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

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...

... 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...

... 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

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

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

... 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!

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."

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 July 15

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.
  

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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