elmo (yes, the lovable Muppet) teaches kids how to cope with the financial crisis. I kid you not. Second, and more in tune with the theme of this blog, there's a good chance that the economic crisis may have shifted the way that people shop -- and this, in turn, may have shifted where digital signs need to be located to get optimum draw and have the biggest impact.

I don't know if other people have pointed this out and I'm just late to the game, but I admit I had to sit and scratch my head for a while after looking at the data. While it sounds a little crazy to say that a recession could change where we need to put digital signs -- they're just pieces of equipment, after all -- when you step back and look at the way the media is consumed, it starts to make a lot of sense. And that's precisely what happens if you look at the data from Nielsen's now defunct P.R.I.S.M. program. Steve Frenda, the managing director of strategy and member development for the In-store Marketing Institute threw together a little chart to illustrate a pretty significant trend in shopping behavior:

The reason for this shift to "deeper" shopping in the aisles by many consumers is because they're cutting back on more expensive dining options like eating out or getting take-out in favor of cooking more meals at home. Cooking full meals requires a greater variety of groceries, which typically forces shoppers to do more in-aisle shopping, instead of simply picking up the old standards in a quick race around the perimeter. When these shopper traffic patterns shift, so do in-store media consumption patterns. And while a store manager could use this data to move static POP displays and posters around pretty easily to regain some of the impact lost around the store perimeter, for many digital signage networks that have screens bolted into location, this is a bigger problem.

While endcaps and the racetrack are still going to get navigated and shopped (you still have to walk on them/past them to get to your desired aisles after all), it's possible that this traffic shift will reduce the premiums that networks currently charge for media on or near them. It's also possible that an increased demand for in-aisle marketing will increase the number of projects utilizing shelf-edge and in-aisle screens (Walmart and IBN already do in certain cases). However, considering the cost of adding infrastructure, it's equally likely that stores and network owners will take a wait-and-see approach to decide whether this new shopping behavior is going to stick around after the economic recovery revs up a bit more.

Tags: digital signage, shopper marketing

Violence leads to better recall of outdoor ads...

2009-09-02T14:23:00.001-05:00

... in videogames :)

What... do you think my headline was misleading? Did you not notice the "..."?

Anyway, according to Technology Review, "A team of European and U.S. researchers found ads displayed along with violent scenes to be more memorable to players than those shown with nonviolent content, even though players spent less time looking at them. The results are contrary to expectations stemming from research on television, where violence has been shown to decrease attention to advertisements. Developing a better understanding of the way advertising works in games could help game companies enhance their advertising strategies."

The researchers discovered this outcome by getting subjects to play one of two versions of a driving game. "Those who played a violent version of the game, where the goal was to run down pedestrians, resulting in a blood-splattered screen, demonstrated significantly better recall of advertised brands than those who played the regular version. The researchers presented their work at the International Conference on Entertainment Computing last year."

Cries of desensitization notwithstanding, I can't imagine that these results would carry over to real-life scenarios, since there is plenty of well-documented evidence that memories formed during truly traumatic periods (such as witnessing an accident or act of violence) quickly become altered and/or suppressed. Still, you just know there's some evil ad exec out there, sitting behind a desk, reading this article, stroking his white cat and thinking "Hmm...."

The Trouble with LinkedIn Groups...

2009-08-26T13:23:00.003-05:00

... is that anybody can make one, nobody has to check whether another similar group exists, and there's no good way to manage them together if you're a member of many of them. Don't think it's a real problem? Check out the non-exhaustive list of digital signage groups that I belong to:

Seems a little crazy, doesn't it? There must be a better way.

IBN nabs a PRN exec

2009-08-11T14:26:00.002-05:00

I haven't heard much news from IBN lately, though John Morgan and I trade emails every now and again to say 'hi.' But he just let me know that the firm is looking to step up their retail game by hiring one of the true retail media experts, Bill Lynch, formerly of PRN fame. Here's a bit from their press release:

Rob Brazell, CEO of InStore Broadcasting Network, said of Lynch’s hiring, “Bill is one of the most respected and admired people in the in-store media business. We are excited to welcome Bill and leverage his industry expertise throughout our growing business.” Rob Wolf, who held the head sales position for IBN since 2007, will assume new responsibilities as Executive Vice President, Research and Shopper Insights and will remain a member of the IBN board.

Lynch was most recently Executive Vice President of Sales with Premier Retail Networks (PRN) where he managed the National Endemic Sales Force. Prior to PRN, Lynch was Group Sales Manager for News America Marketing, where he managed and sold in-store advertising and couponing products.

While living through a global economic slowdown does suck, it also means that strong companies get the chance to realign themselves, try out some otherwise risky strategies, and make talent grabs and strategic acquisitions. Hopefully Bill will invigorate the folks at IBN and help them blaze a path out of any recession-related slowdowns that they might be feeling.

The morning press - digital signage news for August 6

2009-08-06T11:21:00.001-05:00

Morning, folks. Here's some digital signage-related news for you:

Arbitron's new Out-of-Home Digital Video Display Study has just been released (for free, no less), and offers a statistical sampling of how America ingests its digital signage. The short version: "Of those who recall seeing digital video displays in the past month, 76% noticed seeing them at multiple venues. Digital video displays in retail locations alone (including grocery stores, large retailer/department stores, drug stores, shopping malls or convenience stores) reach over half (53%) of American adults in an average month. OOH digital video displays at gas stations and movie theaters each reach over 1 in 5 U.S. adults per month." I plan to do a bit more analysis of this on a Digital Signage Insiders blog article later this afternoon.

On the subject of Digital Signage Insiders, last week we posted a survey on how much YOU think digital signage should cost. We're at about 120 responses so far, but I'd like to get more than that. It takes less than 3 minutes to fill out, and I'll be happy to share the data with you. So get your friends and colleagues to fill it out too!

The Emerging Media Lab has a neat article on the next generation of touch screens that promise better interactivity and feedback through some kind of tactile interaction (e.g. making it feel like you've pressed a button when you've just touched a smooth, flat screen). Worth a quick read.

Digital and alternative marketing and advertising, which together will total almost $139.5 billion in 2013, according to market research firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS). These areas will drive growth in the marketing industry over the next 5 years, though it will be mostly cannibalistic (VSS has, "eight out of 20 major communications industry sectors declining, all concentrated in the traditional media, including newspapers, magazines, broadcast TV, radio, traditional out-of-home and Yellow Pages.")

Tags: digital signage, digital signage news

Looking for more digital signage info? Check out WireSpring's Kiosk and Digital Signage blog for in-depth industry analysis and even more news about the digital signage industry. While you're there, feel free to read up on our digital signage software and services

The Daily DOOH turns TOOH

2009-07-26T12:45:00.001-05:00

... Two, that is. Just a few short years ago our industry was peaceful. The dulcet tones of myself, Dave Haynes, and a select few others heralded the news of the digital signage marketplace with joy and good cheer. All was well. And then, this guy showed up:

And as they say, the rest was history. In the two years since Adrian and his gang threw open the doors of the digital signage saloon (I know, the analogy is thin... work with me here), things have changed. Thankfully, they've been mostly for the better.

The Daily DOOH crew have become my de-facto source for zero-day news in our industry, and they're one of a mere handful of players that I can count on to deliver un-hyped, un-politicized, and most importantly, un-advertorialized news, gossip and hearsay about everything in the digital signage world. While their no-nonsense approach to reporting the news and predicting the future has ticked off more than a few company execs, their foresight has also proven itself out on many occasions.

So Happy Anniversary, Daily DOOH. Here's hoping you'll be around for a long while. A word of warning, though: this industry ages us like dogs, so it should feel like you're about 14 now. I know I definitely feel about 70 years older.

:)

Today's digital signage news - logos on the moon, a DS degree, and more!

2009-07-21T12:56:00.001-05:00

It's proving to be an interesting week in the alternative out-of-home marketing segment. Here are a few stories to prove it:

A new company has formed to place logos on the moon that will be visible from earth. They plan to send robots to the lunar surface to carve small impressions out of the lunar soil in such a way that the shadows will form clear shapes. Somehow, according to the website, this will help to save humanity. Alas, there's no word yet on pricing or availability (from Adverlab).

Walmart is demanding more comarketing funds from its suppliers, according to this article at Adage, with the dual-goals of exerting more control over the store environment and suppliers, and, of course, producing a bit more cash for the retail giant during these troubled times. I'll probably blog on this topic a bit more later.

Texas State Technical College is proud to announce what I believe is the first even (associates) degree in digital signage. The very thought of this sends chills down my spine -- and not the good kind. However, it does look like the course load will focus on content creation and planning, rather than the core load of hype generation, research regurgitation and wishful thinking that I would have thought to comprise the majority of work for such a diploma.

Everybody and their brother has blogged about this already, but I'd be remiss in not mentioning that Peoplecount and Adcentricity have teamed up to create a variety of small- to medium-budget research programs for measuring digital out-of-home media, as notes Mediaweek. "The suite of five Research Lite packages are priced between $4,000 and $50,000, depending on the number of venues and markets required for Peoplecount's on-site intercept surveys."

The morning press - digital signage news for July 15

2009-07-15T10:10:00.001-05:00

Morning, folks. Here's some digital signage-related news for you:

Jeremy Lockhorn at ClickZ has posted a brief on the digital out-of-home landscape, and while not offering much new for those of us thoroughly embedded in the industry, it's a nice summary for non-techies and folks making their way over from other advertising industries. It would have been nice had Lockhorn referenced some newer material, rather than a bunch of studies from 2006 and 2007.

Seth Godin has an excellent post called The CPM gap which explains why we're OK with spending $1,000,000 CPM to attend a conference (and with some of the conferences I go to, it's probably even higher than that), but we balk at "high" online CPMs of $25, or "high" DOOH CPMs of $50. This is an argument that I make -- and continue to hear made -- so often, and just another reason why I always try to steer my customers away from CPM-based pricing if there's anything better or more appropriate for them to use instead.

Ad Lab has a neat little post on 3D signage that isn't digital. It seems to be a large-format poster with some kind of embedded lenticular lens or something. I haven't yet seen the effect in person, but I imagine in the right environment it could look pretty cool.

Hmm... where oh where have I heard about this before? "The Australian government established an information and communication center called NICTA who is working on a project which will represent a transition from dynamic to responsive technologies. They are trying to develop a device that once released to the market will revolutionize the way businesses reach out to their consumers. It is a combination of a digital screen and a camera that will analyze the customer’s physical characteristic and provide the customer a personalized advertisement." The fact that it's being sponsored by the government brings an extra dose of scary to the party.

And of course, if you're a privacy zealot, you've probably already seen CBS News's latest coverage of the "ads are watching you" argument. If not, Dave Haynes has a good recount. I've talked about this issue a number of times in the past, and don't think I need to add anything at this point.

Solar powered E-Ink shelf-edge displays run on indoor lighting

2009-07-13T09:44:00.002-05:00

While the guys at Intel and MIT are struggling to figure out how to wirelessly power a 60-watt lightbulb without giving us all cancer or microwaving small animals, a little company out of Korea has taken a different approach to powering useful electronic gadgetry: "solar" power from indoor lighting.

While that idea in itself is nothing new, their particular application is: Electronic Ink displays, designed for shelf-edge POP promotion, that have built-in photovoltaic cells that can generate enough power from the run-of-the-mill fluorescent lighting found in most retail shops:

While the prototype is still a bit crude, and the typical limitations of E-Ink still apply, this is a pretty clear indiciation (to me) of where things in the digital signage market are headed, and why sometimes the "green" initiative can produce seriously practical and useful benefits.

Tags: digital signage, electronic ink, e-ink

The self-host vs. SaaS debate, and the disingenuous security argument

2009-07-02T09:30:00.002-05:00

David Keene at Digital Signage Magazine proffered a short post yesterday wondering about whether self-hosted digital signage systems (he calls them "Premise" systems) or those offered in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model are better, and why. As he notes, people who doubt the SaaS model tend to believe that, "premise-based digital signage content management software packages are often more scalable, more secure, and more reliable because they are not based on a constant internet connection,". While tech novices might be easily swayed to believe these types of arguments, they're actually pretty poor indicators of the "quality" of a system for a particular application. They're also littered with presuppositions about how self-hosted and SaaS systems work. Here's a breakdown:

Unsubstantiated Claim #1: Premise systems are more scalable than SaaS systems

The fact of the matter: This one's easy. SaaS providers (like myself -- I'd like to point out that I have a vested interest here) live and die with their ability to provide service to their customers. I have literally thousands of devices checking in to my servers, for hundreds of clients. If there's any kind of problem, we hear about it very quickly. And our ability to win new business relies on our ability to quickly and inexpensively increase our capacity. How many networks hosting their own stuff can claim that? Very, very few.

Unsubstantiated Claim #2: Premise systems are more reliable because they don't depend on an Internet connection

The fact of the matter: In certain scenarios this might actually be really important. However, with the most common scenario (a player can't get onto the 'net to get content), I doubt there's really a difference in the majority of situations. Large files these days are usually downloaded ahead of time and stored on a local hard disk. And of course, if you don't have a good net connection, you won't be able to do streaming media, live data feeds, etc. regardless of what platform you use. If you have a network that you KNOW will never need to be connected to the Internet, I could see using this argument. Otherwise, it doesn't really resonate with most network applications nowadays.

Unsubstantiated Claim #3: Premise systems are more secure

The fact of the matter: This is the one that really irritates me when I hear it, because if the people claiming to be worried about security actually knew anything about computer security, they'd realize the flaw in their argument. That's because computer security essentially comes down to two things: technology and personnel. Any reasonably good product is going to have well-secured technology, including removing unnecessary programs, getting rid of common virus/hacking vectors, using recently updated or patched software, and implementing strong, non-obvious passwords. However, that's only half of the equation.

The other half is maintaining those systems over time, and this is where SaaS systems shine. At WireSpring we have full-time employees that do nothing but monitor our system status, read security bulletins, and continually maintain our software and servers. How many of those who host their own systems can claim that? We complete monthly security audits and maintain compliance -- at both the server and player level -- with strict standards like PCI-DSS and PABP. Again, how many self-hosted networks are going to go through the time, trouble and ongoing expense of that? I'd be willing to bet that it's a small percentage of the whole. Our servers are securely located in vault-like datacenters around the country, where physical access is limited via three-factor authentication, and armed guards patrol the perimeter. Meanwhile, I've had people tell me their "secure" systems are kept in a closet of their office.

Now admittedly, one place where self-hosted solutions *can* offer better security than SaaS solutions is when there's an "air gap" -- the network controlling the digital signs is PHYSICALLY disconnected from the Internet, and all activities like content upload and remote management must take place on this entirely separate network. In this case, it's physically impossible to compromise the network over the Internet (though local attacks are of course still possible). In reality, I'd be surprised if there were many such networks out there just because having such a gap is inconvenient.

The morning press - digital signage news for July 1

2009-07-01T09:52:00.000-05:00

Happy July, everyone. There's plenty of interesting stuff going on in the digital signage world. Here's some of it:

The DailyDOOH recently posted two articles that you need to read or re-read if you haven't. The first is on V.Pharma, who claims they're reaching their ROI objective in 12-16 months. In my experience, anything less than 18 months is pretty quick for our industry, so if V.Pharma proves correct, their model deserves some scrutiny.

The second was the announcement of the Imperative Group's rules for designing digital signage content for the audience. While only an introduction doc (pdf), it makes an excellent companion to our own best practices for creating digital signage content (wow, I really need to update that reference guide article, since it doesn't cover any of our posts on sound, screen placement, or the infamous ticker).

Next, I'd like to direct your attention to this NewTeeVee article on how advertisers are paying more for placement in The Simpsons episodes on Hulu than they do on actual broadcast TV. Even though we recommend against it, I know a lot of ad-funded digital signage networks continue to sell on a CPM basis, and are consequently faced with difficulty explaining why their $100 CPM is a great deal compared to the $20 CPM an advertiser might get for some other medium like local cable or print. Chris Albrecht does a great job of explaining that the thousands of Hulu viewers are likely to be more valuable to advertisers, who are thus willing to pay the premium. It's a good argument that's easily transposed to our industry.

Peter Breen, the Managing Director of Content for the In-Store Marketing Institute laid down some smack (do the kids still say that nowadays?) on people who continue to equate the newly-formalized discipline of shopper marketing with age-old POP advertising. While POP displays surely play a role in the overall shopper marketing program, as Breen notes such devices are only part of a much more complex system of advertising, marketing and promotional techniques to optimize the marketing message for the store -- the best possible place to connect with shoppers.

Tags: digital signage, digital signage news

Looking for more digital signage info? Check out WireSpring's Kiosk and Digital Signage blog for in-depth industry analysis and even more news about the digital signage industry. While you're there, feel free to read up on our digital signage software and services

More marketers want to compare mobile with outdoor, TV and internet ads

2009-07-01T09:20:00.000-05:00

MediaBuyerPlanner summarized a new TNS study on the "digital cross-chasm channel" that marketers are faced with:

"Although marketers see the power of digital media and express optimism and enthusiasm, many are caught in the gap between expectations and reality,” the report said. “Until this uncharted territory is mapped, many marketers will continue to go with what they know and revert back to existing techniques and siloed channels."

Marketers cite the following barriers to cross channel adoption:

* lack of suitable metrics to measure impact and ROI (44%)
* lack of case studies to prove cross-channel effectiveness (37%)
* lack of technology (34%)

Looking ahead, once enabled to accept digital advertising, respondents expect mobile and TV to be the top channels for branding and response as well as the go-to channels for brand-response synergy:

* 68% of marketers cite mobile as the top channel to drive response, followed by TV at 40%.
* 76% of marketers cite TV as the top channel for brand building, following by mobile at 49%.
* 68% of marketers are interested in comparing TV and mobile compared with outdoor and mobile, TV and computer-based advertising and mobile and computer-based advertising at 62%.

Respondents to the survey also expect total market spending to grow by 30% over the next two years with a third of the market experiencing growth over 50%.

Given that the hype surrounding the mobile ad industry is even more deafening than our own, I'm actually surprised that so many marketers continue to ignore the most valuable of all possible conversions -- that of a browser into a buyer. But that's exactly what's happening if you take a look at the chart above. TV has massive reach, so it's no wonder that marketers want better TV-mobile integration and measurement since they have millions upon millions of potential touch points to follow. But the conversion rate isn't likely to be much better than that of a regular TV ad. Digital OOH, on the other hand, focuses on those locations where products are placed, readily available, waiting to be sold. It would seem that despite the smaller audience size, comparison data for these two media would be more valuable on a per-person basis.

Of course, marketers have never been ones to understand the meaning of "can't have your cake and eat it too," so what we're probably seeing above is their desire to meet their current needs based on their current media mixes (or those of their clients).

(chart courtesy of MarketingCharts)

Haynes goes out on his own, starts DOOH press/pr service. World cowers in fear. News at 11.

2009-06-29T10:42:00.002-05:00

Dave Haynes of sixteen-nine fame has made no secret of his recent ride through the economic turbulence, so the entrepreneur in me is thrilled to see him casting off the shackles of formal employment to pursue a life of adventure and mystique as a small business owner. Given his strong writing skills, popular brand (in our industry, at least) and large rolodex, he's basically taking his writing services on the road, first come first served:

A new media communications firm, called pressDOOH, launched today to help companies in the fast-evolving digital signage and digital out of home (DOOH) industries break out from a highly competitive pack.

pressDOOH (www.pressdooh.com) is specifically positioned to help established and start-up companies develop effective communications material, such as press releases, white papers and case studies, to help build market awareness and drive new business. What sets pressDOOH apart from established public relations and communications firms is that the company has a deep history and understanding of the industry.

The founder and principal of pressDOOH, Dave Haynes, is a well-known industry pioneer who made the leap from mainstream print journalism to new media in the mid-'90s and has been involved in the digital signage and DOOH sectors for more than a decade. Haynes is the writer behind Sixteen:Nine, one of the nascent industry's most widely-read and respected blogs.

"Writing is in my DNA, and this is really just a return to my roots," says Haynes, who for the past few years has done senior-level business development for two of the biggest names in the software side of the industry. "In fact, I'm writing this right now. And now I'm even writing about writing. Writing writing writing writing writing." (that last part was made up to see if anybody's still reading).

So if you're in the digital signage business, you have lots of stuff that you want the world to know about, and you can't write (which, sadly, I've found is often the case), Dave's services seem well worth checking out. And hey, you'll be paying him in Canadian dollars, so that's only like $0.85/each in real money!

Artisan Live's digital signage YouTube channel is up

2009-06-26T11:05:00.001-05:00

I continue to be a fan of the work of Artisan Live, the digital signage-focused unit of Canadian ad/marketing firm Artisan Complete. Their content continues to be among the best I've seen in the retail digital signage space, and every year they win a bunch of new awards to prove it.

The group just started a new channel to showcase their work on YouTube, and it includes some of my favorite clips, including the Mike's Hard Lemonade spot whose image is to the left. This one won some kind of POPAI award a year or two ago, and really demonstrates some of the best practices for digital signage content that we've been talking about for years now.

I'd certainly like to see more design shops putting up YouTube pages for digital signage content. Of course, for that matter, I'd really like to see more great digital signage content, instead of the ongoing slew of mediocrity I seem to come across in every airport, bar and store I visit.

Tags: digital signage, artisan, youtube

Another week, another set of digital signage news links

2009-06-23T09:18:00.001-05:00

Infocomm 2009 claims to have had its biggest East Coast show ever, with 29,000 attendees. I spent three days on the floor there, and while there were some very, very busy periods in our digital signage area, there were also some points where our entire hall seemed empty. Perhaps 29,000 isn't enough to fill the Orange County Convention Center. Or perhaps not all of the audience was into digital signage. Either way, I'm glad we attended, and wouldn't be surprised if we did it again next year, with a few changes.

Consumer-grade wireless video gear in the digital signage market. We've had a few requests for replacing the "last meters" of a typical wired digital signage installation with wireless in order to save on the cost and complexity of hauling out Ethernet cables, but up until recently the only options were impressive but wildly expensive offerings from ProAV and digital signage-specific vendors. New equipment from consumer companies like Iogear might start changing that real soon. While their devices require a line of sight from transmitter to receiver, and have limited range, neither of these may be a problem for lots of venues. And the devices only cost $350 a pair -- about 80% less than some of the full-HD alternatives out there.

Microsoft's recent withdrawl of a system that would allow very specific targeting of TV commercials spotlights a problem that the TV ad world shares with its digital signage brethren: the need to book spots ahead-of-time. There were some technical hurdles, but apparently the need to book slots a whole 11 days prior to air proved too much for advertisers. Last-minute buys and spot provisioning continues to be the most well-worn path in the ad world, regardless of medium, it seems.

Did you guys know that PRN's Michael Quinn has a blog? I didn't until recently. So far he has a few interesting posts and head-scratchers up, and I'm sure there will be more to come. Well worth checking out and bookmarking.

Ad network aggregator SeeSaw Networks seems to be getting more into the role of arbiter between the traditional agency and signage networks, this time by setting up seasonal buys for the very important back-to-school season. Their new media plans apparently allow marketers to reach 75 million students nation-wide, across 200 media markets. This is a great example of using a traditional strength of digital out-of-home (namely time and place-specificity) to intensify campaigns that traditional marketers already know to be of critical importance.

Technorati Tags: digital signage

Arbitron report good news for digital signage statistics enthusiasts

2009-06-10T13:20:00.001-05:00

Some day I hope to sell a line of digital signage trading cards. On the front is a picture of the screen. One the back, the vital stats. I'm not sure whether I'll go with a traditional baseball card-style collect-them-for-the-sake-of-collecting model, or something more along the lines of Magic: The Gathering where networks duke it out for the title of Grand Champion (or something). Either way, it looks like CARE Media would be one to have (though perhaps not its rookie year), if you believe what Arbitron has to say about them:

ADVERTISING RECALL:
With an average wait-time of 17 minutes while being exposed to CARE Media programming, the Arbitron study found that:
64% of viewers recalled at least one of the advertisements that was shown in the program they were watching
63% of viewers go shopping on the same day after being exposed to CARE Media programming and advertisers
After being exposed to CARE Media programming and advertisers, consumer's next shopping trip is to:
Grocery store - 38%
Drug store/pharmacy - 35%
The mall - 9%
Convenience store - 3%
After viewing CARE Media programming, consumers recalled advertisements for:
Child care products - 46%
Pharmaceutical products - 33%
Pet care products - 46%
Healthcare products - 26%
Informational websites - 32%
Retail outlets - 35%
Consumer products - 34%
MEDIA AWARENESS AND ENGAGEMENT:
A majority (92%) think CARE Media TV is a good thing for doctors' offices to offer clients while in the waiting area
91% think CARE Media TV helps to pass the time spent waiting
88% think CARE Media TV is a credible source of information that they find useful
67% think that CARE Media TV enhances the patient-doctor relationship
In addition, 76% of viewers plan on watching CARE Media TV the next time they visit this or any other medical office.

I'd like to see some research as to why certain types of ads were more memorable than others (though it could be anything from production values/budget to frequency), as well as whether or not there was any correlation in media exposure and purchasing behavior (which would be a pretty neat trick, considering that you'd have to somehow isolate the effects of that media exposure from all of the other contributing factors).

Get yer somwhat-relevant digital signage news fix here...

2009-06-10T11:10:00.001-05:00

Between the growing number of high-caliber bloggers out there who are actually pumping out some decent content, it's getting harder and harder to come up with new, relevant content and/or analyses here. But thankfully some of our sister industries have been leading the way with news for them that's clearly becoming more and more relevant for us. For example:

Cablevision's about to offer same-day VOD ad insertion to its advertisers, allowing the operator to improve their relevance (time-wise, anyway). Beginning this summer, the cable operator will be able to swap out existing creative within 24 hours of receiving notification from a client, which of course means that clients will really need to be on their game to get finished spots to the operator in a timely fashion.

The DOOH industry is about to face another source of competition for viewer attention: mobile video. I know, I know, that's something already on the radar, but now that the digital TV switchover is about to happen here in the US, all of the bandwidth previously used to send analog TV signals is being reused and reassigned, and you can bet that mobile video providers want access to that spectrum. It's hard enough catching somebody's attention in a supermarket or a train station or anywhere else where there are a number of things to look at. Now imagine trying to compete with all that and last night's rerun of Idol.

Mediabrands, the parent company of the IPG Emerging Media Lab, has decided to start a digital advertising network, Cadreon, and seems to have its sights set on another SeeSaw/BookingDOOH-style cross-network and cross-medium ad management system. Adweek notes that "in addition to buying, Cadreon will provide real-time dynamic ad creation to help clients build and serve units on the fly. The system utilizes a host of different parameters, tailoring both creative content and messaging to specific client audience profiles." While the initial focus seems to be online, the company clearly wants to cross the chasm into the real world when the time (and money) are right.

Another article talks about advertisers making lemonade from lemons via advertising on vacant storefronts. While it's nothing we haven't seen before, it's nice to see the kind-of win-win that is advertisers paying a fraction of what billboards cost while landlords get to fill a bit of barren, unproductive space.

As a reminder, if you plan to attend the Strategy Institute's Digital Signage Technology conference tied to Infocomm next week, you can get a 10% discount by mentioning the code "9015-DSN10" when you sign up. Full details are at: http://www.strategyinstitute.com/061609_dsts2/dsp.php

Going to Infocomm? Want to stop in at a Strategy Institue conference? Read on, get 10% off...

2009-06-03T12:38:00.001-05:00

In spite of their curious habit of NAMING THEIR CONFERENCES IN ALL CAPS, I'm generally a fan of the Strategy Institute's digital signage seminars. We've sponsored a bunch, and I've attended more than I can count at this point. The next one I'm heading to is right up the road (well, a long way up the road) at Infocomm 2009 in Orlando. Their "2nd Annual DIGITAL SIGNAGE TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT" is going to focus on 11 case studies from users in the education, corporate, government, transit, healthcare facilities, convention centers, airports, public spaces, and hotel/hospitality sectors.

While the TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT sounds like it has a lot to do with technology, it's less of a nuts-and-bolts affair and more of a strategic planning session to help people integrate digital signage solutions into their rate cards. Since Infocomm tends to be AV- and IT-vendor heavy, there will probably be coverage of things like planning rollouts effectively, using digital signs to find new revenue streams, lower operating costs or improve productivity, and integrating digital signage solutions with other products.

Since the conference is held at the same place and time (roughly) as Infocomm (it's Tuesday, June 16th and Wednesday June 17th at the Orange County Convention Center), there's a good chance you'll already be in the neighborhood. Should you decide to attend, readers of this blog can get a 10% discount by mentioning the code "9015-DSN10" when you sign up. Full details are at:

http://www.strategyinstitute.com/061609_dsts2/dsp.php

POPAI's CEO resigns as marketing at-retail moves above-the-line

2009-06-03T12:20:00.001-05:00

Here's the official distribution which somebody left (in a twist of irony) as a blog comment on a recent post about the POPAI board meeting:

From: John Anderson, POPAI Chairman of the Board, BPOil/Bovis Lend Lease
Re: POPAI President and CEO Dick Blatt resignation

June 3, 2009

Please be advised that POPAI President and CEO Dick Blatt has announced that he will resign those posts at Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) effective immediately. The announcement was made yesterday during POPAI's Board of Directors meeting. Since Dick joined POPAI nearly two decades ago, we've seen Marketing at Retail grow from below the line media to an important strategic campaign element.

Today, POPAI's board and membership is comprised of the world's most powerful retailers, agencies, brands and producers. POPAI currently has more than 20 chapters globally with 17,000 individual member contacts. The entire industry and organization recognizes his dedication over the past 17 years. We wish him much success in his future endeavors.

POPAI continues to grow with strong leadership in North America and globally, as we progress forward studying shopper engagement, shopper insights, protecting our member's interests on the legislative front and fortifying the business of Marketing at Retail for all of our membership segments. POPAI's global reach and resources will continue to help drive a new level of success within the Marketing at Retail environment.

Among our many initiatives, this summer, POPAI is launching retail level research across multiple trade channels- including supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchandisers and convenience stores- to determine what in-store solutions, Marketing at Retail materials and shelf layouts work best and, most importantly, why and how they turn shoppers into buyers. Study participants include 7-Eleven, Inc., Ahold, Frito-Lay North America, Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages, Walgreens and a Major Mass Retailer.

POPAI will continue to provide the services and programming that you have come to expect.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin Murphy, Vice President of Member Services at 703.373.8804

While it's sad to see Dick go, I'm very excited about the direction POPAI is taking. Rather than being just a supplier-centric organization focused on POP displays, the group is now exploring topics like shopper marketing research and in-store media measurement, and continues to expanded their focus on digital signage and digital retailing (as evidenced by their ongoing work on technical standards and the digital privacy debate). No word just yet on who the new CEO will be.

DOOH ad spend to triple, and other digital signage news for you

2009-06-01T07:13:00.001-05:00

Electrograph has closed. The one-time largest distributor of business television and AV equipment has shut their doors, thanks mostly to razor-thin margins and a poor economy for being a middleman. I know that over the past few year more and more tier-1 manufacturers have been willing to work directly with smaller customers and end-users, making Electrograph's position more difficult to justify.

JiWire promises 'net-like' analytics to digital out-of-home folks, according to today's Marketing VOX article. The company's delivers and tracks ad impressions over a network of 25,000 public WiFi hotspots, and claims to offer the same kind of measurability that advertisers are accustomed to online (so that most likely means impressions and clickthroughs). And you thought DOOH only meant digital signage!?

In the face of all the bad economic news, PQ Media decided to announce that the digital out-of-home ad spend is on pace to triple this year, and will comprise nearly 30% of all out-of-home ad spending at $2.43 billion (thanks, Marketing Charts):

More specifics:

US spending on video ad networks, the largest segment of digital OOH media, is on track to expand 8.1% in 2008 but will decelerate in 2009 before returning to double-digit growth in 2010.
Digital billboards remains the fastest-growing segment, though it will be slower in 2008, posting growth of 28.2% and remaining in the 20% range through 2012.
Ambient ad platforms will grow 6.8% in 2008. This growth compares with expected low single-digit growth or outright declines in most ad-based media in 2008 and 2009, including newspapers, radio, broadcast TV and magazines.

As we've noted for a while, mobile is becoming the next hottest way to reach consumers with a message at the right place and time, and this is one of the better approaches that I've seen. As Marketing VOX notes, "Coupious, a mobile marketing platform that delivers on-demand, location-based coupons to smartphone users, is testing out its service at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. After downloading Coupious from the Apple App Store or the Android market, smartphone users browse deals in their immediate location (or up to 50 miles away), identified using the phone's GPS technology."

Emerging media. The future is ... now?

2009-05-26T07:14:00.000-05:00

I meant to post this yesterday as some light holiday reading, but alas I was working, so I forgot. But if you haven't seen it, AdLab has some fantastic pictures and pitches for next-generation advertising media from the 1920s and 30s.

Considering that in-home television didn't even exist back then and printed circulars were only just starting to be used, it's remarkable the lengths that some people thought they'd need to go just to get a shopper's attention. Fast forward to today when it sometimes seems like every outdoor surface is plastered with some offer or other, and people are busily walking around (and even driving?!) staring at the tiny screen of their mobile devices, and the need to break through the clutter seems more apparent.

Of course, when I look at a lot of digital signs I sometimes wonder whether their owners understand the difference between "break through" and "add to".

Technorati Tags: advertising

Make content? Get your name out in front of hundreds of digital signage companies!

2009-05-20T14:12:00.001-05:00

Every now and then I have the chance -- nay the privilege -- to try and turn what ought to be a solicitation for free goods/services into a golden opportunity for those companies savvy enough to know a good thing when they see one. This is one of those times...

In short, POPAI, the organization that has spearheaded a large technical standards effort for the digital signage industry, has just put the finishing touches on the very first digital signage standard for media formats. The goal of the standard, which will be published shortly, is threefold. It will:

Allow customers buying digital signage software and hardware to know for certain that it will play certain types of media,
Allow the makers of said hardware and software to verify that their stuff will in fact play those media, and
Allow creatives and agencies to confirm that the media they're producing is likely to play properly on most of the kit out there

Part of the standard is a collection of 31 test content files that vendors will use to test their products. While a few companies, (most notable among them is Artisan Complete) have volunteered their services to produce these content files, there are still a number that need to be authored.

If you have the ability to author MP3, AVC, MPEG and/or WMV files, you have some royalty free and freely-distributable audio and video content laying around, and you want to gain some exposure inside the digital signage market, this could be a great opportunity. Authoring the files shouldn't take a great deal of time either. We'll supply the necessary graphics, overlay, and output options. You supply some medium- to high-bitrate images or video footage to give the files some visual appeal.

Here's the good part

You also supply your logo. Every file that you author can carry your logo, company name and URL. Since these files will be circulated to hundreds of companies in the industry, and available from POPAI's digital signage standards website for download by any interested parties, you'll gain massive exposure to those companies most active in our industry.

Interested?

If so, leave me a comment below with your capabilities and contact information and I'll get in touch about the different files that we still need to have authored.

Technorati Tags: digital signage, popai

This week's world of digital signage news

2009-05-09T08:51:00.001-05:00

There were some interesting bits and pieces in the news this week, most of which have been covered by the usual suspects already.

One of the articles I've been meaning to write a thoughtful piece around is this one from early April by Three Minds @ Organic. In their usual thorough fashion they question whether privacy is a threat to accuracy when it comes to serving ads online. Needless to say it can be argued both ways, and of course from my perspective the bigger question is what happens when you trade privacy for increased ad accuracy offline -- namely in digital out-of-home formats?

Chris Hoyt talks about touching the shopper marketing "Elephant" in an article for HUB Magazine. He notes that, "Shopper marketing is today’s marketing elephant — not only because of its size or its power — but because all of the confusion about what it really is reminds us of the parable of the blind men and the elephant." Excellent article, well worth a quick read.

Nielsen Research has shown the Outcast pump-top network (which I still think is a pretty silly name) to be effective, generating a 75% ad recall rate. 90% of patrons indicated they noticed the screens at all, which is very high for any form of out-of-home advertising. Further, 76% found Outcast "entertaining," 72% said they consider it a good source of product information and 71% said the screens improve pumping dwell time. I've heard far more anecdotal complaints than praise for pump-top networks, but of course a handful of personal notes and the like can't stand up to a rigorous, data-driven study (provided it was fair, balanced and well-controlled, of course).

UK Outdoor ad specialist Kinetic introduced new guidelines for OOH, putting outdoor exposure into the categories of transit, microdwell and dwell, relating to how people are moving when they see ads. I don't have the slightest idea of what those new guidelines might actually be. Maybe Adrian at DailyDOOH can find out for us.

Captivate network, the largest network of in-elevator and high-rise office building digital signage (in North America) continues to expand their online presence and capabilities. I've mentioned before how much I like the approach that they're taking, so it's very encouraging to see that they're getting results good enough to bother expanding the capability. Specifically, "The [new website], captivate.com, is the first step in a multi-platform strategy that will embrace mobile advertising content. Office workers who saw ads for Captivate.com on the digital network did go online to access the games and additional content, along with special offers and sweepstakes, says Mike DiFranza, founder and president of Captivate Network." In fact, 55% of people who saw new stories on Captivate's elevator network went online to read more, while 52% did so to check out an advertiser website.

Tags: digital signage, digital signage news

Looking for more digital signage info? Check out WireSpring's Kiosk and Digital Signage blog for in-depth industry analysis and even more news about the digital signage industry. While you're there, feel free to read up on our digital signage software and services

New Digital Signage Insider Survey: Where's the Beef?

2009-05-06T12:57:00.002-05:00

I posted a new survey on the Digital Signage Insiders blog yesterday in attempt to figure out where our industry is going, and what's holding it up right now (besides a crappy economy and loads of hype, of course). If you're not a regular reader of that blog (you should be!), here's the link to the survey.

As I note in the article, it's 9 questions long, and only takes 2-3 minutes to fill out.

If you like, you can enter your email address at the end of the survey, and I'll email you all of the data when it closes out in a few weeks.

And of course, we'll be providing detailed analysis in a future article, which I'm sure will merit a post here as well.

What're you waiting for? Go take it already!

Thanks!

The... um... afternoon press - digital signage news for May 5

2009-05-05T15:26:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. Here are some of the more interesting news bits I've come across lately...

McDonalds gives a new, unique meaning to the idea of 'interactive digital signage.' Actually, interactive electronic billboards is more accurate, if you can believe it. Check out the video below:

Ad AdLab, college freshman Evan Savar asks a question about selling ads on his nascent in-bus digital signage network on buses in Las Vegas. Props to Mr. Savar for scratching the entrepreneurial itch so early on. Hope his experience in our industry doesn't turn him off to the business world for life ;) I left a little free advice in the comments section, and noticed that Haynes has posted his own thoughts on the matter.

Captivate Network, famous for their domination of the screens-inside-elevators market, claim to have cracked the code when it comes to guaranteeing advertiser satisfaction. The secret? According to this press release, a combination of multi-platform offerings, custom research, and engagement metrics. Startling, I know. But I read it in a press release, so it must be true.

Over at Miller|Zell's Inside the Aisle blog there's a nice post about why infomercials and in-store media create lift. I know we've recommended our clients think about their in-store media in terms of direct response-style ads, but something tells me that if Billy Mayes was yelling at shoppers at the top of the aisle, by the bottom of the aisle they'd be ready to leave. I know I would be.

Finally, I know where Dave Haynes is working now, but I promised not to tell just yet. I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready -- probably when he's finished sewing his costume together, but possibly not until the scars from the required body modifications heal up a bit more.

Tags: digital signage, digital signage news

Looking for more digital signage info? Check out WireSpring's Kiosk and Digital Signage blog for in-depth industry analysis and even more news about the digital signage industry. While you're there, feel free to read up on our digital signage software and services

This week's world of digital signage news

2009-04-30T10:30:00.001-05:00

Swine flu, swine flu, swine flu. There, got that out of my system. For a while it seemed like I had the only blog left that hadn't said anything about it. Now that that's out in the open, here's some digital signage news for you:

CE Pro magazine takes a look at five ways to improve product merchandising, focusing on creating a hands-on experience, being simple and direct, highlighting product benefits, appealing to the retailer's core customer base, and 'listening to the locals' (your local sales staff, that is). Nice, solid and easy-to-understand advice.

NBC and Home Depot are testing TV commercials that change based on the weather, according to AdAge. As the article notes, "Since last Thursday, the two have run longer-than-usual commercial segments that tell viewers Home Depot is sponsoring a weekend weather forecast. The segments next move to the weather outlook, and, finally, suggest viewers consider home-improvement projects they can tackle (using goods purchased at Home Depot, of course)." Using relevant non-advertorial information like news, sports scores and weather info has long been a technique used in the digital out-of-home world, so I'm not at all surprised to see it being tested out in TV land now.

Flexpeaker has debuted a new flexible membrane speaker that's as thin as paper. They can be printed like regular posters, mounted on a wall, ceiling, floor, etc., and use a small amount of power when playing. Mediasoon has a few more details.

Three Minds @ Organic, one of my very favorite blogs, has an article on the 'untapped potential of digital out-of-home media' that focuses on Adcentricity's addition of a mobile marketing suite to their digital media network agglomeration (is that even a word?) services, as well as some commentary on whether or not dome digital signage opportunities -- like roadside electronic billboards -- are really a good idea.

Linda Seid Frembes wrote an article for Infocomm looking at the ROI story for digital signage once again. I'm quoted a few times, which is always lovely. While I'm sure my stance in the article will draw detractors (mostly those 'can't see the forest for the trees' folks, probably), I do get the impression that a lot of people are still dropping in signs -- even in non-retail spaces -- expecting them to magically print money or something. People need to know their objectives beforehand, and understand that if there's no good reason to deploy a digital sign, it isn't going to be a productive use of their time and money.

This isn't quite in the digital signage vein, but is just too weird to pass up: "Scientists are working on a device which works like a car navigation system to help elderly shoppers baffled by changing layouts in aisles. Newcastle University is already testing a gadget for dementia patients so they can be tracked if they get lost. The gadgets will be designed to be worn “unobtrusively”, he said." So the next time you see grandma walking around with an 18" DirectTV dish strapped onto her shoulders at the local supermarket, don't give it a secondt thought.

Tags: digital signage, digital signage news

Looking for more digital signage info? Check out WireSpring's Kiosk and Digital Signage blog for in-depth industry analysis and even more news about the digital signage industry. While you're there, feel free to read up on our digital signage software and services

Sharp Signage Lights Up More than Just the Mets New Stadium

2009-04-28T11:30:00.000-05:00

Baseball may be just another professional sport selling itself large while struggling to control performance enhancements and player behavior, but it's still the quintessential American sport -- almost everyone's got a baseball history: I began listening to Mets a on the radio and the Yankees on a little black and white television with my grandfather (he was a multimedia guy before they even had a word for it!) to collecting baseball cards all through the 1970s, to hanging out in the bleachers at Fenway Park in the mid 80s.

Since baseball is a multimedia extravaganza, digital signage is integral to any game (as some folks have pointed out, the best place to watch a game on TV is in the park itself!). With the two new stadiums opening in New York comes the not-surprising announcement that Sharp Electronics, the official HDTV of Major League Baseball, has signed a multimedia deal with the Mets. High definition screens will fill the public areas, lobbies, and of course, the field.

The interesting and surprising element is the nice tie-in between Sharp and the Mets to community outreach: part of the deal is support for program called the Student Athlete Leadership Training program (SALT) which trains local high school athletes to be peer educators about drug and alcohol abuse prevention. Of course, the kids who participate also get the pleasure of attending a game in the new stadium. While addressing the problem of drug use among professional athletes requires more systemic action, both within baseball and in the institutions that support it, this program offers a solid mix of media, technology, sports, education, and outreach that reaches kids early. The point is that there's no obvious reason why Sharp would want to attach their name to the program, but it's a great example of how digital signage and community relations can be tied together.

What's going to happen to Clear Channel?

2009-04-27T12:28:00.001-05:00

Rob Gorrie, Canadian, Adcentricity co-founder, and all-around good guy, posted an article on Thursday about Clear Channel's current spate of financial difficulties, which many analysts feel may drive the media giant to bankruptcy or fire sale later this year. Some of the biggest nay-sayers have pointed to Goldman Sachs's downgrade of the stock from "hold" to "sell" as the final nail in a coffin that has been in the process of shutting closed for some time.

I can't really say whether Clear Channel's current problems will be enough to kill it off. However, the whole situation has me wondering about the way that the company was taken private back in July. After something like two years of negotiations, they were taken private by Bain Capital just as the magnitude of the credit crunch was making itself known. But one of the chief arguments for going private, as Clear Channel would have us believe, was that it would allow them to invest more money on infrastructure and long-term projects without having to worry quite so much about meeting short-term sales goals. Granted, I don't think the company was as worried about refinancing their billions of dollars in debt at the time (such an endeavor has become much more costly of late), but if you believe the execs at the top, a big, costly buildout has been in the plans for a while.

Any analyst worth his salt should be taking into consideration that for a long time Clear Channel has noted it expects to pay more now for the chance of bigger profits later. That should be taken into consideration. But of course, if the firm runs out of money and are forced to restructure before seeing the fruits of their labor there any number of things could happen...

Lamar or CBS Outdoor could step in to buy their outdoor holdings. Both companies have big investments in billboard advertising. Additioanlly, CBS Outdoor has a big presence in Times Square while Lamar has been investing in digital billboards, but neither firm has both, so an acquisition of Clear Channel assets would give either a leg up over the other. Alternatively, JC Decaux could use an acquisition to gain a much bigger billboard presence in the US.

I suspect management of the company's radio stations would be spun out into its own new entity. Clear Channel is still the largest terrestrial radio company by far -- bigger even than the combined Sirius-XM satellite guys -- so as long as there's money in radio advertising it seems like a solid chunk of business that somebody would want to hang on to.

But on the outdoor side, it's a lot harder to say what will happen. Outdoor ad rates haven't fallen proportionally as far as other media like TV and radio have. And outdoor digital billboard rates have risen and continue to generate good returns to the point where more and more companies are deploying the things all over the place.

The bottom line is that now is not a good time to be saddled with a lot of corporate debt. And Clear Channel -- an advertising company -- is most certainly not going to be receiving any federal bailout dollars. But the debt issue aside, the company's assets throw off lots of cash month after month. If investors and debt holders are too short-sighted to see the long-term potential of the company's previously-stated plan, I'd guess that we'll see a break up before a bankruptcy proceeding.

Tags: advertising, billboards, clear channel

Digital signage news - the week in review

2009-04-19T09:37:00.000-05:00

Well, the economy may still suck, but business in the digital signage world continues to hum along. This past week's total lack of posts -- the first time that has happened to me in a loooong while -- is a testament to that. Even the WireSpring blog would have gone sans-updates had Adcentricity's Graeme Spicer not stepped up to the plate.

There were plenty of interesting news bits to talk about. Haynes mentioned Neo Advertising's foray into the US market and has a neat article on the kind of data that Cognovision's face-tracking system can generate (and even the introduction of the ION platform which of course I covered way back in January ;) And as usual, Adrian and his team covers all the news fit to print on DailyDOOH, so really I don't need to cover any of that stuff. However, that still leaves me with a few dozen tabs opened on my browser, each containing an interesting article useful and relevant to our industry. Here are a few:

CIO covers The Art, Science and Software Behind Placing Coca-Cola Products on Store Shelves which is just fascinating for anybody who has never really spent a lot of time in retail merchandising or category management. Think we have a lot to think about when hanging digital signs? Yeah, we've got nothing on these guys.

PROMO takes a look at "the convergence of retail and digital" in an article from a few weeks ago. Not a huge amount of new information here, but if your clients are looking for opinions from non-digital companies, you could steer them to it (written by Morgan McAlenney, from the very retail-savvy Integer Group).

In a somewhat surprising about-face, Conde` Nast discovered that magazine and TV ads may be more effective than online ads, as explained at MarketingCharts. The experiment is pretty specific, and there's no claim that the trend would carry over to other digital media, but if you're one of those people who thinks that improved targeting automatically yields improved effectiveness, you should check this article out.

Google and others are "discovering" the digital signage market, according to some guy I've never heard of. Surely the patent they filed on it (which was subsequently covered by every digital signage blog, magazine, etc. several years ago) never indicated that that might be the case.

In-Store Ads are More Effective than Out-of-Store, according to a recently online survey conducted by Miller-Zell. Marketing Charts again has a synopsis (and pictures) as good or better than the document that MZ released themselves.

Evan Schuman asks whether Remote Access And PCI [compliance] can Co-Exist over at Storefront Backtalk. The answer in our experience has been "yes, as long as you're willing to pay for it. Forever."

Jameson Irish whisk(e)y had a pretty neat quasi-interactive outdoor campaign running a few weeks ago, which was caught on video (thanks adverblog):

AdAge heralds the end of consumer segmentation. What's going to replace it? Uh... selfsegmentation, which is basically the same thing, but asks consumers to do more of the heavy lifting for marketers.

Not quite digital, not quite static, this OLED poster from Dai Nippon is just cool to look at. And cheaper than a big LCD screen, too. Oh, and it's flexible.

Disney's UP advertises the big screen on really small screens

2009-04-02T11:47:00.001-05:00

I came across this neat little application at Stitch Kingdom -- not exactly one on my regular reading list. As Brad, the post's author, notes:

"I found this gem of an ad for UP in the movie theater I was at this evening. When you push a button and peek inside the binoculars, it plays a mini-trailer complete with audio."

That's pretty slick, and a markedly different approach to using digital media in theaters than most. Typically, screens are as big and as bright and as centrally-located as possible in order to attract eyeballs. But the situation is turned upside down here, with the unique fixed display doing the attracting. Viewing the digital media is a decidedly one-at-a-time affair.

The movie looks like it'll be pretty cool, too.

The morning press - digital signage news for March 31

2009-03-31T13:23:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. Here are some of the more interesting news bits I've come across lately...

A new gun for hire: ex-DigitalView/Enqii sales monkey extraordinaire and esteemed blogger colleague Dave Haynes (seen here in an undated photo apparently during a stint as a used car salesman) is now ex-BroadSign too, as apparently the firm is shifting to an all-channel-sales model. While he muses that he's not sure what he'll do with himself next, I think the answer is obvious: team up with Lyle Bunn and Bill Collins, find a good tenor, and form the first-ever, all-Canadian digital signage consultants barbershop quartet.

You do want that big, fat discount on Strategy Institute's Content Strategies show, right? Today's March 31st, which means it's the last chance to qualify for the $500 early bird discount. And remember, Digital Signage News readers can get another 10% off by entering the code DSN10 at the time of registration.

Our new product for smaller digital signage networks, Digital Signage EasyStart, is off to the races, as I found out when I woke up this morning and checked out the Daily DOOH's webpage. Not sure how they beat me to this -- we haven't even posted a press release yet.

Paul Flanigan of BestBuy and Experiate fame appearently learned 5 Things at GlobalShop, including my favorite, "I did not know there were so many ways to hang stuff in a store."

In-store gaze tracking to figure out what people are looking at is already obsolete.... well, ok, not quite yet, but soon, if Martin Lindstron's "Buyology" program can solve a few technical hurdles (among the most noteworthy might be how to carry around brain-scanning equipment that doesn't look like a shower cap crossed with a medieval torture implement). After all, why track people's eyes in real time when you can track their brains, right?

Tags: digital signage, digital signage news

Looking for more digital signage info? Check out WireSpring's Kiosk and Digital Signage blog for in-depth industry analysis and even more news about the digital signage industry. While you're there, feel free to read up on our digital signage software and services

The morning press - digital signage news for March 26

2009-03-26T10:47:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. Back from my travels (which have been seriously cutting into my blogging time), but like usual Adrian and Dave have been covering most of the news fit to "print". Still, it wouldn't be the web if every crackpot out there wasn't throwing his two cents in, right? So without further ado, here are mine.

POPAI's Digital Signage Contest went off without a hitch at GlobalShop this week. The Digital Display of the Year winner, MODERNISTIC, did a pretty awesome "living standee" using 3M's Vikuity holographic projection film and put the thing in the Mall of Americas. While technically the piece was quite simple (project an image of a living, talking, sales-pitching person onto a person-shaped piece of film, the results were spectacular, and apparently people were showing up to the still unfinished Best Buy store just because the projection told them to (oops!).

AdAge's Mediaworks section examines the best print ads of 2008. I've been telling people for years that designing great digital signage content is a lot like designing great print content, so take a minute or two to see what it takes to qualify as the latter.

One legislator has decided that her idea of justice and the rule of law extends out to those annoying TV commercials that blare on at much higher volumes than the shows they play between. I think that legislating the content inside of TV commercials is a very slippery slope. I'd prefer to let public interests prevail. And if that means forcing Billy Mayes and the Shamwow! guy fight to the death on live TV, all the better.

PRN says: people actually watch our checkout channel! What's more, they remember it (well, they cite 60% average recall, with some cases in the 90% range). RetailWire has an awesome conversation thread on the topic, with posters varying in opinion from "I think they're lying" to "see, I told you this stuff worked!"

Ripple TV raised another $4M in venture capital. While a win for any network is still a win for all of us (not in the sense that you or I actually get $4M, sadly), the press release doesn't indicate whether they're using that cash to expand, or merely to fund operations. The former would be exciting. The latter... not so much. The PR makes mention of a "high growth trajectory" and using the investment to "continue providing a value service to our viewers," so my guess is that they're still burning cash (which may well be part of their plan).

Finally, WireSpring finished our new website for FireCast Digital Signage EasyStart, our easy and affordable solution for smaller projects. It's a new product for us -- the first in about 8 years -- so we're pretty excited about it. I'm sure Adrian and his crew at DailyDOOH will scoop us on the release, somehow.

Tags: digital signage, digital signage news

Looking for more digital signage info? Check out WireSpring's Kiosk and Digital Signage blog for in-depth industry analysis and even more news about the digital signage industry. While you're there, feel free to read up on our digital signage software and services

Digital Advertising to the Lowest Common Denominator: The Economy Made Me Do It

2009-03-23T14:01:00.001-05:00

I recently spent some time in New York City, one of the most concentrated advertising environments in the world. Indeed, a city as rich as this shows you the best and the worst of what’s possible. The digital displays in Times Square have changed so much in the last few years that I was in awe for at least half an hour. Even the aerial view from the top of a distant skyscraper was stunning.

But five rides in a taxi cab, some "research" on tourist venues, and a few adventures on the subway, and I was back to thinking about how much advertising – and digital ads especially – gets plastered across the US without consistent planning for content, use, or environment. Consider how true this is in a digital environment like your computer as much as it is in your real environment. "Bad" banner ads and pop-ups suddenly seem like a good idea according to Ad Age:

Direct-response ads of all kinds, such as those for lowering bills, avoiding computer viruses and checking credit scores, are flooding into unsold ad inventory. Windows that open underneath a page -- the so-called pop-unders of the late '90s -- are making a comeback, and ad execs say they're seeing more in-text ads from the likes of Vibrant Media and Kontera as publishers attempt to squeeze incremental dollars from each page...Andy Atherton from Brand.net claims,  "It signifies a shortage of alternatives and a hunger for revenue...This isn't a new issue, but in this climate it's harder to say no to any ad if there is money attached to it."

It's never a good strategy to let panic drive your marketing plan. Even worse when good ideas are badly implemented for lack of research.

Back in NY, we moved on to cabs: the small screen tvs in the back of the taxi are inevitably without sound – even if the sound works, most cab drivers have their own musical choices blasting through the divider. It's a bit disconcerting to listen to Hindu radio while watching images for the show Celtic Women Live! The Gothamist has debated whether the malfunctioning sound controls are intentional, but I'm not enough of a New Yorker to weigh in.

For my three teen companions, the cab's touch screen maps were fascinating for about ten minutes, until we discovered that they were slower than reading street signs (or a hand-held GPS) and often not sophisticated enough to shift between two block radius and a larger parameter. The vast majority of touch screens didn’t work – despite the constant pounding they received from the teens, who insisted that if they just kept tapping it, it would eventually provide information or entertainment. Even if we’d been able to control what came across, none of it could actually count as programming (unless you count the entertainment value of pounding...).

Moving out of the cabs and into tourist spots, the digital kiosks and screens actually did offer excellent information, but it was often too deeply intwined with POS material pushing tourists to buy digitized photos of themselves against the Empire State Building, to upgrade your harbor tour with a video/audio component, or to usher you into the gift shop. I began to feel as if New York was, in fact, Disney-ified, as Alan Bryman and George Ritzer predicted.

What's disturbing (and not good for long term development of digital media) was how much digital signage was non-functional in environments where people could really rely on it. On the subway and PATH trains, information boards were never displayed on the correct platform and throngs of people were forced to rush over to another track to read the only three working screens that could tell them about delays, departures, and time changes. I don't think it's unrealistic to expect that other forms of transportation could be at the same level of technological sophistication as the airport. Without it, there's a loss of good will towards the industry along with potential revenue.

As we drove away from New York, I was back in front of more digital screens at gas stations – again, mostly generic advertising and television shows rather than point-of-service info related to travel, rest area amenities, or relevant traffic news. These screens were certainly functional, but is functional really all we're aiming for?

Most analysts suggest that digital media will remain a growth area despite the economy – but I’m hoping that the recessionary fears don’t translate into sloppy market research and design. Just because you have a trapped audience (in the cab and at the gas station) doesn’t mean the advertisements have to be miserable. Recently Ad Age commented on the ubiquitous belly fat banners that have been running on all manner of web pages – indeed, they are successful when other ads are failing. However, it’s not clear that success in generating attention is going to translate into success in sales. Similarly, the long term effects are not worth it.

The key issue for digital media is saturation. Even those amazing Times Square billboards get old when the content isn’t fresh and the message is unconnected to the lived realities of consumer needs. The more companies place advertisements with abandon in every possible niche, the more likely they will water down the potential impact of digital technology and marketing campaigns. At some point, even the aesthetic and intelligently constructed ads will lose appeal.

More positive placement for digital signage pays off in alleviating public complaints and draconian “landscape” laws about digital signage. A well functioning video/media system should be vital to any public transportation project (imagine, ideally, a part of new infrastructure funding). But if marketing and design folks don’t do more to sort out the chafe from the cream, the moment of connection will be lost in translation.

cab and gas station image courtesy of the New York Times. and Penton Media, Inc. cityscape courtesy: Zoe Rubinstein.

Voting for the Digital Signage Viewer's Choice contest ends tomorrow!

2009-03-19T10:23:00.001-05:00

Want to see a bunch of great digital signage content?

Want to decide for yourself what looks good, and what could use a little help?

Like the idea of passing judgment over your colleagues, competitors and peers?

If so, head on over to the Digital Signage Viewer's Choice contest that POPAI is hosting and spend a few minutes deciding what's hot and what's not. The contest closes out tomorrow, so if you want your vote to count, you'd better hurry!

The morning press - digital signage news for March 10

2009-03-10T09:10:00.001-05:00

Morning, folks. Here are some of the more interesting things being talked about in the digital signage market these days...

What If Gen Y Wants to Be Behaviorally Targeted, asks AdAge a few days ago? I spend a fair amount of time working on plans to prevent dystopian, Minority Report-like futures, but maybe I'm just barking up the wrong tree. Maybe I'm just getting too old...

Herb Sorensen posted a fun article deconstructing the shopping trip that's been making its way around our slew of industry publications. It's a short read, and well worth it for anybody dabbling with media in the retail space.

Zoom Media's $30 Million Cash Infusion has of course been much talked about already, and is a harbinger of things to come. There are so many small, struggling networks out there that may fail or simply give up during these relatively hard times. The few strong, healthy and aggressive players with balance sheets that let them raise cash are going to make a killing absorbing these smaller guys, expanding their reach, and then bumping up fees and/or service offerings when the economy permits it.

Don't forget to vote for the best digital signage content over at POPAI's 2009 Digital Signage Viewer's Choice Contest.

Think the TV and cable networks are just going to sit back and watch while we try and steal a tiny share of their market? Think again, says the New York Times. Apparently, cable companies are already targeting commercials to audience members, and their experiments will probably soon turn into nation-wide deployments. Their use of demographic data, purchase history information and other personal info floating out there in the aether apparently lets them target almost down to the individual level. Cool. Scary.

Ricoh is launching a wind-powered ad in Times Square. 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels will power the 42nd and 7th Av electronic billboard, saving 18 tons of carbon per year and about $12,000 to $15,000 a month in electricity. Holy crap. $15,000 a month in electricity. Suddenly my South Florida summertime power bills don't looks so bad.

The market for digital signage products and services is set to rise 33% this year, according to a research firm. I actually spoke to ABI Research's Zippy Aima while she was putting together this report, and while 33% seems a trifle optimistic depending on how apocalyptic the day's economic forecast is, it seems completely within reach as well. Adrian reports that big things are afoot in the big deal space, and as we've told you before, there are other places where digital signage deals are happening right now too.

Vote for the best digital signage content

2009-03-05T12:17:00.001-05:00

While POPAI's Digital Signage Contest winners won't be announced until GlobalShop next month, here's a chance to check out some of the great content and network implementations that were submitted this year.

All you have to do is visit this webpage, watch the video (which comes out to about 30 minutes in total, so maybe do it a little at a time ;), and then choose the entry that you like the best.

The winner of this "Viewer's Choice Award" (which is what I'm calling it -- POPAI probably has a more legally-correct name) will be given a special award at the Awards Gala on March 24.

If nothing else, this is a good opportunity to see what some really great digital signage content looks like (notice that some people even follow our best practices for in-store TV network content). There's plenty of less-great content in there as well, but if anything it will help you to recognize the key differences that separate the two.

Wanna save $600 on the next digital signage content strategies summit?

2009-03-04T13:33:00.001-05:00

The folks at Strategy Institute are kindly offering readers of this blog a $100 discount in addition to the typical $500 discount for pre-registering for this event (which is in May, in Las Vegas). The speaker lineup looks pretty decent, with the following folks lined up to talk:

Al Wittemen, Managing Director of Shopper Marketing, TracyLocke
Christopher Gray, Psy.D. VP of Shopper Psychology, Saatchi & Saatchi X
Mike Geiger, Chief Digital Officer, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
Doug Bolin, Experience Lead/Content Strategy Lead, Razorfish
Andreas Redlich, Executive Creative Director, Publicis Germany
Peter Müller-Brühl, Business Development Leader, Fischer Appelt, TV Media
Brian Hirsh, President, Retail Entertainment Design
Lon Otremba, CEO, Access 360 Media

Notice something? That's right, there's not a single digital signage vendor up there giving a content-themed pitch (*cough* *cough*). While that's bad news for wannabes like me, I'd much rather listen to TracyLocke's Al Wittemen than myself any day (read a few of his HUB articles and you'll understand why), and firms like Razorfish, Saatchi & Saatchi X and Publicis are some of the biggest in the biz.

I plan to and check it out, though the thought of chillin' in Las Vegas YET AGAIN (and after GlobalShop, no less) is less than ideal. Interested in joining me? Here are the salient details:

The early bird discount is $500, so the current price is $995 and Digital Signage News readers can get another 10% off by entering the code DSN10 at the time of registration.

The event is officially called "The 4th Annual Digital Signage Content Strategies Summit", and complete details are at http://www.strategyinstitute.com/051209_content/dsp.php

And it's on May 12 and 13, 2009 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas

The morning press - digital signage news for March 3

2009-03-03T11:23:00.001-05:00

So I've finally caught up on my email, chat transcripts and plain 'ol snail mail having been out last week. There definitely have been some news-worthy events lately, and while lots of them have already gotten coverage, I thought I'd add to the unholy din just a bit :)

Tesco disconnects their in-store TV network: The much-ballyhooed network is being shut off according to insiders. While the PR takes the "green" angle saying that they don't want to spew more carbon into the atmosphere just to run some flat panels, we suspect it has a lot more to do with the impossibly optimistic numbers that Dunnhumby promised to hit, did actually manage for a while, and then lost control of.

While some have taken to speculating that Tesco's network's demise is a harbinger of things to come for our industry, as numerous news outlets remind us, while Dunnhumby did a great deal of work on optimizing their content, the screen placement in each store still left much to be desired, once again pointing to long-term efficacy problems.

As I've noted to any number of people who've asked for my opinion on the matter, Tesco, much like Walmart, doesn't bother with anything that isn't profitable, and they're quick to cut costs wherever possible when marketing programs underperform. While Tesco TV (or whatever they wound up calling it) was a high-profile deployment in our industry, to Tesco it was probably just one more initiative that needed to be cost-justified, wasn't, and was subsequently dismantled.

SeeSaw was selected as a DOOH ad buying "standard", and CBS and a number of agencies signed up (or had already done so) to show their support and... you know... actually buy and place ads. Aiming to become the "Google of the burgeoning digital out-of-home media marketplace," as Mediapost puts it, SeeSaw is taking an all-software approach to integrating the diverse media silos of today's ad planners, agencies and screen networks. While this approach will allow them to scale quickly and cheaply, one wonders how much buy-in they're going to get outside of cutting-edge players. I still have to imagine that many buyers -- even sophisticated ones -- are going to need some hand-holding for the next year or two.

Bill Collins, Tracy Locke and Reflect Systems put together a great whitepaper for implementing digital signage at retail. Click here to get it (PDF).

Important, FREE POPAI Digital session - Tuesday, 2/24 before the DSE

2009-02-23T08:34:00.001-05:00

POPAI, the global organization for marketing at-retail, is holding a general session meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, February 24th from 5 - 6 p.m. PST in room N261 at Las Vegas Convention Center. This session is free to everyone, regardless of whether you're a current POPAI member or not. There's sure to be some general business, but if you're a retailer, a CPG manufacturer, or a DOOH marketer/vendor, you need to attend this meeting because the big topic of the day will be:

The announcement of a NEW Digital Privacy Standards Initiative

In response to some low-level public outcry over in-store traffic (e.g. "billboards that watch you back"), POPAI has been assembling a marketer's code of conduct to address key consumer privacy issues before the government decides to do it for us.

This will be the first unveiling of the major points of the program, and if you want to affect change in the industry, it'd be worth a few minutes to join us and voice your opinions.

If you need additional information or won't be able to make it but want to make sure your voice is heard, you can contact me at expo-bg @ wirespring .com

Digital Signage Standards group meeting today!

2009-02-23T08:22:00.001-05:00

If you're in Vegas early for the DSE and have participated on any of the POPAI technical standards calls or meetings since the group started last year, you're invited to join us today to hammer out some of the details for digital media playback. The topics we're covering will include playlists, file metadata (tags), and setting a time line for the release of this standard as well as our first standard for media types and formats.

So stop by the LVCC at around 2pm PST today (Monday). We'll be in room N249.

Signs and the Single Woman

2009-02-21T12:14:00.002-05:00

Before heading off to the Expo, Bill posted a recent list of digital signage news of interest. One of the most intriguing – the finding that single images appeal to viewers (especially those over 40) caught my eye. Having read over the full study and analysis by Photo Finish, I wasn't too surprised by the insights into age and income segmented markets – it seems a bit obvious that younger people who deal in a lot of interactive multi-screen formats would be more comfortable with collage and multiple images than older folks who prefer single shots with more emotional content. I’m also not going to bet my money on some of the right brain/left brain gender differences they cite, as that biological research has a fair number of flaws. Better to suggest that there simply are differences in the ways men and women approach the world than search for some flimsy baseline reasons why.

But one insight that caught my attention was one about single women: After slicing and dicing the over-40 market, they remind us:

“Don’t forget single women! There are 13.1 million single women over 50. Only 3.6 million are low income. They’re known for girlfriend getaways and will buy fewer but better things. They should be included in your marketing, whether alone or in groups, and pictured as independent, capable and confident.”

Single or not, women are still more frequently the object on the billboard than the subject to whom content is directed. Racked.com does a great job surveying buildings, design, and billboards in New York City. From their random samples and a general analysis of urban advertising, it appears that most big ad campaigns focus on the “sex sells” message. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, per se (although debates about the appropriateness of American Apparel, Calvin Klein, and other campaigns that push the edge are still, I think, important. We don't want censorship, but we do want to consider what's tasteful. Even though Absolut Vodka’s recent “ad” in Sex and the City reverses the gaze to the male body, these campaigns are still limited in their demographic appeal. Ironically enough, the depth of cultural gender bias in sexy ads is obvious in that I'm comfortable posting the Dove Real Beauty image, but I'm going to ask you to go find the racy naked vodka hunk through a link. It's worth it.).

For the most part, the basic idea of sexuality that’s being sold is still anchored around the “Will I look like that if I buy this product?” model of advertising. It’s extremely difficult to find major visual urban ad campaigns pitched at women that draw upon the insights that Photo Finish suggests.

But what of the insight that women are the largest consumer group today? That as the Boomer population ages, women (regardless of their marital status) will likely remain the larger statistically significant demographic group? That women’s employment rates will remain high – and most likely go up – as the current economic trend continues? That as women gather more income-generating power, the advertising has to appeal beyond the direct social roles as mothers, wives, girlfriends, sex objects? Certainly industry leaders in advertising are beginning to recognize this. And having women in positions to determine advertising content helps (see this great review of a recent history of women in advertising). But the tech-side of the industry (read: digital signage) has been historically oriented towards men.

In looking over the current array of urban billboards and digital signs, it strikes me that in a desire to appear cutting edge, hip, and tech-savvy, marketers are forgetting basic research into what, as Freud would say, women want. Take a look at these recent billboards and think it through before you pitch your next campaign at June Cleaver or Claudia Schiffer.

(and by the way, the "Husband Wanted" billboard is real, while the "Dear Steve..." one is a promotional teaser for Parco, PI, a short lived reality show on Court TV.)

image sources: the New York Times photo archive, Racked.com, and Australian News Service.

The morning press - digital signage news for February 19

2009-02-19T10:37:00.001-05:00

Morning, folks. I just noticed my morning press posts haven't been posting appropriately, and are now lost to the ether. Here are some of the things I meant to post this week:

Wireless Ronin loses more money (they blew through nearly half their cash reserves in 2008). I know, I know, it hardly even seems like news anymore, but as one of the very few publicly-traded digital signage vendors, they at least show a model of what not to do.

Peter Breen at ISMI says "no promises broken with P.R.I.S.M.", noting that, "whatever the future 'reality' of a syndicated service delivering store traffic estimates and other data, P.R.I.S.M.'s 'promise' has already been achieved," by raising awareness and "staring the conversation" that needs to be had about in-store media.

Nike puts together snowboarders, bar codes and MMS, though not necessarily digital signs (yet). With the program, "bar codes [are printed] on the posters that Nike hands out to people. When a person takes a picture of the bar code next to a photo of an athlete in the poster and sends it to a short code set up for the campaign, he receives a short video clip and other info featuring the athlete back to his phone."

FTC to Marketers: Self-Regulate Behavioral Targeting. Why is this important to us? Because very soon -- especially if you follow the consumer privacy circles -- it's likely that we'll get the same request. Online privacy is one thing, but I'm guessing that people will get an even creepier feeling if their offline activities are managed and recorded, so self-regulation is going to be vital. I expect to see POPAI say something about this real soon now.

Digital Signage Contest of the Year Contest winner announced

2009-02-18T16:18:00.003-05:00

As you no doubt recall, last week I announced the first-ever Digital Signage Contest of the Year Contest, to celebrate the outstanding awesomeness and strategic leveraged paradigm synergies of the plethora of digital signage contests out there. Via blog comments, email and twitter I got plenty of votes for winners. Some serious, some... decidedly less so.

But in the end, I thought, "who am I to judge these contests? And is one contest really any better than another?" So I decided to do the pragmatic thing and name all of you winners! That's right, anyone and everyone running a digital signage contest has just officially won the Contest of the Year Contest! If you want to share your success with the rest of the world, you can simply download this badge and proudly display it on your site:

I didn't want to get into the infinite loop of awarding my own contest the contest contest award (try saying that three times fast), so I created -- and awarded myself -- the first ever digital signage contest contest contest award!

So congratulations to all of us! We're all winners! Hooray!

Bill's Digital Signage Expo Schedule

2009-02-13T10:56:00.001-05:00

In an attempt to avoid some of the sillyness with missed meetings and confused times last year, here's my public schedule for the DSE show (I'll be cross-posting this to the WireSpring blog shortly):

Monday, 2/23 - 2PM - 5PM: POPAI Technical Standards committee meeting. If you're part of the tech standards group, you'll be getting an email shortly with the final info for room number, etc.

Tuesday - 8AM - 5PM: DSE Content Day and Mobile/Gestural Signage Day. Specifically:

11am - 12 pm Giving a talk on "7 Proven Strategies for Better Digital Signage Results"
1:15pm - 2:30pm Moderating a panel on "Social Networking and User-Generated Content: Expanding the Mobile Digital Signage Footprint and Giving Users the Platform"

I believe that there's going to be a POPAI general meeting of some sort at 5PM on Tuesday. I'll post details when they're out.

Wednesday and Thursday I'll be out and about, or on the show floor with a partner in booth 851. It's way, way the hell in the back of the expo. Yeah, I've already got a bunch of meetings lined up there, but somebody at the booth should always know where I am.

In an effort to make myself as accessible as possible, I've hooked a special email address up to my Blackberry (which might not seem like much to you, but I never hook my regular email up to my Blackberry). If you want to get in touch with me, more or less instantly, next week, just email expo-bg at wirespring dot com.

I've also started using Twitter. I doubt I'll ever be one of those OCD people who have to constantly announce to the world what they're doing, but if I see or hear anything particularly interesting I'll try and post. It's also another way to get in touch with me if you for some reason have SMS or web access, but can't send email :)

Follow Bill on Twitter

The morning press - digital signage news for February 4

2009-02-13T10:30:00.001-05:00

Morning, folks. Yeah, I've over-extended myself again. Sorry for the lack of posts. Craving digital signage news? I have a few odds and ends for you, then:

Mature Adults Gravitate to Vibrant, Single-Image Ads says strategy firm Creative Results. The results aren't particular to digital signage, but in my opinion, that gives them even more credibility than if they were. Looks like all of us taking the "full screen, damnit" position weren't completely off our rockers... Maybe.

"12 months from now you won't be able to get a buy if you can't quote an OVAB standard measurement," says Adcentricity's Graeme Spicer. I suspect he's talking about a national or regional buy by a major brand. Hyper-local advertising will have no such problem. And small, local brands and services still make up the majority of DOOH advertising dollars (excluding Walmart's network, as usual).

Trofie + Danoo Report 24%-53% Boost In Magazine Sales. Manolo Almagro did a nice interview with Christine Crowley, Trofie’s CEO/Managing partner, who explained how they're getting the most out of their digital signage network.

Denny's Launches Digital OOH Network - Supposedly to support "marketing initiatives such as its Rockstar Menu." I'll be interested to see how their content strategy evolves over time.

Today's Minority-Report dystopian fantasy, courtesy of The Telegraph, suggests that "Televisions 'to be fitted in contact lenses within ten years'" Insert your DOOH joke here.

Lamar's Testing Solar-Powered Digital Billboards, favoring solar cells and light-reflecting e-ink instead of traditional LEDs. The solution requires much lower power, but of course also requires daylight (or power-sucking spotlights) to be seen.

Mike Dotson has an insightful commentary on the state of retail technology over at Retail Bulletin. In sum, cost-reducing solutions like advanced planning and automation tools will continue to sell well through the recession. Anything aimed at "driving sales" will have a tougher time.

Digital Signage News Announces new Digital Signage Contest of the Year Contest!!!!!!

2009-02-06T10:23:00.003-05:00

[3:00 UPDATE]: The comments are getting pretty entertaining. Make sure to read 'em all :)

Man of the year, woman of the year, display of the year, network of the year, best vendors, best screens, best installations....

These contests are getting even more elaborate and numerous than the number of companies in the digital signage industry itself (and that's really saying something). But maybe you find yourself saying, "sure, I could win any of those contests, but which one is the best?!!" Well, I wondered that very same thing.

That's why I'm announcing the first annual

Digital Signage Contest of the Year Contest!

That's right! We'll pick the very best digital signage contest, make a little website graphic for it, and maybe do a press release (so it looks official!) I'll bet you're as excited about it as I am! So hurry up and leave your vote today!

Transit Television shuts down, files for Chapter 7

2009-02-06T09:21:00.001-05:00

It's bad enough when a company in our space files for bankruptcy, but we all know the drill: high up-front costs coupled with uncertain advertiser demand and even less certain consumer response makes our industry a dangerous one to play in. It's worse, though, when the company decides not to give it another shot under different management, but instead decides to just take its marbles and go home.

But that's exactly what Transit TV is doing - instead of filing for Chapter 11 "restructuring," they've opted for Chapter 7 "you can take our stuff, but we don't owe you nothin'." It's a shame, considering their potential scope:

Transit TV is North America's biggest transit-based digital
advertising network operator. The company has installed and operates
digital ad technology on the transit systems in Los Angeles, Chicago,
Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Orlando, Fla.
Transit TV provides
advertising on 8,500 television screens and is seen by more than 500
million riders a year on nearly 4,000 vehicles.

But then, digital signage in moving vehicles has had a VERY rocky start everywhere it's been tried, from the dozen or so companies that have cut their teeth trying in-ride kiosks and screens in Las Vegas taxi cabs, to the much maligned NY10 taxi network in New York City.

I'm just wondering if IdeaCast, who had expressed interest in buying the network a few times, might now be willing to pick up the firm's assets on the cheap, and give it another try without quite as considerable an expenditure as Transit TV had.

How much was Coolsign worth? About $5.5M, I guess

2009-02-04T10:52:00.001-05:00

At least, that's my take on reading Planar's quarterly statement:

As previously reported, the Company sold its Coolsign digital signage
software assets via two separate transactions in the first quarter,
resulting in a combined $5.5 million GAAP gain. Approximately half of
the cash proceeds from these transactions were received in the first
quarter, with the balance received in the second quarter of the current
fiscal year. In addition, as previously disclosed, the Company recorded
a $0.5 million restructuring charge related to the Company’s most recent
cost reduction plan undertaken during the first quarter.

Sooooo, that's a LOT less than many had expected (and certainly a lot less than Planar had paid for the company to begin with), but more than the $1-3M reported on DailyDOOH a few days ago.

The morning press - digital signage news for February 4

2009-02-04T10:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm behind the 8-ball again (still?), but there really have been some great articles on the web lately that are worth the read if you're involved in any digital out-of-home or shopper marketing activities. Among them are:

Times Square 'Jumbli' Sign Offers 24/7 Interactivity - This must make the LocaModa crew happy. AdAge reports on the Jumbli phenomenon in their 3 Minute Ad Age clip for today.

Augmented reality locates the closest ATM - A new software application uses your mobile phone's GPS receiver and digital compass to give directions to nearby ATMs. While that's not particularly amazing, the app, called ING Wegweijzer can overlay directions onto real-time views of the surrounding area, which is pretty cool.

AV industry guru Gary Kayye has launched a digital signage newsletter. The first edition just came out recently, with another slated for late February. If his coverage of our industry is anything like it is for the AV guys, it'll be well worth a follow.

WireSpring was named one of the Top 10 digital signage vendors by none other than Adrian Cotterill of DailyDOOH. Were there 9 others on the list? Yeah, but we're obviously the best.

First, the signs saved us from zombies. Now, we averted a nasty raptor uprising. Something tells me that road-side sign hacks are going to start popping up all over the place now.

More hype about ads that watch you back - score another PR win for Trumedia. You know what I'm watching out for now? FTC regulation.

Freelance writer Blaise Nutter points out 5 tips for successful DOOH advertising which are pretty spot on, if not a bit elementary for those in the biz already. A good, short read for those new to the industry.

A little more morning news for you...

2009-01-29T10:25:00.001-05:00

No sooner had I popped up the last post than I noticed a few missing entries:

POPAI's Digital Signage Contest entries are due tomorrow! This is the last extension, so after tomorrow you'll just have to wait till next year. The app only takes a few minutes to fill out, so don't let that stop you. And remember, if you or one of your vendors is a POPAI member, you can enter for a very reduced rate.

Thomson still looking to divest PRN - The unit (best known for running Walmart's in-store TV network for... forever, basically) is probably one of the healthier and more growth-prone in the conglomerate's control, so it will be a painful divestiture, but one needed to meet certain requirements of French law.

Outcast brings pump-top signage to New York - I've yet to hear any consumers say anything positive about pump-top digital signage (no offense intended to Outcast or any other network provider), but they seem to be growing, so perhaps we only hear from the complaint-prone :)

Transit TV tapped to sell... books? Doesn't seem like it makes sense at first glance, but the article notes that with the introduction of "book trailers", publishers have noticed a difference, and passengers (who apparently tend to be open to reading) have high recall of the spots.

The morning press - digital signage news for January 29

2009-01-29T10:03:00.001-05:00

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

Need to put a touch screen digital sign in a bad part of town? Concerned you might get caught in a drive-by? Don't worry, Vissumo's got you covered - literally. Their new display will stop 9mm bullets in their tracks.

Using Digital Signage At Banks To Cross Sell Products & Services - Sure it's a fairly straightforward piece, and sure it's written by a vendor (a competitor, no less!), so it's certain to be biased, but digital signage in banks get limited press compared to "real" retail. Go ahead, take 2 minutes and give it a read.

How Digital Signage Can Help in a Tough Economy - John DeWitt does a good job of covering the digital signage market in a way that's useful to AV integrators. His topic today is something at the top of many companies' minds.

Does “What You See” Really Influence “What You Get”? - Evan at StorefrontBacktalk has a great article about how perception influences reality at the point of sale.

Tokyo's testing E-paper signs for disaster prevention. I wonder if they have an icon for "Godzilla attack" yet?

NEC Launches Eye Flavor, Japan's First All-in-One Digital Signage Board with Face Recognition Technology - It only works on Japanese faces right now (not sure how that is), and it costs over $20K, so it's not exactly ready for mass consumption. But if you weren't worried about the impact of being recognized everywhere you go just yet, maybe you should be :)

Out-of-home can create deep connections - Mat Zucker from Agency.com takes a look at some of the interesting digital out-of-home projects going on, and what they mean for marketers, agencies and brands.

Articles I'm not going to get around to writing about

2009-01-28T22:40:00.001-05:00

Every few weeks I find that my browser is cluttered up with so many tabs of articles that I hoped to write about, but never got around to. Here are a few of the most recent, all of which deserved some attention, and are very much well worth a quick read:

10 Irrational Human Behaviors and How to Leverage Them to Improve Web Marketing - There are plenty of parallels to marketing on digital signs and other in-store media.

The Art of the Billboard, Due for a Comeback - "Modern billboards continue to stretch the envelope in innovative ways, using physical space and perspective to intrigue and inspire."

IAA Finds Advertisers Wary of Google - Advertisers are wary of google. Web site owners are wary of google. Consumers are wary of google. The government is wary of google. Tell me... is there anybody who isn't wary of google anymore? Should that maybe tell us something?

Boon for Billboards: Digital Leads Growth for Out-of-Home Ads - Ad Age says "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. " No No No No No NO! Bad Ad Age!

Brands can benefit from the 'certainty principle' - I think I still will write about this one at Retail Media News - "when properly measured, the 'category ideal' and how brands measure up against it can be predictive of consumer behaviour some 9 to 18 months before it shows up in the marketplace."

Bad Times Affect Ad Recall for Bowl Spots - Stress makes us remember less, which is becoming a big problem for advertisers. Retail media has the benefit of recency and context specificity, but we're still not immune.

Google Halts Print Ads Program - Not everything they touch turns to gold.

Miller Mocks A-B With One-Second Ads - Thought we had it tough coming up with 3-7 second spots for retail TV networks? Miller's gonna do it in 1!

Great Ideas Come From Those Who Are Willing to Experiment - Stop Mining the Past for Inspiration.

Does Content Equal Revenue? - While "Content is King!" has become the general consensus, monetizing that content has become the question for the masses of content producers.

Winning in a Brave New World: Value and the Retailer - With shoppers spending less overall, shopping in new channels, trading down to lower-tier or private-label products, and clipping coupons, retailers across the board are positioning themselves as destinations for value.

I hope these articles proved as interesting to you as they did me. If you have any insightful commentary on them (since I didn't), feel free to leave your thoughts below. Or, blog about them yourself and send me the link!

The morning press - digital signage news for January 27

2009-01-27T11:12:00.001-05:00

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

This dumb press release says Network Digital Signage Will Save the Big Three and the Super Bowl. I'm not sure if they've noticed that our industry, at best, is inching over the $1B mark. I think that's about as much as GM all by itself lost before breakfast this morning.

Personalized Ads Attract Big Spenders, Frequent Shoppers, according to ChoiceStream. Now, they were studying online advertising, and not our out-of-home stuff, but from a psychological perspective one would imagine similar results in our medium. Unfortunately, advertising special offers -- particularly those adjusting the price or any kind of financing options -- and not allowing any visitor to take advantage of them is illegal in the US.

Hotels.com is playing with Digital OOH, starting with a :30 spot as well as a custom :120 spot to run on three IdeaCast platforms: Airline TV, Health Club TV and Six Flags TV. Their goal will be to reach their core audience of travelers, "at key aperture moments when a travel message is much more relevant." I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds neat.

Marketing Execs Struggle to Show ROI, says The Conference Board. "They shouldn't be marketing execs, then," says I.

Retailer Daily has a nice summary piece titled "In-Store Video Networks Catch Shoppers at Crucial Moment" up on their site. There isn't a lot of new news for those of you already following the industry. But for the few retail execs that somehow haven't yet heard about digital signage, it's a good look at why our medium is becoming so important.

Roku Announces New BrightSign Digital Signage Product Line, which seems weird to me. After all, they make the set-top boxes that Netflix uses, and have some great technology for the consumer space. How much extra money can they possibly expect to make from digital signage?

Schering-Plough plans to place the industry’s largest paid buy, estimated to be close to $10 million, which is set to run during the second quarter on as many as a dozen different digital signage networks.

Nielsen Suspends PRISM Data System, which is a bit of a let down after all of the hype and buzz that the in-store media measurement program had generated over the past few years. I'm going to be looking at this in a bit more detail (as well as the Schering-Plough thing above) a little later at the WireSpring Digital Signage Blog.

Here's an article about the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Using a Digital Signage Network to Communicate with Department Personnel and Inmates. Presumably not at the same time. Unless working at the Sheriff's Department really sucks.

SeeSaw Adds Eight Network Affiliates, bringing their total to a lot. The new networks add inventory across 700 new venues and 3.5 million weekly impressions to SeeSaw's growing portfolio of digital out-of-home inventory. Combined, SeeSaw's convenience network delivers 10 million weekly impressions across more than 2,500 locations.

We've also heard that s3mer, inc. introduces cross-platform digital signage software, realizes that the only business model worse than digital signage is free digital signage (thanks for that one, Jeremy), and decides to charge a hefty monthly fee per player instead.

Nielsen suspends the P.R.I.S.M project

2009-01-23T17:31:00.001-05:00

Just got this notice in an email:

The Nielsen Company confirmed today that it has suspended plans to launch a syndicated data service based on the P.R.I.S.M. initiative.
"Given the nation's serious economic state, Nielsen and its clients have decided [that] this is not the right environment to launch a national syndicated service," according to an official statement released on Friday. "As a result, Nielsen is suspending [the] service indefinitely."
Nielsen's statement asserts that the industry "as a whole is very supportive of a syndicated service" that would provide metrics for measuring consumer reach within the store, but that "many clients ... are not in a position to fully fund" the project in the current economic environment. The company said that it will offer custom work for interested clients "until a syndicated service is financially viable" for enough of them in the future.
The P.R.I.S.M. initiative was originally launched in 2006 by a consortium of consumer product manufacturers and supporting retailers spearheaded by the In-Store Marketing Institute. The goal was to establish a valid metric for estimating shopper traffic by using a store's sales data and other obtainable pieces of information.
In December 2006, the consortium selected Nielsen to commercialize the project and develop a nationally syndicated system that would provide the industry with data on the audience for in-store marketing activity. Nielsen launched a new business unit, called Nielsen In-Store, and set out to create a service that not only would provide audience measurements, but also would gauge marketing effectiveness by auditing the presence of in-store marketing materials. The company's original timetable called for the syndicated service to be launched by the end of 2007.
Last month, Nielsen announced that Walmart -- which had supported the P.R.I.S.M. initiative from the outset -- had decided not to participate in the data syndication service.

"It's really a shame," said Peter Hoyt, Executive Director of the In-Store Marketing Institute. "We all has such high hopes for this. There were some incredible findings though, and I imagine that sooner or later someone else will appear who can build on the bones of this failed effort."

Whether or not Walmart's exit was the cause of the project's failure, or just a sign that it was already headed downhill is something I don't know yet, but it can't be a good thing when one of your original backers -- and an early proponent of the program -- leaves right before you're about to take it public.

With Nielsen out of the game for the time being, one wonders whether POPAI will attempt to step up their own MARI program, or if, like Nielsen, they'll sit on the sidelines until the economy improves and more retailers and CPG manufacturers decide to open their wallets again.

Tags: prism, nielsen

Welcoming Experiate to the blog party!

2009-01-21T15:11:00.001-05:00

Paul Flanigan, who runs the in-store network at Best Buy recently let me know that he's starting up a new blog dedicated to customer engagement via digital signage. While there are plenty of digital signage news, technology and business blogs out there (sometimes I feel like I'm writing a dozen of them myself), there are few devoted to making the content work. That's where Paul comes in. In his words,

"The digital signage industry is evolving into a network of compelling storytelling, and I feel the time is right to start an open collaboration with brands, agencies, and locations to understand the value of content, shed light on industry trends, and give my thoughts on the industry. I started a new blog because I'm trying to help educate the industry on the value of great content/storytelling in digital signage."

There are already a few articles up, and we expect to see great things from Paul in the future. So good luck, Paul, and I hope you stick with it. Blogging can quickly turn from a fun passtime to an unhealthy obsession to a giant weight dragging you down to the murky depths. Here's hoping you can make it past all of that to the plain of mediocre satisfaction :)

The morning press - digital signage news for January 21

2009-01-21T11:00:00.001-05:00

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

Health Club Media Network Picks Met|Hodder As Digital Advertising and Content Producer of Record: You don't hear about too many digital signage AORs, but Met|Hodder has been working hard to make sure that their agency is top-of-mind when talking about digital out-of-home projects.

Tough times mean bad ad recall rates: "According to a Gallup & Robinson study of 12 years' worth of surveys about recall and likeability of advertising that appears in the annual pigskin classic, there is a direct relationship between the confidence people have in the economy and the attention they pay to Super Bowl commercials." I would love to have seen if this carries over to other TV advertising slots as well. And of course there's no correlation here with what happens inside the store.

Clear Channel Lays Off 9% of Work Force: "Clear Channel Communications eliminated about 1,850 positions across its corporate, outdoor and radio divisions, representing a 9% of the company's work force." The company notes that they had to cut less than Citigroup, but that hardly seems comforting to me (and probably even less so to the newly laid-off employees).

Proving that not everything that Google touches turns to gold, they've halted their print ads program, noting that, "we hoped that Print Ads would create a new revenue stream for newspapers and produce more relevant advertising for consumers, the product has not created the impact that we -- or our partners -- wanted." I know a lot of folks are waiting on the side lines hoping that Google will soon release an AdWords for Out-of-Home Media, but so they might want to reconsider that standpoint a bit.

Futuristic Security Checkpoints Know What You Do Before You Do It: Since this industry is enamored with all things Minority Report for some reason, I thought this article fitting. "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is developing a system called Future Attribute Screening Technology, or FAST for short. Homeland Security ran a test in September of 140 volunteers using a FAST prototype. The system was very accurately able to pick out people with hostile intent. 'We're still very early on in this research, but it is looking very promising,' says DHS science spokesman John Verrico. 'We are running at about 78% accuracy on mal-intent detection, and 80% on deception.'" That hit rate is pretty terrible (though perhaps on-par with some of today's demographic ID systems in use in retail stores), but expect this kind of government tech to trickle down into the private sector for marketing purposes.

The morning press - digital signage news for January 19

2009-01-19T10:41:00.001-05:00

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.

The morning (afternoon) press - digital signage news for January 16

2009-01-16T12:38:00.001-05:00

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

A look at two digital POS systems - Doesn't sound like it has a lot to do with digital signage, but when you see what the POS systems of tomorrow (or today, if you're willing to pay for bleeding-edge) gets you, you'll understand why the name of the game is now: convergence (not the company, the noun).

NVIDIA's Ion platform will probably be useful for a lot of digital signage applications if they can really deliver on their promise of a $400-ish (more like $450 with wifi) option using Intel's Atom processor and their own GPU. Atom's slow as a dog, but the introduction of the Nvidia GPU means we can offload more work onto it, making this thing possibly viable in our market.

L.A. Introduces Bill to Ban Digital Signs ’til 2012: It's so funny that L.A. of all places would have a problem with digital billboards (ok, I guess Las Vegas or NYC would e even more ironic). But apparently the powers-that-be at the city council are serious about banning roadside digital billboards.

Have a great weekend, folks!

Tags: digital signage, digital signage news

Looking for more digital signage info? Check out WireSpring's Kiosk and Digital Signage blog for in-depth industry analysis and even more news about the digital signage industry. While you're there, feel free to read up on our digital signage software and services

More digital signage contest news

2009-01-16T10:41:00.001-05:00

Digital Signage Contest - Early Deadline is TODAY

I told ya last week, and I told ya again yesterday, so it should come as no surprise.

Late Deadline Extended to January 30

But have no fear, if you haven't gotten your entry in on time for today, we're extending the late deadline to January 30 (since there are a couple of federal holidays in the mix between now and then). Click here to get started with the application process, read the rules, and get the online video tutorial.

Last Call for Contest Judges

Finally, we're still looking for a few more judges who can bring some unique perspective to the contest. If you'd like to judge the digital signage contest, contact:

Alicia Rutherford, Coordinator, Global/National/Regional Events
POPAI, The Global Association for Marketing at Retail
703.373.8805

Tags: digital signage, contest, popai

The morning press - digital signage news for January 15

2009-01-15T14:09:00.001-05:00

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

WSJ Examines the Pre-Shopper Phenomenon: We just talked about it in a recent blog article on the WireSpring Digital Signage Blog - basically people who have to do research online before heading to the store.

Retailers are making breakthroughs in understanding their customers’ minds. Here is what they know about you. It's from The Economist, so you know it's for real ;)

Could targeted ads work on TV? Simon Kendrick thinks about what happens when TV ads are sold more like digital signs.

Adcentricity releases a new media planning tool: That makes two for them, and close to a dozen (that I know about) for the industry. I think it's time to start working on aggregator aggregator software.

US retailers must invest to beat recession - Deloitte has decided that the only way to make it through these tough times is to spend, and spend big.

Two reminders: Digital Signage Contest Entry deadline is TOMORROW! (and take my survey!)

2009-01-15T13:38:00.003-05:00

It's contest entry time!

So I mentioned a few days ago that POPAI's DS Contest deadline was looming. If you want to enter the contest (and you should), and you don't want to pay any late entry fees (and you shouldn't), make sure to get your entries in tomorrow.

Click here for the rules (or to start your online entry).

Click here to see the online video tutorial.

Don't forget to take our survey!

The other item I want to remind everyone about is the 2009 reader's poll going on at the WireSpring Digital Signage Blog. We've been blogging for a while -- about 5 years -- and we want to find out what we can do better. While the focus of the survey is the blog on wirespring.com, the suggestions we get about article types, etc. will certainly be reflected here too.

Click here to read the background article

Click here to just take the survey (it'll only take a minute -- I promise).

The morning press - digital signage news for January 13

2009-01-13T10:47:00.001-05:00

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

Intel unveils a new combination POS/digital sign terminal: Ok, another big manufacturer and brand is involved in the space. That alone is still newsworthy. But considering that Dell, IBM and NCR already have similar offerings with equivalent capabilities, what does Intel know that the rest of them haven't figured out, if anything?

Danoo Expands OOH Net to Airports: This was interesting to me, because at first glance it appears to be quite far away from Danoo's original mission. Can hyperlocal advertising work out in airport environments?

Organic says "the art of the billboard" is due for a comeback: Admit it. You've clicked on one of those Digg links to pages filled with unique, crazy and creative outdoor ads only to think "that can't be real." But according to Omnicom unit Organic, that kind of outdoor spectacle might become more commonplace in the near future.

Eiki acquires .advancedMethod: Wow, grammar at the beginning of a company name. That's gritty. Hopefully Eiki will be able to integrate the firm in a way more elegant than renaming them to Eiki.advancedMethod a'la the $7M PriceWaterhouseCooper PR debacle of the mid-1990s.

Spacenet Provides Integrated End-to-End Digital Media Solutions: While Hughes decided to acquire Helius to get serious about the digital media game, Spacenet seems to be pushing forward via partnerships (for now), currently with Symon.

Haynes sees some cool stuff at NRF: Not a terribly helpful title, you say? Well, it's still worth a read, as he takes a first-hand peek at some of the new retail technology on the show floor.

Thinking of entering the digital signage contest? Check out my video tutorial!

2009-01-12T12:19:00.002-05:00

There's only a week left until you have to start paying late fees to enter POPAI's Digital Signage Contest, so why wait? If you're curious about the contest, easily confused by simple instructions, or just want to hear the sound of my melodious voice, click here to view it (and download the powerpoint, if you so choose), or if by some miracle the video actually embeds properly into this feed, you can just look at it below:

Have any questions or want last minute tips before submitting your entry this week? Feel free to leave a comment, drop my an email, use LinkedIn, Twitter, or whatever other newfangled web-2.0 connection method you like.

eMarketer's top 10 predictions from 2009

2009-01-09T11:18:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of Marketing Charts:

1. The Internet is a Buyers’ Market
2. Search Marketing Remains Recession-Resistant
3. Video Ad Spending Will Run Counter to Economic Trends
4. Social Network Shakeout
5. New Revenue Streams for Social Networks
6. E-Commerce Sales Growth From Existing Online Buyers
7. Seismic Shift in TV Ad Sales
8. More Newspaper Companies to Become Casualties
9. User-Generated Content Aggregation
10. Multicultural Marketing Will Gain Intensity Online

Notice anything missing? Don't agree with some of these predictions. I'm not convinced either. But considering that these are the predictions from eMarketer, I'm not at all surprised to see such a heavy emphasis on Internet and search marketing prospects. However, my big quibble here is that if TV spending is going to decline and newspaper advertising opportunities will further dwindle, where is all of that money going to go?

I doubt that marketers will simply contract their budgets that much. And it seems equally doubtful that they'll just plow all of that unspent cash into more online marketing activities, even if you include a massive uptick in spending on online video services. While it's certainly self-serving of me to think so, it seems totally unrealistic that shopper marketing and OOH (particularly alternative OOH) won't get a boost, since these two sectors continually match or exceed the overall value of Internet advertising.

Tags: advertising, marketing

The morning press - digital signage news for January 9

2009-01-09T10:21:00.001-05:00

Let's see, what'd I miss this week? A couple of the more interesting industry new items from the past few days:

OAAA Report 2008 OOH Revenue Flat - While researchers seem to think that digital out-of-home will see growth in 2009, the OAAA says that 2008 wasn't great: "Out of home advertising industry revenue in the USA was flat during the first nine months of 2008, accounting for $5.45 billion in advertising revenue and performing better than many other media segments. In the third quarter of the year, out of home fell six percent, accounting for $1.62 billion in total advertising expenditures."

Advertisers, Marketers Brace For Obama's Regulatory Impact - We haven't really had to deal much with government regulation in the digital signage sector (though our comrades in the digital billboard space surely wish they could say the same). However, there's a very real possibility that consumer advocates will make significant progress in getting more anti-marketing legislation passed in the coming years: "With regulatory-minded lawmakers set to oversee commerce and communications, and the credit crisis compelling even Republicans to rethink laissez-faire, there will probably be more power to oversee marketing at the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission, and more rules about everything from product placement to behavioral marketing."

Wireless Ronin Releases Automotive Digital Signage Whitepaper - I can't imagine that the automotive sector is the best place to be looking for business right now (and a note to any Congresspeople reading this: if you bail out Detroit and let them spend taxpayer money on digital signage, I'm emigrating to somewhere. Anywhere.), but Wireless Ronin seems to be plucking away at it anyway: "Included in the whitepaper is information on why the automotive industry is so interested in what digital signage has to offer, common myths on developing ROI for automotive digital signage, and the step-by-step process on developing a successful automotive digital signage ROI strategy."

Search Engine for Alternative Media - This is pretty slick. DoMedia put together a search engine for all kinds of OOH media, "from trash bins to kites to beach sand" (thanks AdLab).

Are you a cart puller? Relevation Research notes that since 74% of shoppers pull their shopping carts behind them while going down the checkout aisle, they may not be exposed to the majority of checkout-oriented marketing messages.

One captive audience I don't recommend pursuing

2009-01-08T17:38:00.001-05:00

While we've had ads for captive audiences in golf carts and ads for captive audiences in planes (perhaps the most captive audience) for some time, today the lowly automobile joins in the fun. You knew it was only a matter of time before somebody actually tried to
put ads onto the zillions of sat-nav systems shipping pre-installed in
cars these days, right? As USA Today notes:

Toyota announced Wednesday that new Lexus vehicles will start being delivered later this year with a system that includes capability for voice messages sent directly from the automaker to its drivers.
Called Lexus Insider, the service will let Lexus send audio messages to participating owners on whatever subject it chooses, from tips on making the best use of the vehicles' features to suggestions for a scenic drive.

Oh, but don't worry:

Toyota officials promise to be discerning and restrained.

The company, which has just posted its first annual operating loss in history, probably wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their relationship with their customers, who generally hold them in very high regard. But at what point does recommending a stop along a 'scenic drive' stop short of becoming an advertisement for the restaurant up the road?

A better question might be: what happens when the system gets hacked, and thousands of Lexus drivers are informed that Al's Adult Video Emporuim -- just two miles down the road -- is having a sale on edible underwear?

Tags: out-of-home advertising, captive audience networks

Gorrie's story: the $10M deal (or: how advertisers may start ditching above-the-line spots)

2009-01-08T11:03:00.001-05:00

Rob Gorrie is kicking off 2009 with a series of great blog posts. Let's hope he finds the time to keep it up for the rest of the year. If you're not a regular follower of his blog, there's at least one article that you should check out -- an anecdote from a CPG that wanted to re-think their media mix to see what a world without spending money on broadcast TV ads would look like:

In mid December (on a Monday), one of my sales people came to me, extremely excited. It turned out that a buyer had just called him, panicked, because his client (a CPG - Consumer Packaged Goods) had just told him to cancel all of their broadcast dollars for the following year (or as much as their cancellation clauses allowed). The final number to play with was around 10 million dollars. The client also said that they wanted a new plan for 2009 that didn’t include radio or TV - at all. Oh - and by the way - they wanted a new plan by Thursday. We were - of course - more than happy to help out

I don't think manufacturers or retailers are about to start abandoning TV commercials en masse just yet, but whereas in the past such a story would be completely unthinkable, the combination of a crappy economy and decreasing returns on TV ad spending has forced these companies to start looking for alternatives to their old standbys.

Tags: out-of-home advertising, retail media, ooh

Earn my eternal gratitude!!!*

2009-01-07T10:40:00.001-05:00

We're coming up on five years of blog posts (feels like 10) over at WireSpring's Digital Signage and Interactive Kiosk Blog, and getting ready to make some big changes in honor of the occasion.

If you have two minutes -- literally, it'll only take that long -- I'd greatly appreciate if you could head over there, read the very brief article, and answer the quick 10-question survey that will help point me in the right direction in the coming months and years

*Actual value of Bill's gratitude TBD. Not redeemable for cash or prizes.

I'm not the only Gerba doing this digital signage thing...

2009-01-06T15:10:00.001-05:00

That's right! My little sister Jeralyn, who works for Daily Candy (an online magazine focused on trends and events for the tragically hip), was recently asked to do a segment that appeared on ABC's Eyewitness News (presumably during the "lighter side") last week. Thanks to ABC's media sharing arrangements, Jer's face will grace the small screens in New York City cabs via TAXI-TV for the next month or so. Here's the clip (and here's the link, in case the embedded player doesn't show up for you).

The morning press - digital signage news for January 5

2009-01-06T08:30:00.001-05:00

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

Focus Media loses Sports Media unit to competitor - Bejing-based flat-screen advertiser Good Media took over its fitness-center advertising competitor Sports Media, formerly owned by Focus Media. Ding Bingwen, former Sports Media president and new Good Media chief operating officer and board member, said Focus and Sports Media split over lack of profit guarantees. Considering that the digital signage units in Focus's portfolio are the more sound (and profitable) of its operations, it's unusual to see the firm shedding them right now -- especially when there's a deal in the works between Focus and SinaVision to merge the two companies' digital out-of-home advertising units.

Staples to revamp in-store marketing - News America Marketing, who are most commonly known for their line of shelf talker advertising products for supermarkets and drug stores will apparently be assisting office supplier Staples with some changes to their in-store advertising lineup this year. Hey, the approach is effective and cheaper than TV advertising (though they've gotten plenty of mileage out of their "Easy Button" campaign), so why not?

The Economist's guide to ad sales in 2009 - Advertisers and marketers are in for some hard times to be sure, but The Economist has stepped in and put together a short presentation on precisely why it's a bad idea to automatically cut back on marketing when budgets get tightened. The one-line summary: brands drive sales, and marketing drives brands. It's 57 slides, but you can read it in 5 minutes. I highly suggest you do (here's the link for folks who don't see the embedded slideshow).

Ads on Edge

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: branding recession)

2008 Times Square wrap-up

2009-01-05T10:06:00.001-05:00

Since much attention is focused on Times Square around the holidays, it's not unusual to see articles in the paper focusing on its history, heritage, or current status as a New York City icon. However, seeing more articles about the kinds of ads featured there is still a little unusual. Sure it's one of the few places in the world where people actually go to see the ads (versus avoid them), and sure lots of big brands will try out their daring, new campaign ideas there. But thanks to increased interest in both the digital advertising sector and the out-of-home sector, 2008 turned out to be a banner year (no pun intended, I swear) for Times Square.

Wired Magazine's Meghan Keane did a nice wrap-up story about the new tech powering the square, including the ability for advertisers to change ads on a minute-by-minute basis, and interact with viewers via their mobile devices. There's a lot of detail about the Square's current capabilities as well as the upgrades it got in 2008, so is worth a quick read by anybody interested in digital out-of-home advertising.

MediaPost also did a neat article last week about Pepsi's latest Times Square extravaganza that's worth clicking on if only to look at the cool image. For the big New Year's Eve bash the firm combined digital signage, event marketing, billboards, pop-up stores, mobile media and probably a bunch of other niche plays to "carbonate" Times Square (by dropping thousands of baloons onto revelers), and then let them use a Pepsi sound stage and their mobile cameras to talk about their experience being carbonated. It's clearly not the kind of thing that the brand could do every day, but it has generated a lot of buzz for them already, and probably some considerable goodwill (well, for anybody who was there and can actually still remember anything).

More big things are being planned for 2009. We'll see a few more screens get upgraded to 720p resolution (and maybe somebody will decide to go all the way to 1080p, though that's twice the number of pixels). Campaigns featuring mobile interactivity will increase dramatically. And there will probably be more good-hearted gimmicks, like Coke's transition to wind power for their billboards (a consortium of 30 digital billboard operators have switched, which will, "prevent the release of 1,866 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. To put that in human terms, the wind-powering of Coca-Cola's billboard alone will have the equivalent effect of removing 75 passenger automobiles from the road for one year or converting 38 households to wind power for one year. The "greening" of the Coca-Cola billboard is also equivalent to reducing 376 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually or planting 471.5 acres of trees."

All in all, 2009 looks to be another good year for Times Square.

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

Walmart decides not to continue with PRISM media measurement

2009-01-02T10:11:00.001-05:00

From the "surprise, surprise" department...

Walmart has concluded that, while Nielsen's initial run of PRISM measurements were useful enough to generate some customer insights, they won't be continuing with the program in 2009. As AdAge reports:

"Walmart was pleased with the insights they gleaned" from the PRISM pilot but decided not to participate in the national syndicated service "consistent with their internal data-sharing policies." To participate in the pilot, Walmart last year partially lifted a ban that had been in place since 2001 on sharing sales data with syndicators such as Nielsen and Information Resources Inc.

Other major backers of the research effort, including Target, Kroger, P&G, Unilever and Kraft, are still planning to push the service in the coming year, but Walmart accounts for a large portion of overall shopping dollars, so having them out of the research pool isn't going to be good news for anybody hoping to purchase Nielsen PRISM data to get a better idea for what's going on inside of the retail giant.

In addition to being compliant with Walmart's own regulations about sharing data with syndicators like Nielsen, continuing with PRISM probably would have meant duplicating some work between that effort and their own in-store measurement practices, which are slated to use DS-IQ as part of their new Walmart Smart network of digital signs.

At this point, I wonder whether Walmart never really intended to go forward with PRISM, but was merely using that program as a way to verify that their own DS-IQ data was accurate. I bet Nielsen made them a good deal in order to get them on board in the first place, so for Walmart it would have been a relatively low-cost way of getting a top-notch research firm to qualify their competing offering.

Pretty sneaky, eh?

Tags: digital signage, walmart, media measurement

One more list of articles to read through before work starts again

2009-01-01T14:50:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone! I know, I know, it's a total cop-out to do two compilation posts in a row. We'll be back in action full-force next week, but if you feel the need to pass the time doing some light industry-related reading, you could do worse than to peruse:

Japanese billboards are watching back - Minority Report reference aside, it's interesting to see the difference in reactions between Japanese and American consumers when talking about outdoor billboards that use image recognition systems to monitor viewers.

Sina Gets Bargain in Focus Media Deal - It seems like just a few months ago that I was lamenting Focus Media's fall to about $35/share. But considering that on Friday they closed at around $9.09/share, it does look like Sina might be getting quite a deal (provided that Focus doesn't do anything else to tick off the Chinese government again). The nature of the deal is pretty interesting, so this WSJ article is well worth the read for business and finance junkies.

Adweek taps Walmart Smart Network as top marketing innovation - A few tweaks here, a change there, a couple zillion bucks in new hardware, and suddenly Walmart's tired old in-store TV network is the hottest thing going, if you believe Adweek.

Dave Haynes does the OVAB shuffle - Did you find the OVAB guidelines a little hard to figure out? Haynes does a good job of breaking them down into a form anybody should be able to understand.

With that, I'll leave you to enjoy the last few days of holiday downtime (if you were lucky enough to take off till the end of this week, at least).

Tags: digital signage

Happy (Digitally Enhanced) New Year

2009-01-01T14:44:00.005-05:00

Despite the nasty economic climate, digital signage always has a big place in the celebratory moments surrounding the new year – from Times Square to the Super Bowl, American pop culture still has a keen eye for the big visual – and interactive – displays that help us pronounce ourselves to the world at our most exuberant. Certainly New Year’s Eve in New York City is all about big digital signs lighting the way to 2009. According to Wired, Times Square -- with 42 digital billboards, many of them with new HD features -- is the place where the future of digital signage begins. “This year, the space has made big strides from its life as a three dimensional advertising surface to an outdoor, interactive entertainment center.”

The first piece of news to heighten the excitement is high definition: Closest to people on the street and impressive with its giant red lettering, the new JVC billboard, which measures 19 feet by 34 feet, is being promoted by the company as the first 720-line progressive big screen in Times Square, with a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio. According to Broadcasting Cable news, Walgreens has also contributed to the high-definition video landscape at One Times Square, featuring advertising from Walgreen’s and its suppliers.

The second piece of big news is interactivity: On New Year’s Eve, JVC took its technology one step further by making it possible for anyone to take a photo with their cellphone, send it to nyc@jvcnewyear.com and, moments later (after it was approved), the picture would show up on the billboard. Later, people could retrieve a copy of their photo as it appeared on the billboard. JVC is hoping that these mementos of First Night 2009 (with the JVC logo prominently displayed) will turn into screensavers, desktop photos, wallpaper, and shared items that spread goodwill and brand information across the country.

That wasn’t the only digital distraction to be had if you braved the cold to watch the ball drop: MTV sponsored a similar (but less sophisticated) campaign to allow people to have their text messages appear on MTV’s own high definition screen. Rather than standing around waiting for the big moment, groups could play Scene It? and other games on Spec’s big street-level screens.

The third piece of fun -- and yes, it's being promoted as fun -- is green technology: Ricoh and Coca Cola both boasted of their new green presence in Time’s Square– not only are they part of a group of 30 wind-powered billboards in a three building span, but Coke’s ad campaign focuses on what they’re doing in general that’s environmentally friendly. Coke has taken its message out into the streets as well as on its signs, with booths and direct market promotions to help shape its new 2009 image as a ecologically progressive product. We'll have to check back later in the year and see how economically-battered consumers react to the re-branding of such pop culture "junk" consumables as Coke and McDonald's. At least the digital signage industry may benefit from the "greening" of its most visible locations.

As wonderful as it is to see the latest technology fused with messages about conservation, I’m curious how many people actually went over to Duracell's Power Lodge and got on stationary bikes that helped pedal juice to the "2009" sign.

A nice, big list of articles to keep you busy over the holidays

2008-12-19T08:28:00.001-05:00

Man, it's been a much busier pre-holiday season here at WireSpring than I had expected. Sorry for the infrequent posts. But I had the best of intentions, honest! To prove it, here are the articles that I've been meaning to write about (or at least comment on) for about the past week and a half or so. All are worth a read if you haven't seen them yet:

ZunaVision Elegantly Inserts Ads Anywhere - Ads in the virtual world are about to become as prevalent as those in the real world, if this little start-up company has anything to say about it (with crazy video demo).

Multiscreen Mad Men - The NYT interviews a couple of Madison Ave execs on the subject of multi-channel advertising, since a lot of us, "now swim through most of their day looking at some kind of screen — screens on their cellphones, on their desks, in their kitchens, everything from digital billboards on the highway and in the back of a cab to the eruption of screens in urban centers."

Outdoor industry urged to promote digital sites - At a conference in London, a debate breaks out over whether the primary goal of the digital billboard set should be to prove the increased value of digital screens (versus static), or prove their overall value to the viewer.

You’re Leaving a Digital Trail. What About Privacy? - Consumer privacy is going to be a hotbutton issue -- maybe the hotbutton issue -- of 2009, and the NYT spends a little time telling you why.

Hologram of French goalkeeper by Adidas - Adverblog has a great video of an outstanding 3D effect produced for Adidas:

L'hologramme de Mandanda chez Adidas
by football-adidas

'Recession-Proof' P&G Aims to Renegotiate Media Spending Globally - P&G tries to find the silver lining during these tough times by tackling issues and trying out experiments that might not fly during fatter times.

Shoppers Are Not on a Need-to-Know Basis - "Trendwatching.com just released, “Half a Dozen Consumer Trends for 2009.” Number 3 on the list is “Feedback 3.0″ which is all about companies getting fully involved in and even initiating online conversations in an effort to better manage their brands. The idea of Feedback 3.0 is that transparency is going to another level. Companies can’t hide anything, so if they can’t beat ‘em, they’ll have to join ‘em."

Jameson Whiskey Texts Targets On N.Y. Streets - It's not quite digital, not quite static. What it is, is a clever and unique way to add immediate relevance through out-of-home advertising.

Store Brands Lift Grocers in Troubled Times - We've talked about the boost to private label brands a lot over at In-Store and Retail Media News. This article is the latest in a long line of 'em.

Pointer Media Network's in-store service uses purchasing patterns to customize promotions - Catalina Marketing's new service is interesting, but will need to focus exclusively on purchasing behavior to avoid stepping on existing FTC price discrimination laws.

Diet Coke Makes Reuters/Times Square History - "The half-hour TV-like music and fashion variety show was the first to be shot in the Thomson Reuters studio and simulcast live in its entirety onto that company's huge video screens as well as onto the web." (video link, since we can't embed 3 Minute Ad Age)

Retail Window Displays Matter - C.B. Whittemore answers some questions about how, when and why store window displays work.

Malls Cause Frustration, Boredom for 80% of Shoppers - A Wharton School study figured out what many men seem to know inherently (though if traffic at the mall near me is any indication, they may be sucking it up to get a little Christmas shopping done right now).

The power of smart copywriting - Such a great, short read. Especially in the context of our best practices for copy writing for digital signage.

Out-of-Home Ad Industry Girds for Dramatic Transition - That's according to Joe Philport, CEO of the industry's Traffic Audit Bureau. In February, the TAB rolls out a revolutionary new currency and value system for the buying and selling of out-of-home ad space.

So, sorry about the long list and lack of commentary. But if you're feeling drawn to the computer during some time off next week, or you have a long flight and nothing to read, you could do worse than to check out a couple of the items above.

Meanwhile, I'll try to get my act back in gear over here, and start posting more regularly and frequently about all of the interesting industry happenings.

RNIN slashes staff, appoints new CEO, sees shares jump darned near 100%

2008-12-18T13:31:00.001-05:00

Granted, when a move of less than $0.50 means your shares have doubled you're still in pretty bad shape, but this at least resets the NASDAQ de-listing clock that had been ticking for RNIN for well over a month now. Well, it would have been ticking had the NASD not temporarily suspended that rule in light of the fact that a lot companies are trading at historical lows right now.

The firm first reported that they were reducing their head count by 24%, which would leave them with around 90 if my math skills serve me correctly. That's still about 60-70 more than they ought to have given their current revenue levels and publicly-touted prospects by my book, but it's a move in the right direction to be sure.

Then today they announced that James C. (Jim) Granger would be signing on as CEO. He apparently has some skill working with troubled companies, as he's cited as being "responsible for restoring company growth and increasing bottom line profitability [of Toptech Systems, Inc., a provider of software, hardware and data services]" at his last job.

Wireless Ronin can rebound -- they have plenty of cash left in the bank, and haven't been squeamish about cutting staff. But as I've noted before, they have lot more to do before they can get anywhere near cashflow neutral or (gasp) profitability.

Tags: digital signage, RNIN

Clever multi-channel ad deals bring Rachel Ray to the supermarket aisle...

2008-12-01T14:45:00.001-05:00

... for better of worse, depending on your opinion of the hyper-perky TV personality. But the deal between CBS Outernet and the "Everyday with Rachel Ray" (described by Mediaweek) is pretty innovative:

Tapping the growing segment of out-of-home media, the perky TV personality’s cooking magazine, Everyday with Rachael Ray, is giving airtime on flat-screen TVs in supermarkets to print advertisers like Tylenol and Eggo who make a minimum page commitment.

...

While the clients get what Rachael Ray vp, publisher Anne Balaban called the magazine’s “ruboff” effect, the deals are helping drive pages to the magazine; each sponsor had to commit to three to four pages in-book. That’s no small potatoes at a time when page growth has flattened like a bad soufflé for the once-hot Reader’s Digest Assn. title. After launching three years ago with a rate base of 350,000, the food/lifestyle title soared to a circ topping 1.7 million and notched a 58.3 percent rise in ad pages in 2007. But for ’08, ad page growth has slowed to 3.2 percent, with 741 total pages, per the Mediaweek Monitor. “We’re feeling the pinch like everybody else,” Balaban said.

Magazines have been hit hard by the past year's down economy, with more closing than ever before (which of course didn't stop more from starting up than ever before, but hey, that's entrepreneurship for you, right?). But Everyday is a major publication with substantial backing, so watching them step up and try to reach their subscribers and new potentials right at the point-of-decision

Tags: digital signage, advertising, cbs outernet

In-store Displays Are More Effective Than Price Cuts, Says OgilvyAction

2008-11-23T22:30:00.001-05:00

As reported in Advertising Age this morning, research by shopper marketing agency OgilvyAction indicates even price cutting isn't as effective a sales tool as in-store displays (the low-tech kind, specifically, though presumably the results would apply to digital signs too). The trend is most true for impulse purchase items:

Research OgilvyAction conducted with more than 6,000 shoppers across multiple channels in the U.S. in February and March indicates far more impulse purchases are driven by tactics like those low-tech cardboard displays found at the end of aisles rather than temporary price reductions.

And while that survey came before the economy turned much worse in September, research in the past month by the agency for a snack-food brand at convenience stores had similar findings -- in fact, display drove nearly twice the number of impulse purchases as price reductions.

Specifically, OgilvyAction's research from the spring indicates that 29% of U.S. shoppers impulsively buy from categories they didn't plan to when they entered the store. Of that group, 24% said they were influenced by secondary displays (away from the product's usual aisle), 18% by in-store demonstrations, and only 17% by price promotion.

Interestingly, the report also adds some new fuel to the fire with regard to the percentage of purchase decisions affected in-store. While POPAI had touted a number near 70% based on their own research from 1995, more recent research suggested the number is more like 40%, and this report found that 31% of shoppers picked a brand in-store based on the influence of some kind of display.

Ogilvy hopes that the data will be used to encourage retailers and brands to use more merchandising instead of automatically launching price reductions at the first sign of sales trouble. However, the firm also noted that price cuts can have hidden benefits, as during recessions consumers tend to shop just as frequently as before, but trade down to less expensive brands (which price reductions could help stop, of course).

Tags: shopper marketing, advertising, shopping

Danoo and Arbitron find in-store TVs can get you to watch in-home TVs

2008-11-18T10:31:00.001-05:00

It still strikes me as funny (or maybe ironic) that TV networks are using in-store digital signage networks to entice viewers of the latter to watch more of the former, but I realize there's a legitimate business model behind that decision.

And just how legitimate is it, you might ask? Well Danoo, one of the larger "hyperlocal" networks in the US today, would tell you the following, if today's press release is anything to go on:

The Arbitron research focused on audience reaction to on-screen ad campaigns, including one for the Sony Pictures feature film “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.” Most significantly, the study determined that viewers’ intent to see the movie more than doubled, from 19 to 45 percent. Results also indicated that one in four viewers recalled the ad, and all people responding to the survey were six times more likely to name “Nick and Norah” as a newly-released movie.
In two Danoo research studies tracking recent campaigns for the Fox Networks television shows “Fringe” and “House,” the company found similar levels of audience engagement. Advertisements on Danoo’s network drove a 50 percent increase in aided awareness for the new show “Fringe,” and intent to view nearly tripled (from 7 percent to 19 percent) among people watching the screen. Even with an already-popular show like “House,” Danoo’s advertisements drove a 25 percent increase in intent to watch among their audiences.

I don't really know anything about advertising network TV shows, but I'd have to imagine that now's a better time to do it than any time in the past two decades. One of the big benefits of digital out-of-home advertising is that you can include a call to action and encourage viewers to complete a specific act. For advertising-funded networks this might typically be in the form of a "buy now" type message, since the advertisements are usually for products sold in store. However, TV networks have always had a bigger challenge: they need to communicate the benefits of the program being advertised, encourage the viewer to watch the program, and then hope that the viewer makes it out of the store, all the way back home, and then remembers to turn on the right channel at the right time.

Today, though, all the viewer really has to remember is the name of the show being advertised. Then, with a quick trip to the web he or she could pull up the network's website and start streaming the episode (for most major network shows, anyway). That removes a lot of detail from the recall process -- there's just one thing to recall instead of three -- and it also removes the timeliness since viewers can stream network TV over the Internet at any time of day and any day of the week.

Tags: digital signage, advertising, danoo

Citi Downgrades Focus Media (FMCN) to Hold, Slashes Price Target

2008-11-11T15:15:00.001-05:00

So just a few months ago I noted how, unlike their American peers the publicly traded Chinese digital signage operators seemed to be doing pretty well. Well, it looks like the economy is catching up with at least one of them -- the biggie, in fact -- Focus Media. As a recent StreetInsider article noted, "Citi [is downgrading] Focus Media from Buy to Hold. Price target [is] slashed from $53 to $18." Apparently, Citi analysts are less than bullish on the availability of advertising dollars in China during this economic downturn:

"We remain convinced that the Digital OOH business, with over 175k LCD displays & digital frames, and Allyes, proven business model with dominant market share - are valuable franchises, but believe near-term visibility in the current environment has diminished, and that advertiser demand is uncertain. Accordingly, until we get greater comfort on how long the weakness is likely to persist, we cannot recommend buying the stock."

Global forecasts for both network growth and network advertising growth were relatively bullish in the last few reports I've read, so I have to wonder if this news will have any major impact. Focus is one of the few firms that could pull the entire sector's numbers down since it's so big (relatively speaking). The good news, at least, is that there's no domino effect to be had, here. In other words, Focus missing sales targets will hurt Focus, but probably have no effect on other networks, even in China.

Tags: digital signage, business, focus media

OOH ratings: Arbitron's in, Nielsen's out

2008-11-11T09:43:00.001-05:00

I've seen so many things attributed to the crappy economy at this point that I'm having trouble keeping things straight. Does it mean harder times ahead, or more opportunities than ever? Less business or more business? Good things for the digital signage industry, or bad?

The latest news from Arbitron doesn't do anything to clear up my confusion. As today's press release indicates,

"EYE, the mall media specialist, has signed an agreement with Arbitron Custom Research to measure the effectiveness of mall-based advertisements and the psychographics of EYE mall shoppers.

Arbitron will conduct on-site mall surveys in multiple markets across the United States. This study will be comprised of two parts: adult and teen. The adult study will evaluate the effectiveness of EYE advertising based on demographic information as well as specific questions concerning shopping behavior, shopper segmentation and advertising appeal."

Contrast that with the recent news from Nielsen, which noted that,

"The failing economy just took its first research casualty. Nielsen and IMMI announced late Friday (Nov. 7) they would suspend their syndicated Out-of-Home Report, which measured viewing to TV outside the home. Since launching in April, the service only managed to sign two clients, ESPN and Zenith Optimedia.

"In the current climate, there is limited economic support for this new measurement service," the company said in a prepared statement.

The final report will cover viewing through Nov. 9, 2008.

Nielsen didn't completely close the door on the project. "We recognize that measuring the out-of-home component of television viewing is an important need for our clients. We will continue to work on out-of-home measurement solutions, including efforts with IMMI," the company said.

The service was based on a panel of 500 participants in six local markets (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Denver) plus 1,700 national panelists. To collect data, IMMI gives respondents a cell phone equipped with software that uses pattern matching to track media exposure."

I understand that this is a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison. After all, Arbitron's bread-and-butter are the self-contained research projects like the kind EYE has requested. Meanwhile, Nielsen had taken a much more ambitious approach of measuring the impact to a general set of OOH stimuli. Also, while it's unclear that Arbitron could parlay the EYE deal into a larger, more generalized measurement service for digital OOH media, Nielsen could always come back and re-activate their program if there was sufficient demand.

Personally, I don't think the economy had anything to do with Nielsen's suspension of this program. I think there are simply too few traditional media buyers interested in the medium. The people who continue to keep most digital signage networks in business today aren't using Nielsen data or even traditional CPM figures to make their purchase decisions. They're continuing to rely on pilot data and a gut feeling, which will help keep the smaller players alive for now, but could well hamper industry growth when the economy improves.

Tags: digital signage, measurement, advertising

Wireless Ronin (RNIN) takes a beating. Will they survive?

2008-11-07T10:05:00.001-05:00

With $20M in the bank, it's hard to imagine a company in our industry going out of business, but Wireless Ronin seems to be trying hard to do just that. They announced their 3rd quarter numbers last night, which look roughly like this:

3rd quarter revenue of $1.9 million for the third quarter of 2008, up 73% from $1.1 million in Q3 2007.
3rd quarter net loss of $4.6 million compared to a net loss of $2.4 million in Q3 2007.
Basic and diluted loss per share of $0.31 compared to a basic and diluted loss per share of $0.17 last year.

That's bad. They still lose more than $2 for every $1 they take in. The firm's stock price has been hammered down to about $1M more than the cash they have in the bank. That's certainly harsh, though more fair than the preposterous $100M+ valuation they were trading at last year.

Even worse than the revenue numbers, though, are the margin numbers. From the press release:

For the third quarter of 2008, gross margin averaged 5.2 percent, compared to a gross margin of 36.8 percent in the third quarter of 2007. The 2008 gross margin was impacted by investments in the company's NOC and costs to support customer pilots and program tests. Excluding these investments, gross margin would have averaged 20.7 percent through the first three quarters of 2008.

So for every dollar of gross margins they earn, they lose about $46. RNIN, I have news for you: pilots will continue to happen, so I doubt you'll ever be able to simply eliminate those costs. In our industry, it's a big part of the cost of doing business. I can't speak to what the company has been spending on their NOC, but I can practically guarantee it was way more than necessary. In fact, a digital signage company that builds their own NOC is almost certainly doing something inherently wrong. Use a company like NTT/Verio for colocation, or even better, Rackspace for managed hosting.

So, will they survive?

Like I said in the beginning, $20M is a lot of cash to have in the bank, and at the present burn rate still gives the company almost a year to get their act together. With a head count of 125 employees, you can be sure there's also plenty of room for further layoffs, and my advice would be the sooner the better. RNIN needs to slim down to a svelte 25 or 30, close their NOC, outsource everything that isn't related to selling high-margin products and services, and stick it out until some of their bigger prospects decide to open their wallets. It'd also help to find a CEO who knows something about this business and its cycles.

Tags: digital signage, wireless ronin

The morning press - digital signage news for November 6

2008-11-06T11:50:00.000-05:00

Here are some of today's interesting clips from the web (and I've been away for a while, so I have a bunch of items that have been on my list for a while):

Could Software Allow Shelves To Look Back At Consumers? - Storefront Backtalk's Evan Schuman takes a look at the upcoming battle between in-store profiling and privacy concerns. Well worth the read.

CBS Outernet Builds Out GameStop TV Network - Since inking a deal with GameStop in June, CBS Outernet has so far installed a new, high-definition, digital network with 40" LCD screens in 1,500 GameStop stores. Installation of the remaining 2,500 stores will be completed by June 2009.

Network Digital Signage Report: Examine the Infrastructure, Displays and Technology - MultiMedia Intelligence believes that digital signage networks have a permanent place in the communications landscape. The biggest immediate challenge to digital signage is the current global economy. But once that red-flag is lowered, it is likely that investment in digital signage solutions will be as great as it has ever been.

Digital In-Theater Network Bows Supporting Website w/Interactive Trailers - National CineMedia, operator of the largest digital in-theater network in the country for cinema advertising, is extending its FirstLook movie theatre pre-show program to the web.

Richardson Electronics' Display Systems Group Unveils New Brand Identity - Canvys also combines decades of engineering and manufacturing expertise. Composed of three longtime industry leaders—Pixelink, A.C.T. Kern and Image Systems—Canvys is committed to finding the right solution for every customer’s visual technology needs.

Costco Adds Custom Media to In-Store TV Mix - The retailer has worked with Thomson's Premier Retail Networks, Inc. on its in-store media network and content strategy since 2004. The new agreement extends this relationship into 2010.

Digital OOH still clipping along, but growth has slowed - Bucking the downward trend of most media, and despite the sour economy, digital out-of-home advertising is experiencing the kind of growth most media would kill for.

Koncept Analytics Releases New Updated Report on Global Digital Signage Market - The current global economic environment is full of uncertainties resulting from the turmoil in the credit and financial markets impacting all businesses. Advertising industry is not immune to this phenomenon - rather economic slowdown is likely to have a deeper and prolonged advertising downturn.

Digital Out-of-Home Ad Spend Triples - The U.S. digital out-of-home (OOH) media industry - which includes video ad networks, digital billboards and ambient ad platforms - is on pace to grow 11.2%, to $2.43 billion in 2008 and now comprises 29.1% of overall out-of-home ad spending.

ABI: Digital Signage Market to Double in Five Years - The research firm said this growth will be driven by retailers and advertisers desire to better target consumers in the out-of-home media market. The report predicts that in the United States, the overall market for digital signage software, hardware, installation and management services will reach around $1.4 billion by 2013, up from the $641 million market in 2008.

Some Tips for Building Your Digital Signage Business

2008-10-30T06:58:00.001-05:00

We've been hearing so much about folks in the industry having trouble getting financing, compelling customers to go through with planned projects and even getting senior execs to approve supposedly "pre-approved" budgets. While I don't think there's going to be a quick-and-easy solution to any of these things (thanks a lot sub-prime borrowers and greedy lenders) a bunch of us will be meeting up in Chicago in a few weeks trying to figure out how to help people get through the economic mess we're in right now.

The event is the Strategy Institute's "Building Your Digital Signage Business" seminar, and as the title suggests, it's designed to address all sorts of concerns about actually making a business out of all the hype in this silly industry. (Disclaimer: I'm speaking at this event, but it's the very last session of the 2nd day, so there will probably be about 8 people left in the audience at that point -- but I'll be around the rest of the time to chat if anyone's interested!).

Realizing that there are probably a lot of people out there who need a little extra help getting going these days (or staying going, for that matter), conference organizer David Laird has been tweaking each conference session to provide the maximum benefit for:

Digital Signage Integrators: If you think that digital signage could be a growth area for their businesses, the conference will help you to understand which clients will be most interested and provide strategies for selling and rolling out large deployments;

Venues Interested in Hosting Digital Signs: We'll shed some light on the different digital signage business models out there, and explain the best way to work with suppliers and vendors;

Digital Signage Network Owners: There will be sessions exploring ways to increase ad spends and giving you a better idea of what makes a media planner tick;

Digital Signage Hardware and Software Suppliers: The biggest benefit here is networking - you'll have plenty of opportunities to connect with Integrators and Digital OOH Networks to partner on the next deployment and (potentially) win new clients;

Mobile Media Companies: With the 'Outernet' upon us and smart phones and PDAs acting as a bridge to digital signage networks, you'll learn about the new business opportunities that these networks enable;

Investors (of all sorts): Connect with senior executives about buying, selling or partnering in a digital signage business, and learn about past deals and market trends from those of us who won't be trying to take the money right out of your pockets;

Traditional Billboard/Poster Advertising Owners: With advertising dollars sometimes growing by large multiples in digital billboards, find out how this business model works for you;

You're probably not going to walk out of the conference with a dozen new advertisers for your network or a check for $10 million, but you probably will meet a lot of people who have faced the same problems that you're facing, have found solutions to them, and are now looking for new ways to grow, even in this challenging environment.

As always when I go to these things, I'll post an update and my own impressions of the conference after it's over -- if it sucks I'll let you know. But having gone to "Building Your Digital Signage Business" several times in past years, it has generally been one of the most practical and useful conferences I've gone to. If you're struggling with your digital signage business and feel like you could use some direction -- or even just some empathetic camaraderie -- you might want to check this one out.

Not the tips you're looking for? The best list around is at WireSpring's Digital Signage Journal.

Tags: digital signage, business

OVAB releases audience measurement guidelines

2008-10-29T15:52:00.001-05:00

Thanks for Dave Haynes for the tip up on this. OVAB has just released their long awaited audience measurement guidelines (PDF link), and at 78 pages they're certainly being thorough about it. I wasn't up in New York for the conference today, but tried to follow Manolo Almagro's Twitter feed about it. Thankfully I wasn't doing it on my mobile phone, or the unending plethora of SMS messages would have cost me a fortune on my phone bill this month.

While I expect to do some more in-depth analysis of the report on the WireSpring blog later this week, the long and the short of it is that OVAB is advocating that the "Average Unit Audience should be the currency metric for out-of-home video networks. Average Unit Audience is defined as the number and type of people exposed to the media vehicle with an opportunity to see a unit of time equal to the typical advertising unit."

Without yet knowing what the "typical advertising unit" is, or how one might define the "type" of people exposed to the media, I can't yet comment on feasibility or completeness. However, measurement guidelines has been the driving goal of OVAB since the group's inception, so I'm sure they've thought through a lot of this stuff more than I have.

So will the guidelines be a universally-accepted starting-off point for media buyers and network owners alike? Or is it just another piece of group-think rhetoric?

Tags: digital signage, advertising, OOH