Content

Live experiences fuel CX, digital signage renaissance

Digital signage is entering a period of unprecedented growth, which will be fueled across sectors by the rise of in-person, hybrid experiences in entertainment, retail, travel, education, and the workplace. Technology is not replacing human content and experiences; rather, it is augmenting them.

Phish performing live at the Sphere in Las Vegas in April 2024. Photo: Sphere Entertainment/Alive Coverage.

April 23, 2024 by Daniel Brown — Editor, Networld Media Group

Years into the post-lockdown recovery across industries, live experiences have never been bigger. We've seen a resurgence in travel and live events, and the growth of sports (including schools and pro teams). Perhaps most notably, we've seen digitally infused live music and entertainment, including Taylor Swift's historic Eras tour (which impacted national and local economies alike), along with the world's largest poster child for the power of digital displays, the Sphere in Las Vegas, which debuted with a U2 residency, a bespoke film by Darren Aronofsky, a Phish concert and more.

This all illustrates a somewhat paradoxical moment for the digital signage industry, and a theme for emerging technology generally: the future of tech is as an augmenter of live human experiences based in original, organic content. Far from heralding the end of such experiences, the age of AI, holograms, virtual production, and related technologies is all pointing us towards perhaps the greatest flourishing of live experiences to date, which is exactly where the most powerful growth areas for digital signage reside in the coming years.

Education

We've chatted more than once with global education technology expert Dr. Micah Shippee about the rise of AI and digital signage tech in the classroom, including widespread anxieties about the impact of large language models like ChatGPT on student learning and thinking. Dr. Shippee's thesis has been that technology is not to be feared; rather, emerging tech should be embraced as an augmenter of human activity.

"We ARE augmented," Shippee said in our exclusive interview about the ChatGPT revolution. "When I go drive, I turn on Google Maps. That is a cognitive load off my brain. I don't think I'm the only person on the planet who, when I put a reminder in my phone, will have a sigh of relief that I don't have to remember it. That's an augmentation. That's using technology to make my life less stressful. So those types of augmentations to our workflow, we are already doing."

It's the mindset behind countless automations I've covered at live events and road shows around the country, from industrial automation to robot servers for the restaurant industry, or the recent revelation that Walmart is debuting robotic forklifts at distribution centers; echoing the theme, a Walmart spokesperson said that the tech is designed to make human workers more efficient, rather than replacing them.

In the same way, the current blossoming of digital signage across live experience venues (and I include the emerging modern hybrid workspace in that list) is all fueled by the power of live, organic human activities and experiences, rooted in organic, original content, and augmented by the best in emerging technologies (but not replaced by those technologies).

Entertainment

It's a trend powerfully illustrated by the success of the Sphere venue in Las Vegas, which has gained global attention for its record-setting LED screens, its live events, and its 360-degree films, such as the inaugural Postcard from Earth film made specifically for the venue by Darren Aronofsky. From cutting-edge digital effects for the U2 residency and other live concerts (including the recent Phish live performances) to the announcement of AI-powered guide bots at the venue, the Sphere shows that humans (and their original content and activities) are not being replaced; they are being augmented (and made more popular than ever) by cleverly supercharging themselves with the latest technologies.

It's the same reason live music is flourishing, with Taylor Swift's historic Eras tour making impacts on national and local economies due to its popularity. Artists like Swift use digital signage and other technologies to fuel their live performances with gripping visuals that complement their unique live performances. Indeed, the ever-growing need for this augmentation technology is the reason we see powerful growth in virtual production technology (including the movement to replace greenscreens with LED).

Another powerful example is in my favorite niche of our industry, the small but rapidly growing hologram sector. The theme here, again and again, is that holograms fuel live events. When I interviewed Proto inventor David Nussbaum, he mentioned that holograms and AI technology helped fuel a live experience at the Reagan Library; far from a dehumanizing effect, emerging technology is helping to augment a live experience (and, hopefully, teach some history in the process). Similarly, a swathe of celebrities have been adopting holograms to appear live worldwide to perform music and comedy, to perform live readings of literature, to meet fans, and (if you're Chris Pratt and Jimmy Kimmel) even to prank visitors to Disney World. Similarly, Looking Glass, another wearable-free hologram developer, has had its displays used in live events by the likes of Disney (when promoting The Mandalorian).

As a passionate gamer, I have followed the growth of Gameway as a first-of-its-kind airport video game lounge concept that has been expanding across transit hubs thanks to its obsession with user experience and technical design (with locations designed and executed in partnership with custom integrator Red Dot Digital Media). It's a welcome paradox that videogames are bringing people together in these live venues for welcome companionship and entertainment during the tedium of travel; and, conveniently for our industry.

It's no accident that Gen Z's top demands for brands include authentic experiences that include physical and digital components, according to landmark research from consulting firm APC. While more research is needed, I believe it will reveal that the post-pandemic desire for real-world experiences extends to other consumer groups as well. The future of the economy involves people having experiences, buying things, and spending their money and time in physical spaces that allow them to create memories — all augmented tastefully by digital signage, AI, and other emerging technologies.

It's why the first years of the so-called metaverse revolution have been less of a bang and more of a whimper, precisely because so many companies prioritized solitary, at-home, digital-only models of the metaverse instead of embracing the notion that consumers want to go out into the world and see the best that physical venues and digital technology can offer in tandem. In the same way taxis are back because people want to be out and about (they're just adopting smart digital signage in the cabs, with handsome DOOH benefits), physical retail did not disappear due to the lockdown era; it's simply adapting, with digital signage fueling brick and mortar sales at the point of purchase (thanks in part to the growth of wirelessly powered digital signage).

Sports, workplaces, travel and more

I could go on for hours about additional examples such as:

Educational and professional sports venues (a massive growth area for our industry).
The rise of the hybrid experiential workplace, in which workers are increasingly treated as a customer group.
The travel and hospitality industries' embrace of digital signage, from hotels to cruise ships, where digital signage is augmenting travel and making one of our oldest human experiences into an exciting digital frontier.
The continuing growth and evolution of the digital out-of-home advertising industry.
Retail digital signage for employees and customers is transforming brick-and-mortar retail, from Costco digital signage for employee engagement to H&M rolling out holograms for NYC shoppers.
Smart city kiosks for wayfinding and infotainment, including Trenton, New Jersey's adoption of Soofa's solar-powered kiosks this year, augment the experience of in-person urban travel. (The same thing is happening at national parks.)
The resurgence of the movie cinema (from the United States to India).
The digital signage boom across transportation, from airports to train stations.

Digital signage, tech aren't enemies; they are fuel

In countless examples, we had been told that digital signage was facing desperate times, along with virtually every in-person venue for work and play — including brick and mortar retail stores, live entertainment venues, the classroom, and even the workplace.

Whether it was pandemic lockdowns, supply chain issues, or the supposed abandonment of in-person work and shopping, what has actually happened is that consumers (led by Gen Z) have made it clear that they want to travel, shop and enjoy experiences in person. They want those experiences to include the best emerging technologies, not to replace traditional content and experiences, but to augment them — to make music concerts more vivid, to make shopping easier and more accessible, to make a weekend shopping district expedition less stressful and more fun with wayfinding.

People love technology, but they also love being in the real world. That's why digital signage is such a powerful growth industry — from the beginning, this industry has augmented content and experiences across entertainment, work, and education. Far from replacing unique, in-person experiences, technologies like digital signage, AI, holograms, and new inventions just around the corner are fueling a global resurgence of in-person, hybrid experiences. For that reason, the designers and integrators of these technologies must keep the human element at the center of design and implementation.

Technology isn't going to replace humans, art, and real-world experiences; it's simply going to augment them. Because of that, digital signage and related technologies are not just going to see a period of unprecedented growth across sectors — it's all going to fuel a golden age of in-person experiences. And the businesses that understand this connection are going to be at the forefront of growth, profits and customer satisfaction.

About Daniel Brown

Daniel Brown is the editor of Digital Signage Today, a contributing editor for Automation & Self-Service, and an accomplished writer and multimedia content producer with extensive experience covering technology and business. His work has appeared in a range of business and technology publications, including interviews with eminent business leaders, inventors and technologists. He has written extensively on AI and the integration of technology and business strategy with empathy and the human touch. Brown is the author of two novels and a podcaster. His previous experience includes IT work at an Ivy League research institution, education and business consulting, and retail sales and management.