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5 for 5: Taxicab digital signage and video walls, menu boards and 9/11

It's time for a look back at the most-read articles on Digital Signage Today in September, and what we can learn from them.

October 30, 2014 by Christopher Hall

It's almost the end of October, so it's beyond time for a belated look back at the top stories on Digital Signage Today in September. The month was packed with interesting stories, and the most-read feature articles and blog posts on the site by pageviews offered a wide spectrum of commentary and analysis, a look back at a harrowing moment in our nation's history and a heartwarming look at how the medium is brightening the days of some very special hospital patients.

So without further ado, let's take a look back at September's five for five:

5. "What's the difference between digital signage and touchscreen kiosks?" - The demand for both digital signage and touchscreen kiosks has increased exponentially over the years. What are the pros and cons of each? Or is there really a difference?

A kiosk expert took a look at the differences between digital signage and interactive kiosks in a piece that drew lots of clicks but surprisingly few comments. Here's a taste of what she had to say:

The demand for both digital signage and touchscreen kiosks has increased exponentially over the years. Adding a digital layer to the customer experience is a way to increase the opportunities for engagement whether you are selling a product or educating your visitors.

Imagine if retail stores, universities or doctors' offices could connect each new visitor with a smiling representative to answer any questions they might have. Imagine if museums could accompany every tour with a knowledgeable guide that brings the story of each exhibit to life.

This utopian view of unwavering personal attention is unfortunately not the norm. People are expensive. The absence of this personal touch inevitably results in a gap in communication. Digital signage and touchscreen kiosks can fill that gap when you're not able to be there.

Once a business decides to bridge the gap between the message and consumer, a new host of questions arise:

• What kind of digital technology do I want to use?
• What message is most important to my visitors?
• Where am I going to *put* this thing?
• When will my visitors experience it?
• How will I know it's working?

The mission of this piece is to address the answer to the ultimate first question: "What kind of digital technology do I want to use?"

Read the rest of the article here.

4. "A confluence of factors pushing digital signage into the mainstream [infographic]"- Such technology decreases a customer's perceived wait time by up to 40 percent.

An infographic and blog post from DST sister site QSRWeb looked at how drive-thru digital menu boards are on the upswing:

Are you still on the fence about whether or not to go digital in your restaurant? Many industry insiders believe digital menu boards will reach critical mass in about three to five years. The trend is being driven by a confluence of factors, including menu labeling legislation from the Affordable Care Act, pricing and promotion management flexibility and decreasing costs for the technology.

Additionally, consumers — particularly younger consumers — expect or prefer dynamic content over static content. They're digital natives and they want animated and vibrant visuals when they're waiting in line for their meals.

Read the rest of the blog, and see the infographic, here.

3. "Digital signage brings 9/11 to life at National September 11 Memorial and Museum"- Projection mapping, video displays and touchscreens commemorate the lives lost in the 9/11 terror attacks and engage visitors to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

This affecting piece looks at the various ways digital signage is incorporated into the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in New York City, replete with images and video:

The 13th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., looms in the horizon just a week away.

This year, though, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum is open to commemorate the day and to remember its victims — and digital signage technology plays a vital role in bringing that day and its aftermath into the present in an incredibly immediate and visceral way.

Projection mapping technology displays video from the cleanup crews working in the wreckage of the World Trade Center towers, on a twisted and broken of remnant of one of the towers.

There is a digital signage display showing footage of the second plane flying into the South Tower, and displays showing pictures of the dead along with recordings of their friends and loved ones talking about them.

Another projection shows a timeline of all the stories written about the attacks, while yet another shows quotes from people about the events of that day.

And those are just a sampling.

Read the rest of the article, and watch a USA Today interview with the exhibit's designers, here.

2. "Digital signage and wonder: 50-foot video wall brings adventure to children's hospital" - A Delaware children's hospital today opens up its "Discovery Zone," a 50-foot-wide digital signage video wall featuring gesture interaction for its young patients.

This piece looked at how digital signage and gesture-interaction are combining in a hospital setting to ease the burden of young patients in a children's hospital:

Unless someone's having a baby, a trip to the hospital is rarely a joyous or fun occasion — especially if you're a child; doubly so if you're a child and the patient.

So when Nemours Children's Health System recently undertook a $270 million renovation and expansion of its Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, it paid special attention to the experience of its young patients.

And when chemicals titan DuPont — more fully, the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. — came to Nemours Children's Health with a generous donation and a very specific challenge, the stage was set to bring a very special interactive digital signage experience to the hospital's youthful patients.

According to pediatrician Dr. Neil Izenberg, the chief executive of the Nemours Center for Children's Health Media, the donation and challenge was to "create something spectacular in this soaring new atrium that would bring joy to kids and a little fun and a big wow factor."

Opening today as part of the ongoing expansion, the hospital's new "Discovery Zone" is a 50-foot-wide by 9-foot-high video wall featuring Microsoft Kinect gesture interaction technology that will allow up to 30 children (and adults) to interact with the on-screen landscape, flora and fauna.

"Actually we expect that, contrary to the usual feelings about a hospital, kids are going to really love being here," Izenberg said in a recent interview. "And we just hope we can tear them away so they can go to their doctor's appointments."

Read the rest of the article here.

1."On-vehicle digital signage is on the move" - Is the on-vehicle digital signage frontier set to open up? Here's the road map.

Digital signage expert Lyle Bunn takes a wide-ranging look at on-vehicle digital signage, from small taxi-top displays to gargantuan displays on the sides of panel vans:

Taxis, public transit buses and trains, shuttles and delivery vehicles are in the ultimate out-of-home environment and are poised for the expanding area of vehicle-mounted digital signage and LED messaging.

This frontier for digital signage is opening in high viewership urban areas, where a transportation authority or a network operator, as their agent, can leverage moving assets as well as existing ad sales and management capabilities. It is also driven by the hunger for display revenues, improved technology and advertiser demand.

There are four notable application trends in on-vehicle dynamic signage, including:

• Taxicabs currently use dynamic digital signage in an advertising model, with at least two companies, Insight Digital Signage and LG-MRI offering integrated signage units. Verifone operates more than 100 units in New York City, selling the 2-minute loop length as 15-second spots. The units operate at 2,000 nits brightness and offer many variations in creative layout. Mark Devereaux, business development, media, at VerifoneMedia, notes that dayparting, week-parting and geo-zoning capability add value for advertisers.

• Public transit buses and trains operated by municipal transportation authorities, which have long enjoyed advertising revenues from static sign advertising, are looking at shifting to dynamic signage in order to increase revenues from advertising on vehicles, street and station furniture.

• Special-use and event vehicles with integrated dynamic signage are in limited but growing use. LED outfitted trucks deliver dynamic pedestrian-level messages and a double-decker bus called "The Stage" operated by Carisma in New York City is an example of this emerging application of on-vehicle dynamic signage.

• The future may include vehicles operated by first responders (i.e. fire, police, ambulance) and security agencies including military, or drone-style delivery vehicles bearing dynamic signage for brand, advertising, public safety and information messaging.

Read the rest of the article here.