A new study from the Platt Retail Institute reaffirms how effective digital communication is in distributing emergency warnings and alerts on school campuses. In late September, a gunman opened fire inside the library at the University of Texas in Austin.

For many of us old enough to recall, news of the event immediately triggered memories of Charles Whitman, the sniper who fired upon the campus from the University of Texas Tower in August 1966. While the specifics of the two events are quite different, one major but easy-to-overlook difference is particularly noteworthy: campus communications. Forty-four years ago, radio and television carried the burden of warning the public about the presence of the sniper. Unfortunately, not many people at universities tune into radio or TV during class.

Today, new digital means of communications abound, and spreading the word that a gunman has opened fire on campus can be immediate, focused and highly effective. Text messaging, e-mail and cell phones make it simpler for campus authorities to reach individual students and faculty within minutes of an event occurring.

Digital signage also is an important component in this digital communications mix. After all, many students are advised to turn off their cell phones during class, so the availability of emergency messaging on digital signs strategically located around a campus provides another layer of protection in the process of communicating urgent emergency messages to students, faculty and staff.

A new study from Platt Retail Institute, "Communication Effectiveness in Higher Education" reveals the significant role of digital signage in communicating on campus. A press release announcing the study quotes Steven Keith Platt, PRI Director and Research Fellow as saying: "Our research study found that 97 percent of students prefer to receive information via digital channels, rather than from non-digital sources. Overall, text messages were found to be the most effective distribution channel, followed closely by digital signage."

It's important to note that emergency messages delivered digitally, like in text messages and on digital signs, do not have to relate simply to shootings. A variety of emergency situations require quick, accurate communication. Universities and other institutions regularly plan for contingencies such as fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and many others. Developing an effective communications strategy that taps the power of digital communications should be part of that contingency planning.

When it comes to digital signage and emergency communications, a variety of specific pages with the appropriate emergency-related information should be prepared prior to any event as part of a well-planned, campus-wide digital signage network. In the event of any given contingency happening, pages can quickly be updated with event-specific information and distributed to all or some of the signs on the network.

Having been involved with the planning and roll out of some of these systems, I want to offer a few ideas for those who haven't given digital signage and emergency communications much thought. First, the digital signage network administrator should coordinate with on-campus and off-campus first responders as digital signage pages are prepared for various contingencies. Often, plans already exist and can be drawn upon to create effective communications. Second, provide for Internet access to digital signage control in case the emergency circumstance prevents access to the campus command and control center and the computers ordinarily used to drive digital signage messaging. Third, be sure to password protect access to the digital signage network.

While the very thought of a gunman on campus, a tornado striking a building or some other contingency is tremendously disturbing, it is necessary to plan for them before they happen. Effective communications can save lives, and supplementing text messages and e-mails with emergency digital signage messaging might mean the difference between preserving innocent life and a lifetime filled with regret.

A new study from Clear Channel Communications and MarketShare Partners demonstrates the benefits marketers can expect from adding out-of-home advertising to their media mix.

Marketers looking for evidence that out-of-home advertising can improve sales and amplify the effectiveness of their other advertising need look no further than a new study from Clear Channel Communications and MarketShare Partners.

The study, "How Out-of-Home Advertising Works," examines the return on investment of using out-of-home advertising as an ingredient in a larger marketing mix. Specifically, the report finds that OOH advertising provides a significant, incremental sales lift that equals, or is often greater than, other drivers.

"After careful analysis of thousands of marketing optimization models, and considering decades of research and applied marketing science, independent research from MarketShare Partners conclusively shows that OOH is an effective marketing vehicle and should be included as a component of the optimal marketing mix across a broad range of industries," said Debbie Reichig, senior vice president of Business Development and Marketing at Clear Channel Outdoor.

So what can marketers expect from OOH advertising? Quite a lot, actually. A press release announcing the report outlines some key benefits, including:

• Adding OOH in the media mix, for industries and products where it provides observable sales lift, makes other media more effective.
  
•  OOH can provide a significantly higher sales lift in conjunction with TV when the creative messaging is coordinated across platforms.
  
• OOH can provide a significantly higher sales lift in conjunction with radio when there is a call to action.

As I've discussed before, out-of-home advertising using a medium such as digital signage networks is making great strides these days. Recent developments in technologies and techniques to count audience elevate the stature of OOH advertising in the minds of marketers and ad agencies alike.

The latest study from Clear Channel Communications and MarketShare Partners advances the medium further still. It not only demonstrates how OOH ads can provide a sales lift when used together with radio and TV advertising, but it makes specific recommendations on the optimum allocation of marketing resources to out of home.

The study finds the best allocation of marketing dollars to OOH advertising falls somewhere between 5 percent and 25 percent of the total advertising budget for most products and brands.

While some may discount this study as self-serving - after all Clear Channel Communications recently announced its recommitment to OOH ad networks and is one of the largest purveyors of outdoor advertising in the world - to do so would be shortsighted in my opinion. Sure this company has an interest in OOH advertising, but both Clear Channel and MarketShare Partners have an equally strong interest in protecting their reputation in the industry. To do anything other than to look honestly and completely at OOH advertising in the report would be harmful to both enterprises.

I applaud the companies and the release of "How Out-of-Home Advertising Works." The study offers the advertising and marketing communities key insights at this important stage in the development of OOH advertising on digital signage networks. Not only does the study demonstrate how OOH advertising can help marketers achieve their goals, it quantifies what portion of their ad budgets should be allocated to this medium to maximize the effectiveness of their advertising efforts.