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Digital signage and rise of 'coopetition'

Sharing the fourth trend to watch in digital signage and marketing, Digital Signage Today editor Daniel Brown contends that news of DSF's Career Center launch underscores broader trends of "coopetition" and ecosystem-thinking in digital signage (echoing similar trends in business and technology more broadly).

A view from the audience as industry thought leaders share insights in Louisville, Kentucky, during a quarterly regional meeting of the DSF. Image credit: Daniel Brown.

April 5, 2023 by Daniel Brown — Editor, Networld Media Group

"Companies are choosing 'coopetition,' as opposed to competition, where competing companies and peers are cooperating to create greater mutual value in the market." Image courtesy of Kamales Lardi.

Previously in "SOS: State of Signage," we've looked at industry trends, including DEI, ESG and emerging markets. As reported this week, the Digital Signage Foundation rolled out phase one of the DSF Career Center. It feels right to investigate another trend, which factors into larger business and technology trends: 'coopetition.'

Kamales Lardi offers the following explanation of coopetition in her book, "The Human Side of Digital Business Transformation": "A business exists, and thrives, in an ecosystem — a network that includes internal and external stakeholders involved in the delivery of product or services through cooperation or competition ... A symbiotic relationship exists between the stakeholders in the business ecosystem — coexistence and interaction that impacts the well-being and generates mutual advantage.

"In the increasingly digital global business landscape, we are observing more symbiotic relationships develop. Companies are choosing 'coopetition,' as opposed to competition, where competing companies and peers are cooperating to create greater mutual value in the market. Companies, particularly incumbents, are realizing that it is challenging to keep up with rapidly developing technology and consumer trends on their own, and building strategic or cooperative relationships in the business ecosystem offers access to innovation, technology solutions, customer segments or even new markets."

It's a definition that I've heard echoed in dozens of interviews with industry figures from every category I can think of, from hardware and software to integrators and everybody in between, and it's a pattern worth watching as it develops in business, technology and especially the digital signage and marketing industries.

Coopetition in digital signage

"The ability to collaborate with one another is what is really driving this industry." — Brian Gorg. Image provided.

In February, I conducted exclusive in-person interviews with various DSF leadership figures and members to learn more about the organization's mission during the quarterly regional gathering in Louisville, Kentucky, starting with Brian Gorg, executive director at the DSF.

"So, these events are here for the industry, they are majorly supported by our advisory council," Gorg replied. "And they are a mix of vendor display education, and a lot of networking. The whole purpose here is to get people to work with each other to network to share ideas, and then to just bring trust and camaraderie to the industry. So that is our goal with these events. And we hope we accomplished it."

This prompted me to provide some context for my follow-up question: "I've interviewed dozens and dozens of international executives on digital signage, shifts in digital signage, and I keep hearing the same thing: 'We're tired of what things used to be in this industry. We believe that a rising tide raises all boats, we don't believe in dog-eat-dog. We don't like the word 'enemy.' You might have a competitor, but you can also have a collaborative competition. Can you tell us: Is there a sea change happening in this industry towards that kind of networking, helping each other out elevating the industry as a whole?"

"I think so," Gorg replied. "Absolutely. We see that, too, in this specialization, in the industry. And each company realizing they can't do everything for all people. They do fewer things of high value to targeted groups, targeted customers. And, therefore, the ability to collaborate with one another is what is really driving this industry, along with a lot of consolidation and M&A activity. And so these are really important events because what comes out of these events ultimately is supporting the end user, the integrator, the people who are putting in digital signage, using digital signage on a daily basis."

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"It's just been a great place to be." Image courtesy of Jonathan Brawn.

Jonathan Braun of Braun Consulting, a member of the board of directors for DSF, also granted us an exclusive interview. "The DSF is all about furthering and growing the digital signage industry," Braun said. "We are the trade organization for the digital signage and digital out of home industries. And our whole goal is to further the manufacturers, the integrators, the content developers and the users that make up this industry."

Braun's remarks echoed Gorg on the mission and ethos of DSF, but they also echoed a theme of our coverage this past year, the increasing overlap of digital signage and digital marketing; when people ask me about this industry, I often explain it as "digital signage: it's not just the screens, but what you put on them."

What about creating official standards, is that part of DSF's mission?

"Not standards in the formal sense," Braun said, "like someone like CEDIA or AVIXA does, where there are ANSI ISO standards for specific things like rack building or installation; but in terms of standards of practice, yes, we are trying to set forth good quality best practices and standards for the industry, how to operate — whether that's content development, installation design and a lot of that is furthered through our partnership with the Digital Signage Experts Group, which is the certification body for the digital signage industry. I happen to be one of the co-directors, so I get to speak in both capacities. But we are working on developing that. We've got a strong effort in education. That's one of my jobs as part of the board of directors is I'm the co-chair, with my good friend Ken Frank, of the Education Committee, and we're trying to further develop what we call micro-credentials and other education programs for the industry."

Like so many we've interviewed in the past year, Braun seemed uniquely passionate, so I had to ask: what kept him coming back to this digital signage industry? His answer echoed countless other longtime industry figures across companies and verticals: passion and people. "It's kind of like the Mafia: you never get to leave," Braun quipped. "No, it's just been a great place to be. It's something that lets me use my unique talents for engineering, design and sales. And it's just such a close-knit group."

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"We don't want them to be sold to, we want them to actually experience the signage the way it's supposed to be." Image courtesy of Michelle Montazeri.

I had previously interviewed Michelle Montazeri, head of digital signage at Legrand AV, so I was excited to get her perspective on all of this as a newly minted DSF board member. "I think our claim to fame for 2023-2024 is bridging the gaps between AV and digital signage, and AV and IT (and IT and digital signage), because we touch both. And we're in both spaces. And I think the opportunity for integration and digital signage is — I mean, it's there. And I think this is the force between all those three groups coming together.

"So really, the intention is so we've got a DSF board," Montazeri added. "We also have an advisory council. The advisory council is made up of manufacturers that you see across the room right now. So Sony, Legrand, Peerless, et cetera, et cetera. The intention is to lead the voice for our industry. So if you think about our examples, from an AV perspective, AVIXA is the guiding principles, right? Absolutely. That is what DSM is striving to do. Now, what I'll say that we're doing a little differently is we are partnering with the existing platforms like an AVIXA and CEDIA and say, 'Gosh, how do we get DSF's voice in your spaces, because you're all talking about digital signage, you must help educate at the end of the day,' if I really break it down and humanize it. If I'm an AV integrator, I'm hearing digital signage is the biggest growth category. Oh my gosh, there's so much happening in digital signage that I'm going, I don't even know where to start. Well, wouldn't it be great if they thought I'll reach out to DSF because I know they'll advise me on the best direction for my business to start attacking different signage opportunities."

Nonbiased, helpful information is the goal, Montazeri stressed. "We want to be a resource for the industry, so that folks can implement technology that makes sense, that meets their objective — we don't want them to be sold to, we want them to actually experience the signage the way it's supposed to be," she said.

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"The Digital Signage community is a pretty small knit ecosystem." Frank Pisano during Digital Signage Today video interview, courtesy of Networld Media Group.

Although we had covered the news of Frank Pisano's move to be CEO of Bluefin, we did not cross paths in Louisville, so I used the opportunity of our exclusive video interview in March to ask about DSF, on which Pisano is a board member.

"The Digital Signage community is a pretty small knit ecosystem," Pisano said. "And there is a little bit of the frenemy, or coopetition, because a lot of the software companies work with multiple hardware platforms level hardware platforms, to software companies. However, it's the growth of the industry that everyone's passionate about, and no matter what, the Digital Signage Federation is trying to promote the growth of digital signage, whether that be at the end user level — which is now free for the DSF — and then to get more integrators, especially AV integrators that are doing more and more digital signage, and really trying to create a few subject matter experts so they can have somebody to go to that understands the different software platforms, the different media, custom content — or custom displays, in my case.

"I've been part of the DSF for a long time. I've been on the board for now quite a few years. And now part of the executive committee, I help chair the membership committee, so I'm super passionate about getting more and more members. And I don't care if they're competitive members, we just want to get more and more people that are engaged with digital signage, because, ultimately, the industry is going to grow accordingly ... It's one of the fastest growing categories. So, we just need to be sure we're educating and creating good signage experiences, and not creating bad signage experiences by being less educated."

About Daniel Brown

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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.