NEC Solutions (America), Inc., a premier provider of integrated solutions for the Connected Enterprise in North America, has augmented its comprehensive digital advertising system and display offering through its partnership with Scala, Inc., the leading Pennsylvania-based developer of end-to-end software platform for centrally controlled and managed digital signage networks.
The partnership marries NEC's full range of ADVASuite(TM) displays with Scala's InfoChannel(R) 3 software platform to ensure an industry-leading broadband display solution for participating movie theatres. Together, NEC and Scala will help increase the revenue earning potential of exhibitors through high quality pre-feature and in-lobby advertising.
Take a look at the full press release here.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
NEC and Scala partner on lobby digital signage
Watchit Media, Inc. Reports Financial Results
For the three months ended June 30, 2005 the Company reported revenues of $609,000, a 161% growth over the same period in 2004. During the June quarter, approximately 44% of revenue was derived from subscription fees the Company is paid under one year and two year renewable contracts with its clients. Gross profit for the same periods increased 207% to $377,000. As a percentage of revenue, gross margin increased from 53% for the same period in 2004 to 62% in 2005.
For the six months ended June 30, 2005, the Company reported revenues of $864,000, a 179% growth over the same period in 2004. During the six month period, approximately 59% of revenue was derived from subscription fees the Company is paid under one year and two year renewable contracts with its clients. Gross profit for the six month period increased 204% to $519,000. As a percentage of revenue, gross margin increased from 55% for six month period in 2004 to 60% in 2005.
You can view the rest of the press release here.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Cinemark selects digital signage provider
From aka.tv:
"In the latest development for the burgeoning cinema advertising market here, Cinemark USA, one of North America’s largest cinema companies, has entered into an agreement with Christie Digital Systems to outfit its nationwide network of nearly 2,400 screens with LCD projectors for the purpose of delivering pre-show digital advertising.
"According to Christie, installation of the projectors is to begin later this month in anticipation of Cinemark's digital pre-show advertising program scheduled to commence on January 1, 2006 in theatres reaching over 100m patrons annually across the United States.
"Under the terms of the contract, Cinemark will also purchase Christie’s projector networking technology, ChristieNET – which enables Internet-based remote content scheduling and monitoring – with every projector."
Find the complete article here.
Sainsbury's ponders second digital signage network
From RedNova:
"[UK retailer] Sainsbury's is considering rolling out an in-store TV network throughout its convenience store business, following a successful trial in its Sainsbury's at Jacksons subsidiary.
"The retailer is holding discussions with network and content providers about a wider roll-out. Sainsbury's has 262 convenience stores under the Jacksons and Sainsbury's Local brands.
"According to sources, it is unlikely that Sainsbury's will use its Fresh TV format, which is being trialled separately in its superstores, for its convenience network.
...
"The 110-store chain completed the installation of its network, which displays public information, music videos and 10-second ads, in June. It is managed by Firebrand Media.
"The Jacksons tests revealed a sales uplift of between 5% and 45% on products advertised, with the greatest increase recorded on sales of a beer brand.
"In contrast, trials for rivals Asda and Tesco's in-store TV have contributed to sales increases of about 10%."
There's a lot of good information in this article. Go here to read it.
Chinese digital signage firm Focus Media doing well
Having just released their quarterly results, Chinese digital signage network owner Focus Media is showing extremely strong growth.
Highlights:
-- Net revenues grew 127.9% year-over-year and 52.3% quarter-over-quarter to $14.6 million;
-- Advertising service revenues grew 160.6% year-over-year and 51.8% quarter-over-quarter to $14.3 million on the continued strength in our commercial location network and the commencement of commercial operation of our in-store network;
-- In the second quarter, we sold 3,057 time slots on the commercial location network compared with 1,998 time slots for the first quarter of 2005, an increase of 53.0% quarter-over-quarter. Total capacity, or the total number of available 30-second equivalent time slots, on the commercial location network increased to 6,720 from 6,010 in the first quarter of 2005 due to the full quarterly impact of time slots from regional distributors Focus Media acquired in the first quarter of 2005 and the addition of new regional distributors in the first and second quarter of 2005. Our network utilization rate, or the total 30-second equivalent time slots sold as a percentage of total 30-second equivalent time slots available during the relevant period, for the commercial location network increased to 45.4% in the second quarter versus 33.2% in the first quarter of 2005. Average advertising revenue per 30-second equivalent time slot for the commercial location network in the second quarter was $4,573 versus $4,721 in the first quarter of 2005;
-- Total number of displays in our commercial location network reached 22,931 and total number of displays in our in-store network reached 12,779 as of June 30, 2005;
-- We have rapidly penetrated the retail point-of-purchase advertising market in China and as of June 30, 2005, total installed base of our in-store network reached 1,835 retail stores, including 439 hypermarkets, 674 supermarkets and 722 convenience stores; and
-- Net income for the second quarter grew 119.2% year-over-year and 64.5% quarter-over-quarter to $4.3 million.
Read the rest of the release here.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
WireSpring measures the impact of dynamic digital signs and interactive kiosks
A new article has been posted on WireSpring's weblog for dynamic digital signage and interactive kiosks. Today's fare:
"Measuring the impact of dynamic digital signs and interactive kiosks"
According to MediaWeek, possible ways of auditing digital retailing networks include relying on retailer information (like footfall traffic, etc.) and using a qualified auditing firm (think Arbitron or ACNielsen). Of course, neither of these take advantage of some of the benefits of digital retailing media. For example, with interactive kiosks one can log the events that take place on each device and use that as a very well-qualified means of recording traffic. Likewise, monitoring technologies can be used to supplement manual store audits, however these are still fairly immature technologies and are prone to errors (like this idea to basically put RFID chips into everything and track where they go).
How to charge?
The #1 question that I've been asked lately is how much to charge for a "slice" of time on a digital sign, or similarly, for a single customer interaction event (such as an application the customer submitted) on a self-service kiosk. The MediaWeek guys got a great quote from Hyperspace's James Davies (the digital division at poster specialist Posterscope), who notes that "[y]ou have big screens, little screens, screens with or without editorial, high frequency, long play. How you consume in the back of a cab is very different to how you consume walking down the aisle of a supermarket." Further, "a common trading currency does not equate to a shared pricing structure. The rate cards for both Vogue and weekly real-life title Pick Me Up are based on circulation, but an ad in the glossy monthly will be relatively more expensive because of the value of the audience and the worth of being in a lush environment with a longer lifespan." Relating the different kinds of digital advertising networks to magazines is a great idea, and immediately helped me to understand all of the pricing issues that surround these kinds of networks. Case in point: I've seen clients draw up invoices for their advertisers totaling anywhere from $125 to $125,000 per month. But in the former case, the price was per-screen, per ad, and the content running on the screen was entirely composed of 30 second commercials, while the latter case was a package price to place a 30 minute infomercial clip on several thousand captive audience displays. Thus, an apples-to-apples price comparison isn't appropriate at all.
You can read the rest of the article here.
Minicom Audio/Video Hardware Runs Bar&Club Digital Signage System
Minicom Advanced Systems, a leading provider of audio/video distribution systems for the last mile in digital signage, revealed today that Switzerland's screenIMAGE uses Minicom hardware exclusively in its digital signage applications. screenIMAGE (www.screenimage.ch) is one of the largest A/V integrators in Switzerland, and the only to provide complete turnkey digital signage installations.
When they started the famous "Bars&Clubs Channel" project, the digital signage market almost didn't exist. The bars weren't willing to lay out money for an unproven, new technology. With many digital signage integrators still toying with different pricing models, screenIMAGE, began generating profits by following a business plan that involved partnering.
The Bars&Clubs Channel system uses Minicom's CAT5 Video Display System (VDS) in the locations to display content to spectators. Content is delivered via TCP/IP to 350,000 customers in 50 Bars and Clubs all over Switzerland each month. Thin CAT5 cable discretely transfers the content in real time, without loss of screen quality, to small VDS remotes, behind the displays.
"Our video-over-CAT5 distribution system helps amplify the power of digital advertising, which attracts more attention than static signs, and can increase sales anywhere between 30% and 100%," said Eran Kessel, Minicom's Vice President of Marketing.
Read the rest of the press release here.
UnoLink deploys digital signage to Caracas hospital
From their press release:
"Hospital de Clinicas Caracas, the most technologically advanced health institution in Venezuela, is the first hospital to install 'Vida', a digital dynamic entertainment and advertising network created by UnoLink. Fourteen 42-inch, high definition plasma screens installed in 8 different areas of the hospital display entertainment and relevant health-related information to patients and patrons while they wait. This channel has been fully functional 24/7 as of March 2005. It represents the first multimedia network of its kind to be installed in Latin America.
"'Vida' (Life), offers exclusive programming that is managed via the Internet using Scala's InfoChannel® software. Original content - created in a joint effort with TV production powerhouse Canal Uno — includes health information, music videos, local and international news, as well as segments on arts and entertainment, comedy, beauty, quotes and advertising. Video and sound have been carefully tailored to the specific wait areas in the hospital to keep their full impact while avoiding the disruption of normal operations.
"According to Eduardo Baptista, the Operations Manager for H.C.C., the impact this system has generated on the visiting public has been very favorable: 'UnoLink has provided a versatile system that offers different programming, congruent to the location of each screen. UnoLink has also supplied the hospital with a powerful communications tool that creates a medium in which we can reach our patients, their families and visitors in general with a programming format tailored to the needs of the institution'."
You can find the complete article here.
Friday, August 05, 2005
Establishing price points for media on digital sign networks
From MediaWeek:
"[A]s Media Week reported last week (Outdoor owners debate currency, page 13, 26 July), digital screens have now reached the point where an industry currency is needed in order to continue to grow.
"But for media owners operating in a new medium, the trick is knowing when it's time to develop a common currency – too soon and you risk losing your focus when the mediumis still in its infancy, too late and you could find it's become an impediment to growth.
"And once the sector has made the decision to develop an industry-wide trading currency, what are the challenges?
"For screen media, it's very much early days. Digital screen operators began discussing the issue in committee meetings at the Outdoor Advertising Association only in the past couple of months and it could be well over a year before any kind of decision is reached, let alone implemented.
"Agencies are crying out for a consistent trading currency for the mediumand media owners acknowledge that this is needed if the sector is to grow.
...
"The challenges with deciding on a common currency are immense given the huge variation in the sector – from Maiden Outdoor's huge Transvision screens at mainline rail stations such as Victoria to in-store TV in retail outlets such as Tesco, WHSmith, Boots and Sainsbury's."
This is a great article. I highly recommend you go read the rest of it.
Sainsbury's digital signage experiments show positive results
"Two months into its trial of an in-store TV network, Britain’s third-largest supermarket retailer Sainsbury’s is cautiously upbeat.
"'We’re starting to analyse the data and we’re having positive signs," says business development manager Rob Crumbie, though a decision on a full rollout will not be made until the trial period finishes toward the end of 2005.
"The project, called Fresh TV, is just one of several digital-signage ventures at Sainsbury’s, but is distinguished from the others – as well as from many rivals’ networks – by the numerous separate channels and high concentration of screens per store.
"Fresh TV is being run in conjunction with Sony Retail, providing operational, software and screen expertise, and research specialist Litmus. Branding and publishing consultancy New Crane, which already works on Sainsbury’s magazine and other print materials, provides creative and production input."
Read the full story here.
Austrian DIY firm expands in-store TV network
From aka.tv:
"An in-store TV network at one of Europe’s largest DIY (home-improvement) retailers is set to grow to more than 200 screens this year.
"The platform was recently extended to all nine OBI stores in Austria’s Carinthia and Styria regions, employing more than a hundred 42- and 50-inch screens. It is now scheduled to expand into a further five outlets in Vienna in November, giving the network a daily reach in excess of 22,000 viewers.
"The system was set up by hardware specialist Networksynergy and is operated by Austrian real-time marketing and promotions company 42inch.tv, which also produces content and sells advertising space on the network."
Read the full story here.
Lighthouse unveils new digital signage LED screens
"Today's announcement includes the launch of Lighthouse's PopVision, the industry's first portable and self-sustaining LED video screen that promises to give users a piece of "Times Square in a box." Also making their debut are two new fanless 10mm pixel pitch indoor video screens, the P10 and R10, the industry's lightest fully-integrated LEDs that feature their own built-in power supplies.
"According to Mark Chan, Managing Director for Lighthouse, the new products were initially unveiled at the InfoComm International Exposition 2005 which staged in Las Vegas in June, saw Lighthouse report record sales. Says Chan, "InfoComm has always been a profitable event, but this year we registered more sales in the opening hours than the entirety of any past show."
"Mr Chan attributed the company's success at InfoComm to the debut of its new screens, coupled by an up turn in the market. He comments, 'The unveiling of these advanced products are fortunate to coincide with an upswing in the LED video technology industry, which has provided us tremendous marketing momentum.'
"According to iSupply, a leading analyst firm covering the video display industry, LED video technology has become the preference for indoor and outdoor venues due to its affordability, brightness, durability and scalability. The worldwide market of LED video displays, valued at $639 million in 2004, is expected to rise to $755 million in 2010. iSupply also projects the retail-signage market, which occupies the largest share of LED text, graphics and animation displays, is expected to grow from 41,248 sq. meters in 2005 to 69,832 sq. meters in 2010."
Read the complete article here.
CTX entering the digital signage business
"CTX Technology Corporation today announced the launch of a new digital signage product line, targeted to provide an effortless solution for the presentation and remote management of digital advertising content at anytime, anywhere!
"'Digital signage is IN,' exclaimed Jim Chen, CEO at CTX. 'Many indicators show growing sales opportunities for digital signage. According to iSuppli/Stanford Resources, the worldwide retail signage market for displays is expected to grow a whopping 29 percent annually to $2.35 billion in 2009.' Whether it is at retail stores, banking kiosks, quick-service restaurants, or pubic transportation terminals, visual merchandising has taken on a whole new meaning due to today's easy accessibility to low cost, high-bandwidth networks. 'Digital signage is definitely here to stay!' commented Nelson Tsay, Sr. Director at CTX.
"To accommodate different settings and system needs, CTX offers three types of bundled solutions: MediaView(TM), SmartView(TM), and IntelliView(TM). All three solutions are available both in open frame and chassis versions."
The rest of the press release can be found here.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Digital signage firm Avanti claims profitibility
From MediaWeek:
"Shares on the London Alternative Investments Market rose 3.9% to 245.75p on the back of the announcement on Friday, pushing it above the sector average after several weeks of below-average trading.
...
"Avanti's trading update came as the company published a summary of two years of its market research, showing that nearly two-thirds of media buyers now expect to advertise on pub and bar plasma screens.
"Growth in the pub and bar sector drove Avanti’s breaking of the 1,000-venue barrier earlier this month. The company now has a third of its target audience of 18-34 year-olds, with a combined audience of more than 12m people a week."
You can read the complete article here.
SportESign Digital Signage Network Launched
In an unlikely partnership, "The Minnesota Vikings and AlivePromo, Inc., a digital sign solutions company located in Minneapolis, announced today that they have partnered to install and manage a digital sign network in sports oriented restaurants and bars throughout the upper Midwest. The network, called SportESign, is scheduled to deploy before the Vikings first game of the 2005 regular season.
"Conceived as a new medium for the Vikings to communicate with its regional fan base, SportESign will leverage year-round interest in the Vikings team, featuring current and breaking news, coverage of training camp, future drafts, and free agent acquisitions. During the football season, SportESign will stream live game information, pre and post game statistics and analysis, fantasy football statistics, scores from around the NFL, and more."
You can read the rest of that press release here.
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