On Monday November 9th in NYC the Digital Signage Association held its 4th and final board meeting for calendar year 2009; many thanks to KioskCom / The Digital Signage Show for their support in furnishing a meeting room for DSA to hold its board meeting.

The association’s board of 41 member companies is at approximately 10% of our nearly 400 members and represents the 5 constituency groups of End Users, Vendors/Researchers, Integrators/ProAV, Networks, and Agencies. This broad industry representation enables DSA to drive decision making that takes into consideration the full value chain of a digital signage network from design and launch through on-going monetization of the network whether it is an ad-based, retail/venue-owned, corporate communications or a hybrid.

This perspective brings enormous value to the key initiatives that DSA are taking on such as industry education, ROI measurements, and content efficacy. As the current president of the DSA I was very pleased with the level of enthusiasm, passion and participation … in short the ownership … that the board members have assumed around these topics.

However participation didn’t stop there; as a matter of fact the most passionate discussions were around the topic of the DSA’s 3-year planning process. More specifically, how does the association continue to offer tremendous value to its membership and ensure that we contribute to the growth of a sustainable industry? Tantamount to where we are going is the question on how fast we can accomplish our goals. The discussion quickly moved to a fundamental question. What are our future sources of revenue that will ensure we have the requisite financial and staffing resources needs to serve our membership and the industry at the desired level?

Participating in the building of this plan will be some names that you are familiar with:

• Dick Good, DSA Chairman (CEO, Networld Alliance)
• David Drain, DSA Executive Director
• Stuart Armstrong, DSA President (President, EnQii North America)
• Jeff Porter, Committee Co-Chair Education (Executive Vice President, Scala)
• Margot Meyers, Committee Co-Chair Education (Direction of Education & Training at Platt Retail Institute)
• Keith Kelsen, Committee Chair Best Practices (Chairman of the Board - The MediaTile Company)
• Tim Burke, Committee Chair Marketing and PR (CEO / Owner, Electronic Art)
• Greg Masingill, Committee Chair Membership (President at Seneca Data)
• Steve Nesbit, Committee Chair ROI (COO & President at Reflect Systems, Inc)

Additionally several other board members have expressed an interest and will be included in the planning committee.

I am thrilled about both the process and the outcomes of this planning process. We will be meeting as a planning group for the first time in a conference call within the next 4 – 6 weeks following for first in person meeting in late January / early February 2010 for a full day session. As plans and details unfold I will keep you up to date as part of my DSA blog contributions. Keep an eye out for some interesting updates in the months to come. 

The Digital Signage Association will be celebrating its second birthday this month. Like a promising toddler, the DSA is learning a great deal about how to socialize, how to move on its own and to start to speak. As a matter of fact it is showing some early signs of being really exceptional. As the first president of the DSA I have been proud of the development that has occurred especially in light of a tough economy where budgets are tight and company resources are stretched.

During the last year the DSA has grown from 133 members to 386.

Why is this?

Very simply the DSA has shown its commitment to its membership and to the industry as a whole. It is effectively giving its member companies a powerful forum to create awareness, collaborate, learn and influence. For what are modest membership fees, member companies appear to be getting good value. But the ones that are really getting value are the ones that are contributing beyond just their dues.

The DSA membership, especially the approximately 40 board members, are playing an important role as it takes on topics such as content best practices, ROI analysis, and future digital signage trends. One of the most important in my opinion is the Education Committee expertly co-chaired by Margot Meyers of the Platt Institute and Jeff Porter of Scala. As part of the upcoming DSA board meeting in NYC on November 9th, the committee will be presenting their recommendations.

I had an opportunity to preview these recommendations during this week’s DSA executive committee meeting and I have to say, I was both impressed with the work and excited about the implications it offers to the industry. Findings from an industry survey conducted by the committee in August indicated what I think we already knew, that education in all aspects of digital signage from technical and content to operations and measurement is needed in the industry. Although several very smart and committed educators have picked up the education mantle, a guiding framework for these reputable courses may be needed; this brings about the potential for an industry certification program. When you combine this education initiative with advocacy and networking, the other two pillars of the DSA, you can understand the potential of the organization.

Furthermore, DSA Chairman, Richard Good, will outline for the board specific plans for the DSA’s three year plan designed to assure continued progress. Member feedback and refinement to strategic plan will set the direction of the association. This is just two of many extremely substantive topics that will be discussed at the upcoming board meeting.

Are we where we want to be? No, but I can tell you the organization it is on its way to ensuring that we have a sustainable industry with a healthy and collaborative culture.

So at the early age of two years old the DSA is learning to talk … and even more important it is becoming a strong voice for all of us working and developing careers in this emerging industry.