As days, months, years go by, it never ceases to amaze me how many people are unable to change with the times. I was talking with a representative at an advertising group and he started saying, “With a captive audience…”  Well I stopped him right there, and here is why…

Within the place-based media arena, we used to sell the idea of a captive audience. Television viewers at home became fewer and fewer as a percentage, as they were spending more time out of the home. And with the advent of cable, viewers were spread thinner across more stations. Then, with TiVo, they could skip commercials altogether. That’s what made the idea of “place-based” media networks so compelling to advertisers – because a network could deliver a captive audience such as at a doctor’s office or auto repair facility, etc.

But now, with the worldwide expansion of smart phones, there is no captive audience. That handheld device competes with all other screens for attention. So your content better be that much more compelling to engage the viewer. And you can’t fake it because third party surveyors such as Arbitron and Nielsen go out and measure recall. Now if the recall is there, then the audience was engaged and you have a motivated consumer. This not only benefits the venue, but also allows for advertisers to reach their target market.

Being in the digital signage arena, I am not always the most objective eye when it comes to catchy displays. I am often kinder to the medium than most consumers. That is, I will look at any digital signage no matter what is on it. I have this uncontrollable need to evaluate DOOH content wherever and whenever I see it.

This morning, I’m standing in line at the dry cleaners. I’m looking around and I see this sign behind the counter – Clean Your Bed Spread, $29.99. Behind the cash register is a screen with a news channel playing. So I’m thinking, why does he have news on when he obviously has something he is trying to sell me? (He wants me to have my bedspread cleaned for $29.99.) I get to the front of the line and the owner, Ralph, is there. Now, I’ve known Ralph for about fifteen years, so I say, “Ralph, come here.” I put my arm around his shoulder and continue:

I’m standing in line three minutes. I’m looking at the news, which I don’t care; I’ve already seen the news today. And I look over here and I see this sign, that I think your granddaughter made, that says bring in your bedspread to be cleaned for $29.99. Now, obviously you want me to bring my bedspread in. Tell me why. You have up to three minutes to tell me why (dwell time). (Ralphie goes into a dissertation on why I need him to dry clean my bedspread.) Ralphie, that makes perfect sense. You just motivated me to spend $30 with you. Now, take that screen (with the news) and get some guys that know how to create content. Tell the “story” you just told me to everybody else standing here on why they should bring their bedspreads in for dry cleaning.

All stories are the same, whether they are 30 minutes, 90 minutes, or 45 seconds. They all have three parts – a beginning, a middle, and an end. Fine arts majors call it three acts. But the objective in this case is to motivate me to get my bedspread cleaned. If you can tell me a story that arrives at a logical conclusion, then by the time I arrive at the counter, Ralph has picked up thirty bucks. Now if you tell that story to every guy standing in line today, that could equate to lot of bedspreads and a lot of $30 bills. Motivating content leads to increased services and that means a lot of extra cash.

Let’s take that a step further. If Ralph puts up three stories – each a minute to a minute and a half, a customer is going to see at least one story. The customer is going to be pitched at least one service. How hard is that?