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Trending topics in the digital signage industry: Summer '09
The DigitalSignageToday.com editor gives insight into some key acquisitions, technology and installations from the past two months.
July 20, 2009
Last week I was asked to give our office an update on what has been occurring lately in the digital signage industry. There as been an absolute flurry of activity in this space, particularly this summer, but I was able to narrow it down to four topics I thought stood out.
And so, in keeping up with our Twitter efforts, here are the trending topics in the digital signage industry over the past few months.
The refinement of #Digital-out-of-home
Just in the past week, we have seen two pretty significant announcements in the digital out-of-home space. Last week, much attention was paid to the acquisition of Ideacast by Danoo, a digital out-of-home media network based in San Francisco. A part of the transaction, National CineMedia, which provides digital cinema advertising, will hold a minority interest in the same company.
This is significant because Danoo can now expand its 1,000-screen reach with NCM's network of approximately 16,800 screens in 1,325 theatres. For NCM, it can now break out of its cinema advertising "shell" and into Danoo-supported locations like airports, restaurants and bars. Danoo is also a nimble, innovative company that is well-supported by the VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB).
There has been quite a back-and-forth in the industry on the significance of this deal. For some good arguments on both sides read posts from Bill Collins, Bill Gerbaand Dave Weinfeld.
Last year, I wrote abouthow research through companies like Arbitron, Nielsen and OTX were going to be key for the advancement of digital out-of-home metrics and standards. These campaigns can often take a long time and are expensive, which is why it caught my attention this week when ADCENTRICITY launched Research Lite, a pre-packaged research service that measures the effectiveness of DOOH ad campaigns. Research Lite is going to be a joint measurement and consultative service from ADCENTRICITY and its partner PeopleCount.
What may be most significant here is the $4,200 entry-level price of the research, which I'm told is considerably less than what the "big guys" can offer for these services. So now, smaller networks can afford research and those who want to "test the waters" can try it for cheaper before launching a full-blown research project. In my mind, the more people learn about how their networks are performing, the closer the industry will get to standardizing those measurements.
#Billboard/Outdoor digital signage
There have been some really unique applications for large-scale LED signage that have come about recently, one being a 360-degree expandable screen from Barco that is being used on U2's worldwide tour this year. Words cannot do the screen justice, so take a look a video from the tour:
Also, Jerry Jones,owner of the Dallas Cowboys, has no doubt opened up his pockets for a $40 million array of Mitsubishi Diamond Vision screens that will hang above the Cowboy's new field. Each sideline screen is 11,393 square feet, which is bigger than the façade of most houses. Each screen spans from one 20-yard line to the other. To put it in further perspective, the array's total square footage is equal to that of almost 5,000 52-inch LCD screens.
#MobileIntegration
I got some great information through conversations with Stephen Randall of LocaModa and Steve Gurley of Symon Communications last week on two mobile phone-oriented digital signage products, which I both think represent a growth in this space in the near future.
LocaModa's Wiffiti allows people to publish real-time messages to screens via their mobile phones. The company has used this application in venues as large as Times Square, and earlier this month announced that it would be used as part of a DOOH campaign from VH1 on Zoom Media & Marketing screens, where users could debate via Twitter-like posts in real-time.
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A screen-shot of Symon's InView app. |
#3Ddigtialsignage
We covered the 3D digital signage landscape in the wake of InfoComm, where for the first time I sensed that the 3D technology had advanced enough that I could watch the screens for awhile without getting a headache. Those who supply 3D screens agreed, not so much on the headache part, but that in the past six months there has been significant improvements in the clarity and visibility of the 3D images. Retailers seem to be picking up on it too. T-Mobileand Samsung Mobileboth launched 3D digital signage campaigns in Europe this summer.
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