Article
Commentary: DSE shows new plateaus, acceleration of digital signage industry
Relevant session topics, knowledgeable presenters and a tradeshow floor full of engaged endusers and executives were all indicators of a growing industry.
March 12, 2009 by Lyle Bunn — Strategy Architect, BUNN
Digital signage deployments are forecast to grow by 44 percent in 2009, says Chris Connery, vice president of PC and large format commercial displays at DisplaySearch. But that increase to the 900,000 displays measuring 27-inches and larger already installed in North America is the tip of the iceberg. Smaller displays of 7- to 27-inches — typically used for elevators, store shelves, service counters, meeting-room entrances and others — are not included in the forecast. Such was the backdrop to the Digital Signage Expo, the first major industry gathering since fall 2008.
There was a focus on content, embedded interactivity and education, all of which reflects positive ongoing developments in an industry that is earning its growth by providing better advertising and communications efficiency as well as control.
PHOTO GALLERY: Digital Signage Expo 2009 - Las Vegas
DSE had 60 new exhibiting companies, and a total of 182. Forty new product announcements were made at the event. There were 44 education sessions over three days drawing on the insights of more than 125 presenters. The event was steady and busy with executive participation by end user project managers and channel firms. Meetings were busy, in-depth private demonstrations were almost continuous at exhibit booths, and in fact, few exhibitors had time to visit other booths — very untypical of a tradeshow.
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Attendees await the show floor opening. |
Endusers from across the economic spectrum were shopping —many having already prepared solid plans that have allowed digital signage projects to move through corporate priority review and into the sourcing and deployment stages.
"We've moved beyond the stage where dynamic signs and networked content were viewed as a novelty that could make an impact simply by being there, to a period in which smart marketers are utilizing such new technologies to communicate with shoppers in unique, interactive and most importantly, targeted ways," said Peter Breen, managing director of Content for the In-Store Marketing Institute.
Paco Underhill, founder and managing director of Envirosell and author of seven books, including "Why We Buy" and "Call of The Mall," provided a keynote address sponsored by PRN. The nodding heads as Underhill said "digital signage is not a technology — it is an application" reflected the maturing of an industry that until recently was technology-driven.
Underhill's key insight is that "our visual language is evolving faster than our spoken words. We process images faster and it is a single language." He added, "This makes digital signage a powerful appliance to improve retailer and brand success." And he says "the value of digital signage does not decline, but increases over time when content messaging is refined."
Relevance is king
It has been said that content, context, audience or measurement is "King," but the growing agreement is that the combination of these elements provide a framework for "relevance" which is imperative to achieving results. Michael Chase, vice president of marketing and creative for St. Joseph Content/Alchemy, said, "At the same time, these provide a critical feedback loop for continuous improvement and expansion of identified marketing objectives through better audience targeting. The bottom line is that if they do not all work together, then the objectives will be missed. None can exist on its own or the digital signage will ultimately under-deliver."
Another corporate giant breaking through in content management
One of the important industry announcements was made by Harris Corp. in unveiling Punctuate. Harris Corp., with annual revenues of $5.4 billion serves markets in 150 countries through 16,000 employees, 7,000 of whom are engineers and scientists. Harris is a household name in broadcast, government communications technology and IT infrastructure, and its enterprise-class products are used in large ad agencies for broadcast media planning, buying and trafficking.
Punctuate is described as "the first business management solution to provide total inventory control across single networks, multiple networks and for each individual sign, allowing operators to create profitable, scalable digital signage networks."
Punctuate is offered as new solution to Harris' existing digital signage/digital Out-of-Home portfolio, adding to its InfoCaster media management system.
The significance is that InfoCaster has generally operated below the radar of the digital signage industry at large for the past five years as its original developer, Inscriber Technologies, was acquired by Leitch. Leitch was then acquired by Harris Corp. InfoCaster is a powerful media management software well suited to enterprise digital signage/DOOH and venue media management and it is used by many large organizations, with a loyal following of system integrators which also provide broadcast and CCTV equipment.
While InfoCaster serves the digital signage/DOOH network market, Punctuate appears to offer the digital signage industry the cross-network connectivity it needs, and the operational linkages and efficiencies sought by large agencies, brands and multi-banner chains for campaign and content management.
This new plateau of operability from Harris Corp. addresses the fragmentation and network "silo-ing" that has impaired overall digital signage/DOOH industry growth.
"Content" was of primary education and exhibit focus for the first time at an industry-wide event. This reflects industry confidence that the technology ecosystem, business models and clarification of applications are no longer the primary concern, and that attention should be shifted to maximizing the value and impact of digital signage, through relevant content.
The signage and digital graphics industries were present at DSE with Matt Dixon, newly named managing editor of Sign & Digital Graphics magazine, announcing the consolidation of Sign Business and Digital Graphics magazines. The publication will deliver over 53,000 readers, a primary new group of digital signage resellers that fundamentally understand signage, their clients' branding and can bring "local," often long-standing supply capability to thousands of end user businesses.
Gestural interactivity and mobility had a high profile with a day of very informative sessions and show floor displays. Gestural pioneer and GestureTek founder Vincent John Vincent provided a rare appearance and forward-looking presentation. As the saying goes, "you could have heard a pin drop," as delegates took in the significance of his thought-leading directions.
Notable, too, was newly named Touch TV Networks CEO John Kirkpatrick on site. The firm offers multitouch hardware and software platforms to transform how we interact with computers through the use of both of our hands directly to manipulate objects on computer screens. This means higher satisfaction, deeper engagement, and better understanding of customers.
The next major event in Las Vegas is the combined KioskCom, Self Service Expo and The Digital Signage Show, to be held May 5-7. Given the "full-steam ahead" outlook for digital signage, it could be a good use of time, especially as the SPEED digital signage training program is being offered the afternoon of May 5. (Seewww.LyleBunn.comfor more information about that program.)
Lyle Bunn is a highly regarded independent consultant and educator in North America's digital signage/digital Out-of-Home industry.
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