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Display technologies poised to create new experiences, drive new markets

Much as Amazon's services have raised customers' expectations, the display industry also is at the precipice of change, as advances enable organizations to think more creatively about how to apply digital signage tools to meet business objectives, the CEO of NEC Display says in this commentary piece.

August 14, 2015

By Todd Bouman, President and CEO, NEC Display Solutions of America

Much as Amazon's high-speed delivery programs have raised customers' service-level expectations, the display industry also is at the precipice of change. Market research firm NPD DisplaySearch reports that industry expectations for displays are rising. Collaboration and interactivity are driving the market for public displays.

More and more industries are discovering display technologies as windows to information. While displays and projectors have been around for a long time, advances in technology are enabling businesses and other organizations to think more creatively about how to apply these tools to meet business objectives.

Experiential environments are just one way — bringing information to life. At InfoComm15, NEC Display demonstrated how one retailer combines RFID technology with digital signage to simulate the look and feel of clothing on a shopper. By doing so, the store is using display solutions to engage consumers in new ways and foster brand loyalty.

And it's not just traditional businesses using signage in creative ways. At the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, hospital officials deployed a massive 50-foot-wide by 9-foot-high video wall as part of a building expansion project. In the new Discovery Zone, kids interact with "magical" creatures and blooming plants — all in an effort to take their minds off their hospital stays.

Consumers are driving many of these new applications. Smart devices and content at the click of a button mean that public display technologies need to keep pace. The same experiences that consumers derive from their tablets and phones in mobile environments are required for digital screen and projection technologies to be relevant.

Not only do consumers want new experiences, they also want to interact with brands in new ways. People today have greater expectations. They want to be entertained; they want relevant information; they want immediacy.

And this is happening not only in retail or purchasing environments. The health care, restaurant, education, museum and transportation sectors are just some of the verticals working with display technologies to realize their capabilities, determine what can be done, how to engage and create more collaborative environments. In one train station, for example, the local transit authority has deployed lamp-less projectors to cast travel information and advertising onto building infrastructure to monetize bare walls.

That's taking creativity to the next level, and to achieve such, it means combining hardware, software and services to create solutions — holistic solutions. It means tapping the expertise of channel partners, systems integrators, designers and experts outside of our display industry to create an ecosystem that accelerates solutions for the unique needs of each vertical — the ones using display technologies now and new markets ripe for discovery.

As the ability to capture information through Big Data analytics grows, industries that heretofore have not tapped the power of display technologies will leverage their power.

One of the Big Data challenges is taking all that information and distilling it into business knowledge. Organizations need to be intimate with their audiences — and to understand their behaviors. Armed with such knowledge, organizations make better business decisions, and know what products and solutions to position for their own audiences. The display industry has a tremendous opportunity to tap Big Data and make it meaningful to clients so that these organizations make decisions that drive business success.

Creating new markets are at the forefront of my goals for NEC Display and for the industry at large. We need to help new verticals leverage the capabilities of display technologies, help them understand, explore and create. We need to demonstrate how displays and projectors can help grow their businesses, refine their processes and foster collaboration. Our collective success depends on these factors.

Todd Bouman is president and CEO of NEC Display Solutions of America, where he is responsible for driving market leadership, product innovation, channel development and solutions selling. His broad portfolio of experience in executive management, product management, product marketing, operations and supply chain strategies saw him previously serve as vice president of marketing for commercial displays and mobile products at Samsung Electronics America, and in various operational and product marketing capacities at HP. He can be reached at tbouman@necdisplay.com.

Cover image courtesy of Kinesis Studio.