Foxes in the hen house, or fish out of water?

It does not take an advanced degree to figure out that when all is said and done, the money that will drive hyper-growth in DOOH will flow from advertisers. As such, I suppose we should not be surprised to see non-traditional, non-media companies enter the fray to chase the big bucks. First came NEC with their VUKUNET offering, announcing their intent to bring order and lots of money to anyone who trusts a terrific hardware manufacturer to write software and sell ads. Now, rumors surface via DailyDOOH that Cisco is about to launch an OOH ad exchange. Despite the fact that there are several established, specialized and entrenched entities booking ads and aggregating DOOH screens, as well as several new and focused entrants, these two industry giants seem to think they can move markets outside their normal scope of operations. Maybe they will, but I wouldn’t make book on it. However, if a company like Google or Microsoft decides that they are coming into the space, they would be doing so from a position of experience and power. If that happens, the hardware guys will get schooled by people who understand both software and ad sales. The best of the established aggregators and agencies will continue to prosper based upon relationships with brands and networks and their specialized knowledge. Hardware people will return to hardware sales.

Can we agree on how to measure success?

There has been a lot of discourse on the topic of press releases, their content, claims and general usefulness. Most players in the industry are eager to get their names into the public consciousness in any way possible. Apparently, using key buzz words, fantastic claims and large numbers has become the accepted method to get attention.

So when vendors talk about how many screens they control, or how many connected network devices they serve, they are trying to publish the largest and least meaningful number possible. If you sell software, the yardstick is licenses, end points (media players, not screens) or locations. Each of those can somehow be related to actual scale, revenue and success. When we start counting screens and unidentified connected devices, it only serves to cast doubt on the claim itself. I doubt that anyone is trying to be dishonest, but using sleight-of-hand to make something look much larger than it is (even if it is actually large in the first place) doesn’t fool too many people.

2010: The year when digital signage and mobile get serious

I am not sure any topic is more buzz-worthy than how mobile technologies finally get married with digital signage technology. There are so many flavors of mobile applications, so many potential use cases, and so many providers on both sides of the equation, that it can make your brain freeze. I don’t think the answers are obvious, but it seems clear that the network owners, the brands and the consumers are all eager to make use of those smart devices in every pocket and purse. As a result, 2010 will see many cases of proof-of-concept testing of mobile-digital signage application integration. I am not a supporter of the idea that mobile screens will displace large format DOOH screens. But networks and solution providers are going to have to figure out how to embrace mobile devices and applications in order to raise the bar and their appeal to their many constituencies.

Naughty and Nice

I had planned to do a humorous post in the theme of Santa’s annual list, offering appropriate toys to the nice people in our industry, and lumps of coal to the naughty. I even solicited (and received) input from others via Twitter. I got a whole lot more input on the naughty side, some quite humorous. My experience is that the nice folks are in the vast majority and make this a fun industry to work in. You nice people out there… you know who you are and don’t need to be reminded. On balance, it feels more appropriate to just wish everyone the happiest, safest and warmest holiday season possible.

A special thank you to the RDM team, our partners, friends and of course our exceptionally brilliant customers for an exceptional year. I can’t wait for tomorrow.

Peace.

The first stream was a series of Manolo Almagro's pieces on user-generated content (starting on November 19th, here). Manolo is particularly wired into the UGC trendsphere both from a personal and professional perspective, and his travels expose him to trends well beyond North America, especially in Asia. So his insights and enthusiasm have a strong foundation. His presentation last month at the Strategy Institute conference in Chicago provided a number of excellent examples of how UGC can make the transition from online to OOH seamless for the person he defines as the "new, new consumer". In his presentation, Manolo pointed out that the new consumer:

 - Seeks out new and different experiences with brands

 - Prefers active engagements vs. passive

 - Ruthlessly filters messages, seeks to personalize

 - Expects 2-way conversations with brands

 - Consumes or creates some form of digital media on a daily basis

In subsequent posts, he advocates for UGC and moderated content filtering, while making sure that readers take note of the very real ubiquity and dominance of mobile devices. New consumers armed with powerful smartphones consume and create media in addition to consuming brands. They want those experiences to be integrated. Hold on to those thoughts for a moment, we'll get back to them.

The second stream related to a presentation given by Danah Boyd at the Web 2.0 Expo in New York. Ms. Boyd is a well-regarded Social Media Researcher, and her work in academia and business has associated her with brands like Microsoft, Harvard, MIT and Berkeley. She is a frequent and sought-after speaker on social media. Her presentation was a new pitch titled, Streams of Content, Limited Attention: The Flow of Information Through Social Media. It was remarkable for two reasons. First, it provided some terrific thoughts that can be applied to the digital media space; and second, the presentation itself was reportedly a debacle, as a giant screen behind her was used to post tweets from the audience in real time, which flustered her and took her off her game. It seems the audience had issues with the speed or her delivery, and the comments degenerated into personal attacks. Ironically, the social media expert was being skewered by unfiltered UGC delivered via Twitter! The show producers did something (real time twitter backchannel) to force interactivity in a forum designed for one way delivery. It backfired.

Boyd's talk, which got somewhat lost in all the controversy over the presentation, was actually quite thought-provoking, and has some elements that relate to DOOH. Here are some notable points:

 - She introduces the idea of "…content streams, streams of information. This metaphor is powerful. The idea is that you are living inside the stream: adding to it, consuming it, redirecting it."

 - We have transitioned from "…an era of broadcast media… to an era of networked media."

 - In this era of networked media and living in the stream, we are "consuming (content) to understand, producing (content) to be relevant."

 - "…what matters is not the act of distribution, but the act of consumption. Thus the power is no longer in the hands of those who control the channels of distribution, but those who control the limited resource of attention."

The third stream was Paul Flanigan's take on Black Friday, which was really a reflection on his time at Best Buy and how he watched the metamorphosis of the big day. Paul is yet another person who falls under the heading of "Totally Gets It". He shares some observations:

 - Best Buy (and other retailers) let the customers make a bigger deal out of it than it really was. Corporate definitely paid attention, but the customers themselves are what drives the advertising.

 - By leaking deals, you get them to wait in line at your store. Once in line, they stay there… They have made the commitment.

 - I have seen the customer change because it is no longer about the deal, it is about the event.

Paul goes on to observe how Black Friday is no longer about item discounting, because retailers are discounting year round these days. Instead, it has become "a cultural event". Black Friday may as well be renamed Campout Thursday, to more accurately reflect what it is now all about: the experience.

Now connect the dots: New consumers want to connect with brands in new ways… the power belongs to those that control the limited resource of attention…. the experience matters more than the deal. These observations were made in wholly different contexts, yet cobbled together, there is something to take away. We are facing seismic cultural and technological shifts that should be regarded as game changers to an industry that wants to position itself as legitimate alternative media distribution channel.

Clearly, as producers of this emerging channel of content distribution, DOOH network operators must be mindful of the dual concepts of the stream and the experience, and make efforts not to dead-end their evolving consumers. If we think that the stream begins and ends with DOOH content or ads, without allowing consumers to somehow engage, link or produce within our stream, then we may be taking their precious attention for granted. In today's networked culture, that might be a big mistake.

There is no silver bullet for achieving relevant consumer engagement. While mobile-fed and moderated UGC is appropriate for Times Square billboards and bars, it is probably not quite as appropriate in medical environments or branch retail outlets. QR codes, NFC and Bluetooth show promise for serving up links and new opportunities to connect with brands and content producers. Social media tools will find their way into the stream, perhaps through links or portals for UGC where it makes sense. In any case, DOOH networks need to find a way to become part of an experience that is relevant to their audience, leveraging the attention the consumers grant them. To ignore that imperative would put them in danger of suffering the limitations of broadcasters.