All of the hardware and software technology in the world won't make digital signage successful without the most important ingredient: effective content.

"Content is king!" How often have you heard that phrase? Perhaps, too often. You might be thinking to yourself that phrase is trite, hackneyed or just a cliche?

While I wouldn't argue the point that it's well worn, I would take issue with the notion that it has lost its meaning from overuse. When it comes to digital signage, content is king -or more accurately, the single most important ingredient to making sure your use of digital signage is successful.

Without the right content, properly presented and thoughtfully executed, digital signage software, players and monitors might as well not even be taken out of the box. That's a pretty bold statement for someone whose livelihood depends on the sale of the digital signage technology, but it's the truth.

At its fundamental level, digital signage is a communications medium -just like television, newspapers, radio and magazines. For it to fulfill its reason for being, it needs to communicate something -news, information, marketing messages, ads, directions, greetings or whatever else you can imagine. If it doesn't, it is a failure. The same thing is true for the other media mentioned. How long could a publisher of a newspaper or magazine or the owner of a radio or television station afford to stay in business if their given medium failed to communicate? Who would buy their product or tune in? The answer is obvious.

In the next several articles, I will dive into some useful specifics about digital signage content, such as: how to go about creating effective digital signage content; developing a communications strategy for your digital signage messaging; ideas to measure the effectiveness of that strategy and when to make tweaks to meet your goals; key design concepts for static and interactive digital signage content; and how to develop winning digital signage content without breaking the bank.

However, before I launch into those specifics, I'd like to share a simple story about something that happened to me to illustrate how important content is to communications when it comes to signage.

After concluding business in New York City a few years ago, I arrived at Newark Airport for my return flight to the Midwest. Being a veteran traveler, I know the drill well. Arrive two hours early to allow sufficient time for check-in and to clear security. I actually got to the airport more than three hours early.
I arrived at my gate long before my flight was schedule to depart.

Unfortunately, I was greeted with a message on the sign behind the gate agent that said "Delayed." It took a few minutes, but when I finally got my turn in line to talk to the agent about the situation, I learned that the plane due in for my flight hadn't even left where it was coming from and wasn't expected to do so for some time. I was told, however, to check back and look at the sign for the new departure time, which would be posted just as soon as more information was available.

Deciding to find a restaurant to pass the time, I did the quick scan of the location and found one near the gate, but not within sight of the gate. Not long after, the sign at the game displayed a new departure time of 9:30 p.m., so I headed out to the restaurant.

At 9 p.m., I left the restaurant and leisurely walked over to my gate, only to find that there was no longer any mention of my flight on the sign and the seats around the gate were strangely empty. When I approached the gate agent and inquired about my flight, I learned that somehow the delayed plane made up time in the air, arrived, passengers deplaned, my fellow travelers boarded and the plane took off for home -without me. I was out of luck, had to spend the night in a hotel and return the next morning.

The moral of the story for me is simple: Don't wait for a flight anywhere outside of a clear view of the gate. The moral of the story for anyone interested in communicating with signage: Be clear and accurate with your messages. They are important and can impact the lives of those who are viewing them.

I wish whoever was responsible for posting that information on the sign would have realized that content is king. Unfortunately for me that evening, the king seemed to have abdicated his throne.

Short of a total economic collapse, the digital signage market is in better shape today to weather a new downturn than a few years ago.

Will Greece default on its debt, destabilizing Europe's financial markets and plunging economies around the world back into recession? Or, will the politicians and bankers, find some way to avert the crisis and pull nations back from the precipice?

Frankly, I don't have the slightest idea, and I'm not so sure anyone else does either. But one thing I am confident in is that the conditions are right for the digital signage market to pull through any double-dip in much better shape than it did the first time around during the 2008-09 recession.

Global Industry Analysts, which recently published "Digital Signage Systems: A Global Strategic Business Report," describes the impact of the last recession on digital signage thusly: "...the global digital signage systems market witnessed sizeable deceleration in growth momentum during the years 2008 and 2009, as direct fallout of narrow creativity levels in a weak economy, and credit shortages for funding new and risky ventures during the period."

But this time around -if there is to be a this time around and if the size of economic contraction is not too severe- I believe there are at least five reasons why digital signage is likely to do better.

New kid on the block no more. Even though the last contraction began just three years ago, a lot has changed on the media landscape. For my purpose, two developments bode well for digital signage. First, professionals in the advertising business no longer regard digital signage as a "risky upstart." With documented audience numbers, it's transitioned into the media mainstream. Second, when budgets are tight, companies looking to sell retail products will be more likely to want to influence shoppers with persuasive messages closer to the point of sale.

Lower costs melt from economic frost. Displays as well as digital signage hardware and software is less expense than three years ago. As Global Industry Analysts puts it: "Low hardware costs, and declining software development costs have made systems, such as, media players, and display units like LCD displays cheaper and affordable." The emergence of software-as-a-service as a digital signage business model also is tipping things in favor of those who are cost-conscious.

Flat is where it's at. It's hard to overstate the profound affect media tablets like the Apple iPad, Motorola Xoom and other multi-touch flat screens is having on the way people like to consume digital content. Digital signs, which already bore a striking resemblance to another consumer favorite -i.e. television- when the last recession struck, now have an inherent kinship with media tablets. If they're hybrid digital signs with interactive touch-screen capability, so much the better. Savvy marketers and advertisers recognize these similarities and are likely to exploit them on digital signs to gain a leg up on the competition -even more so in the heightened competitive environment of a slowdown.

Buy low. For those businesses that are flush with cash, a recession can be a golden buying opportunity, if such acquisitions or new product rollouts lead to greater market share. Many traditional media companies that learned some hard lessons about the apparent strengths of their core properties the last time around, have had time to recover. I wouldn't be surprised to see some use a double dip as an opportunity to bolster their core brand with digital signage offerings.

Emerging is verging on splurging. Even if the Greek debt crisis sets off string of economic failures in the West, that doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the world will suffer. As Global Industry Analytics puts it: "Developing countries in Asia, Latin America, and Middle East are forecast to drive future gains in the (digital signage) market. The retail boom in countries like China, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, UAE, Hong Kong, and India, among others, provides a strong business case for new installations of digital signage systems."

Please don't misinterpret my optimism about the digital signage market as a lack of concern about the bigger economic picture. Of course, a double-dip would be a terrible development for millions people.

That said, when I look at where the digital signage market is today, I can't help but be bullish on the future of this communications medium.