The use of simple network management protocol (SNMP) messaging can make it much easier to manage a digital signage network.

If you don't want to be the Erich Brenn of your digital signage network, you might want to consider how SNMP (simple network management protocol) messaging can help you lead a happy, productive professional life.

For those who don't recall my last column, Erich Brenn was "The Ed Sullivan Show" performer who impressed me as a young boy for his ability to keep numerous bowls and plates spinning. His feat required a high-degree of attention and some pretty quick feet.

I envision administrators of digital signage networks without the proper tools to be in a similar space as Brenn -constantly running from one display monitor to the next to confirm playback, inspect presentation quality and identify potential problems on the horizon. Unfortunately, for the network administrators, the distance they must cover isn't the length of a dining room table, but rather can be as great as across a mall, a campus or even around the world.

One tool at the disposal of digital signage network administrators is SNMP messaging. The idea behind SNMP is devices on the network -for instance a local digital signage player, whether it's integral to the monitor or a standalone device connected to the display- are equipped with the ability to monitor their condition and alert a central server of problems or potential problems. Local condition monitoring of these devices is done via an agent that reports information via SNMP messaging.

So, for instance, one simple task of an SNMP agent in a digital signage network is reporting. In this example, an agent can be setup to report in to the central server at specific intervals, letting the system and the administrator know that the device is still connected to the network and on. However, if there's a problem and the agent fails to report in at the expected time, the server immediately knows there is a status problem with the device that must be addressed. Communications in the form or an email or text message can be sent to the administrator so the issue can be corrected. SNMP can allow a variety of conditions to be monitored, reported and acted upon. Others might include temperature, moisture and even component-level warnings where available.

While SNMP messaging is a smart way to monitor, report problems and ultimately take corrective actions, it's also stupid. Or, more accurately, SNMP doesn't have the smarts to do anything more or less than the administrator asks.

Thus, if an administrator tells an SNMP agent to report in to the central server every minute with a status report, that's exactly what it will do. If the action that's tied to a failure to report is to send out an email to the administrator every time the device fails to report that administrator may one morning be greeted with literally hundreds of emails reporting the failure of that player on the network. While an annoyance, simple steps like extending the reporting interval can reduce those emails from hundreds to a handful.

SNMP is a valuable tool that digital signage network administrators can use to sidestep emulating Erich Brenn. Another is serial control, which I'll explore in my next column.

Clear Channel Outdoors' announcement last week of its new National Sales Group is a clear sign that digital signage networks are maturing as a serious medium.

Clear Channel Outdoors, one of the world's largest outdoor advertising firms with nearly one million displays in more than 50 countries, announced Sept. 15 it has setup a new business unit focused on helping advertisers and ad agencies plan, buy and implement "multiplatform and multimarket out-of-home campaigns."

According to a press release announcing the creation of the Clear Channel Outdoor National Sales Group, or NSG, one important reason for the move is the availability of new audience-measurement technologies that will assist advertisers and agencies in quantifying the size of the audience they can reach.

As I've pointed out in other columns over the past few years, for digital signage ad networks to take off, advertisers must achieve a new level of comfort with digital signage as a serious advertising medium, and that acceptance hinges on delivering quantifiable measurement of audience size and viewing duration.

For those with only a passing familiarity with the ad industry drawn from television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet and the radio, advertising might seem a bit quirky, somewhat glitzy and even whimsical. But nothing could be further from the truth. Those same ad agencies that develop campaigns featuring everything from a female plumber named Josephine (I'm showing my age with that one.) to little a little green reptile selling car insurance are quite down-to-earth, no-nonsense types when it comes to identifying target audiences and reaching them with rifle-like precision.

The formation of the new business unit at Clear Channel is significant because it indicates the pieces are falling into place for advertisers and agencies to quantify digital signage audiences.

"Outdoor advertising is now primed to gain a larger share of overall advertising spending with the advent of new measurement tools like Eyes On that puts out-of-home on par with other media categories, combined with new digital innovations that allow for more creative and flexible campaigns," the press release quotes Ron Cooper, Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel Outdoor Americas as saying.

Even more to the point, he is quoted as saying "for the first time, marketers can target key demographics on a national scale with one easy purchase and not have to assemble buys across numerous local markets."

My intent is not to promote Clear Channel Outdoors. Rather, it is to point out that the formation of NSG is another sign that digital signage is coming of age as a viable ad medium, rather than being an experimental advertising alternative given less-than-serious consideration. Clear Channel's move expresses confidence that the company can deliver to agencies and advertisers the same level of audience measurement and demographics they are accustomed to when using traditional media.

That's particularly important as the nation walks the tightrope toward economic recovery. The appeal of reaching customers at the point of purchase is strong for marketers, but without a means to measure the audience, advertisers and agencies were left in the uncomfortable position of committing limited advertising dollars on little more than hope. Audience measurement in the digital signage network space is replacing hope with facts - something that's almost certain to elevate the medium in the eyes of advertisers and agencies alike.