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ICX Symposium: Maximizing the value of digital signage

The ICX Symposium in Atlanta, which kicks off today, includes a session featuring digital signage guru Lyle Bunn on maximizing the value of digital place-based media. ICX Association head Scott Slucher interviewed him about the need for companies to see engagement media as a significant contributor to improving corporate valuation.

October 27, 2015 by Scott Slucher

By Scott Slucher, Executive Director, ICX Association

One of the speakers at the ICX Symposium event kicking off today in Atlanta, "Inflection Point: The Future Tech of Customer Experience," is a familiar name in the world of digital place-based media. Lyle Bunn has helped many organizations launch successful digital-media deployments. When he takes the stage, attendees will benefit from not only the breadth of his experience but the depth of his knowledge.

We asked Lyle about the intersection of the customer experience and technology, and what follows are his insights. Enjoy.

Who are you and what do you do?

I'm Lyle Bunn, and I am an independent advisor to end-users in the planning, design, investment, sourcing and optimization of digital place-based media in customer, patron, traveler, staff and student communications and engagement.

What makes you uniquely qualified to speak on the interplay of tech and CX?

I have assisted over 300 end-user organizations in their digital media projects. I have also helped to train more than 10,000 professionals, and published more than 300 whitepapers and articles.

What excites you most about where technology is going, as it relates to CX?

Technology enables and empowers engagement. Its ever improving functionality in the omnichannel brand activation and multichannel brand experience allow end-users to connect with their target audiences in ways that are contextual and relevant.

In a rapidly changing technological landscape, what is the single most important trait companies must possess in order to thrive?

Companies that see engagement media at the strategic, tactical and operating levels as a significant contribution to improving corporate valuation will be the leading corporations of tomorrow in business-to-consumer and business-to-business communications.

What is a huge misconception about technology and what it can do for B2C brands?

Digital media is too often treated as a silo of operations being simply fit into facilities for upgrade or modernization, but its simultaneous impact on brand, merchandising and engagement (all factors of brand experience) are challenging this misconception.

What are some innovations that you see in the near-term future that really excite you?

As enterprises move beyond standalone applications and exploit their investment in "owned" digital media in the "paid-owned-earned" media model, new levels of communications efficiency are being gained. Insights and message creation investment are leveraged across communications platforms. Businesses have a growing awareness that their objective must be to create and monetize assets, of which data, statistics, information, knowledge and wisdom are key building blocks.

What is the biggest caution for early adopters of new tech innovations?

Tech innovation is a knowledge-based undertaking, so drawing on a range of expertise beyond internal staff alone is a critical success factor. Structuring assessment criteria is key to investment support, and enterprises must understand that their early actions are the basis for future actions. The caution is that future views and current needs must be balanced in application design and vendor sourcing.

Scott Slucher has spent his career working in and around CX, covering the kiosk, digital signage and retail markets as an editorial contributor for KioskMarketplace.com, DigitalSignageToday.com and RetailCustomerExperience.com. He later joined Networld Media Group full time as an account executive, where he worked with a wide array of clients in these markets. Most recently, Scott held the position of VP, Sales and Marketing, at a mystery shopping and brand auditing firm, deepening his interest in what makes for good CX. Part of that experience required doing field work to research and document customer experiences for major brands.