by Dan Brown - RMG Networks

Have you ever walked into a corporate lobby, retail store, hotel or any venue and thought, “Wow, that digital signage display is too large!”

Humorous, but of course not.

Most of the time, if anything, displays are commonly undersized. Why? Well, while 55” seems large in the intimate setting of your living room watching the latest best-selling blu-ray, the affect may be lost in a different environment with a different purpose.

What do you need to keep in mind when selecting screen size for your business?

A 55” display is the viewable distance from corner to corner diagonally across the screen. Assuming a 16x9 widescreen display, this equates roughly to a height of 27 inches and width of 48 inches.

There are formulae from every TV manufacturer and standards committees such as SMPTE or THX to suggest screen sizes and are mostly geared toward consumer entertainment applications.

Don’t get confused if you start researching the web for the correct formula to use. Your specific application may differ. The important thing is to use a formula (or any formula) as a starting point, not an ending point.

Here are a few examples of different formulas and applications, and their resulting viewable distance.

General at-a-glance viewing or video

    4 x 55” diagonal = 220” (or about 18 feet) viewable distance
    8 x 27” height = 216” (or 18 feet) viewable distance

Reading text or data

    6 x 27” height = 162” (or 13+ feet) viewable distance

These examples assume you are using the entire full screen to display your content. Are you? Often the display is segmented to display multiple content items.

For example, on that same 55” display, let’s say we want to include a side panel graphic. Reserving 12 inches width for this content leaves us with 36 inches of width for our main content which is effectively the same as a 42” display.

This changes our viewable distance from the previous examples.  

General at-a-glance viewing or video

    4 x 42” diagonal = 168” (or about 14 feet) viewable distance
    8 x 20” height = 160” (or 13+ feet) viewable distance

Reading text or data

    6 x 20” height = 120” (or 10 feet) viewable distance

Even though you started with a 55” display, because of the content requirements and screen real estate limits, you are effectively limiting the viewing distance of the display by several feet and shrinking the content. This may or may not be a negative; but it is definitely something that needs considering during the design phase.

Likewise, why put the current temperature nestled in the corner of screen when its “real life” size on a 55” screen is nearly the size of your thumbnail and not truly viewable beyond 6 feet from the display. Is that the intended audience range? Probably not. This is another reason to make sure all content is viewable at your target distance.

Screen size is certainly only one factor of many to consider in your digital signage deployment. It works in coordination with screen placement, lighting, other environmental factors, and of course (and most importantly) content!

So you have a formula to determine display size, but how about content? How large a font should you use to get your message across and easy to read? As a general rule of thumb, it is recommended to have 1 inch of font height for every 10 feet in desired viewing audience distance.

Now you're ready to configure your optimal signage and content size.

But, even in our high tech world, old school methods still work.

I was with a customer once who used a properly sized cardboard cutout pattern of a TV they were considering and taped it onto the rich marble wall to get an idea of what it would look like and how much space it would occupy. They used white poster board and markers to write some sample content to understand what font dimensions were required to reach the furthest intended viewer. I thought it was a brilliant idea and was glad to see so much interest and consideration into making sure not only the correct display size was chosen, but more importantly, the proper content size. Well done!

Whether, you use a high tech online calculator or poster board cutouts, you have begun a very important process of considering what is important to you and your viewers.

When budgeting for digital signage displays, it is always easier to add more displays later, rather than try to “right-size” a set of undersized displays already deployed.

It doesn’t need to be a $63M, 362' x 62' behemoth scoreboard like the Jacksonville Jaguars, but definitely give thought to the size of screen required for your application (then maybe even go up one size). As you start the process of determining the correct screen size, here are some questions to ask yourself --

•     What type and quantity of content will be displayed?
•     Will the content be displayed full screen or on segments of the screens?
•     What is the smallest content to be displayed?
•     How far is the desired viewable distance?

Once you know the answer to these questions, you know the required content size. And, required content size should be the leading factor to your screen size decision; not vice versa.

A year later, retailers are reporting positive results from iBeacon campaigns. There are, however, still challenges from the caveats associated with  iBeacons.

Specifically, customers must be iPhone users. They must download the retailers’ app. They must enable Wifi on their phone and opt-in to receive notifications. Many consumers are not willing to opt-in because they have privacy concerns about retailers collecting their data. Physical Cookie gives retailers and their customers the benefits of iBeacons without having to meet all of these requirements.

What is Physical Cookie?

Physical Cookie is a RFID-tag within a piece of plastic, usually on a key-fob,  which retailers can give to their customers as they shop. The customer puts Physical Cookie in their pocket and then has to take no additional steps. Electric readers are then placed around the retail store. The Physical Cookie key-fob collects data in real-time in the same way cookies on websites do (hence the name). Digital screens within the store, show customers advertisements based on their behavior. Customers do not sign up or register, so there are no privacy concerns involved. Physical Cookie has operated in the Citycenter shopping mall in Helsinki, as part of a trial since Fall 2014.

Physical Cookie is easier for the consumer to use than iBeacons. Unlike the Bluetooth technology used for iBeacons, Physical Cookie is always on. Instead of pinging a user’s phone, the actual retail environment reacts to the consumers behavior, which feels much less spammy.

The Physical Cookie Customer Loyalty Program

In the Citycenter trial, a customer loyalty program called VIP-key was launched. The VIP-keys were given to 14,000 randomly selected customers who were then automatically part of a loyalty program, without ever having to opt-in, register, or sign up for anything. The trial was in a shopping center but Physical Cookie has said this can work for both retail chains and for brands working within big-box retailers.

While this trial was conducted using Physical Cookies in a key-fob format, the company said in the future this does not necessarily have to be the case. The key-fob format was selected with the thought process that customers enter the shopping center with their wallet, mobile phone, and keys with them. The average customers wallet is already full of loyalty cards, and mobile phones would require opt-in. The key chain was chosen instead because it does not already have any smart device on it.



Results:

•     The VIP-key cost the equivalent of about two cents in US Dollars.
•     15% of the VIP-keys were active.
•     They showed a 14.5% increase in activity between floors.
•     There a was a 21.7% increase in time spent in the shopping center.

For more information on enhancing your customers’ retail experience, please visit our About page.

Photo Credit: Physical Cookie

Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA) will host its first annual ICX Summit in Chicago on June 29-30, 2015.

Louisville, KY (PRWEB) - Networld Media Group today announces the launch of the Interactive Customer Experience Association (ICXA), which will promote and accelerate the convergence of customer experience technologies and disciplines across all consumer channels.

“The need for ICXA reflects a rising emphasis among brands to create superior customer experiences through multiple technologies,” said Networld Media Group’s CEO, Tom Harper. “Our membership unites professionals from such disciplines as customer experience and service, loyalty, merchandising, marketing, sales, and retail operations.”

Technologies employed by these innovators encompass CRM, POS, digital display, self-service, e- and m-commerce, mobile payment, and much more. ICXA represents a broadening of scope to understand how various technologies can be combined to create unique and unprecedented consumer experiences.

ICXA will host its first annual ICX Summit in Chicago on June 28-30, 2015. Keynote speakers include Blaine Hurst, EVP of Panera Bread and Paul Price, CEO of Creative Realities.

The soon-to-be-launched ICXA.org website will feature a members-only education archive, including videos, webinars and podcasts covering the association’s educational activities. The site will also offer an industry blog and supplier directory.

To jumpstart its launch, ICXA is merging with and absorbing the full membership of the Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA), which had focused previously on the self-service, kiosk, and digital signage technology segments.

“The DSA board is excited about this new direction,” said Bill Lynch, DSA president and new ICXA board member. “The emerging customer experience market encompasses all of our member industries and much more. Our research into market trends and member needs finds most DSA members either expanding into broader customer experience solutions or aligning with partner companies. It became clear that our association must evolve to better serve the expanding needs of our members.”

Existing DSA members will receive full membership in ICXA and enjoy increased benefits with additional learning, networking and peer groups. Technology innovators and suppliers will be invited to participate as instructors in a new online learning series.

Under the leadership of Executive Director Scott Slucher, the new ICXA will continue to expand and develop membership across such industry verticals as banking and payments, retail and restaurant, healthcare, hotel and entertainment, education and government. Slucher brings to his new role many years of professional experience in sales and marketing, digital media, and market research disciplines. His specialty is helping organizations make deeper connections within their industries.

About Networld Media Group

Founded in 2000, Networld Media Group is a leading business-to-business (B2B) media communications company specializing in digital media, associations and events in the mobile, self-service, digital signage, retail, food service and financial services industries. Online properties include ATMmarketplace.com, DigitalSignageToday.com, FastCasual.com, PizzaMarketplace.com, KioskMarketplace.com, MobilePaymentsToday.com, VirtualCurrencyToday.com, QSRweb.com, RetailCustomerExperience.com and ChurchCentral.com. The company produces executive summits in the fast casual, retail, ATM and mobile payments industries. Its custom media division develops Web sites, premium content and marketing services for associations such as the ATM Industry Association and the Electronic Funds Transfer Association.

David McCracken
President
Livewire Digital

Pizza Hut is probably the last place in the world I’d expect to be wowed by technology. Don’t get me wrong, I love sinking my choppers into a stuffed crust as much as the next guy, but there’s not much about the restaurant chain that screams “on the cutting edge of tech.” But I can admit when I’m wrong, and boy was I wrong about this. (Watch this video and you’ll see why.)

The interactive tabletops Pizza Hut is introducing are not only fun and different, they virtually eliminate the major pain points of eating at a restaurant. They remove the annoyance of having a slow server, so you can order your food the instant you’re ready. They also take human error out of the ordering process. No matter how complicated your order, the self-service process nearly ensures it will arrive at your table correctly.

What makes the touch screens so effective is their ability to help customers visualize and customize exactly what they’re ordering. But pizza is not the only place you’re going to start seeing this new technology. Look at all the applications that are going to be happening in other industries:

1. Retail

Soon touch screens will be used like a virtual dressing room in clothing stores. Customers select a model who has a similar body type to theirs and swipe to try out different combinations of clothing styles, sizes, and colors. Then they select the favorite items, head to the register, and a sales associate meets them with their purchases, ready to check out.

2. Hospitality

Soon desks in hotel rooms will double as interactive, self-service concierges. Guests can order room service, wake-up calls, laundry services, and more. They can also browse through information on different restaurants and attractions in the surrounding area and easily make reservations straight through the touch screen software. It’s easy to see how advertising will play a key part in this set up.

3. Tourism

We’re already seeing travel centers using these types of touch screens as giant interactive brochures. Tourists touch and drag on activities, attractions, and hotels from a map onto the calendar to plan out their travel schedules. Since they can be updated in real time, these types of screens often include travel times and prices to give tourists a comprehensive overview of vacations options.

The possibilities are endless with this incredible self-service software. Here’s a restaurant that’s using these tabletops to educate diners about the origins and characteristics of different foods. What creative uses can you see for this technology?

Ron Bowers (bio)
SVP, Business Development
Frank Mayer & Associates

Millennials controlling 70% of the spending power in the U.S. creates vast uncertainty amongst retailers; but with the strongest economy in years, optimism prevails as we begin 2015.

For many retailers, the Millennial consumer is an enigma: they are more suspicious of who to trust and yet, more likely to be influenced by apps and social media than any other generation. Only 19% of Millennials (versus 40% of Baby Boomers) say that, “generally speaking, most people can be trusted” (PewResearch). However, in order to make buying decisions, consumers look to a retailer’s online presence and social influence before considering a purchase.

This generation’s spending habits are moved by its self-paradox. Millennials are self-focused and at the center of their own global communications. It is vital for them to have a positive self-image while finding a sense of belonging when purchasing consumer goods. They desire self-preservation and a personal connection to a product or service.

So, what does this mean for retailers?

The heightened competition amongst store fronts and e-commerce will increase. Currently, roughly ¾ of consumers claim to showroom (Retail Future Trends 2015) or rather compare brands in order to receive the lowest price, best quality and/or widest selection of merchandise when shopping—many times without ever stepping foot in a store. This creates less in-store traffic and increased wavering among dominant brands. So, retailers must draw their target markets in through a strong online presence while providing feelings of exclusivity and individuality for a reasonable price.

To draw consumers into their store fronts, many retailers have begun incorporating various electronic capabilities; this includes the use of tablets, interactive kiosks and beacon technology. Tablets and interactive kiosks extend inventory past what can be offered in stores. The use of tablets has expanded into the retail environment to replace paper signage with digital advertising while providing sales associates quick and easy access to inventory, online ordering, product information and faster checkouts. Interactive Kiosks act in a similar way – allowing for added promotions through electronic ads specified to a department and the time of day. They also enable retailers to connect with consumers by blending in-store merchandising and virtual product displays. Beacon technology, on the other hand, provides the retailer with direct communication to the consumer and has the potential to completely change the in-store shopping experience by creating personalized and targeted marketing in real time. A beacon uses a Bluetooth signal to send special offers to nearby smartphones equipped with the store’s app. App users will receive targeted messages and deals while moving throughout the store.

Let’s say you’re shopping at a retailer equipped with these devices and have previously downloaded the store’s app. As you walk through the doors, your phone buzzes with an exclusive storewide discount. You wander into the home goods department and begin looking for a new blender when your phone alerts you of a sale on KitchenAid products. You can’t pass up the sale price and find the specified blender but are not happy with the color selections available in store. Scanning the product’s barcode at a nearby kiosk, you find additional product specifications, customer reviews and available colors. The color you’d like is available only online. No need to worry. Once your shopping is complete, you bring all of your selections to the nearby associate. They ring you up on their iPad and include the desired blender and ship it directly to your home.

As many stores have already begun implementing this technology, this experience won’t be a thing of the future for long. In fact, Macy’s has added 4,000 iBeacon devices nation-wide and provides coupons via this technology to customers who have downloaded ShopKick. They have also begun testing smart dressing rooms and an image search app. The smart dressing rooms have a wall-mounted tablet that allows customers to view various sizes and colors of a product while the image search app allows customers to snap a photo of an outfit or clothing item to find similar items on sale.

With these exciting advancements in technology, 2015 will be a year to watch how the in-store experience changes to accommodate the self-regarding Millennial. While it is clear that tech-enhanced stores offer an enriched shopper experience with benefits like improved productivity, inventory counts and use of store square footage, we have yet to determine exactly how to incorporate this technology so that it is most useful to each individual without overwhelming them.
 

By Jason Geyer
Director of Digital Production
TPN Retail

We all remember that cool scene in Steven Spielberg’s movie Minority Report where Tom Cruise is walking through a mall and all of the ads he sees are customized for him only. Ever since its release in 2002, this futuristic scene has been the gold standard to strive toward for advertisers with an eye on where digital is taking shopper marketing.

And although technology manufacturers have taken baby steps toward this in the past, Panasonic has announced that it is partnering up with Photon Interactive to deliver a much closer representation of what the movie promised:

•     The goal is to combine Photon’s software with Panasonic displays, so that those displays will know more about the customer. That information can be used to deliver targeted offers, as well as check in, make purchases, and more.
•     For example, the company says that at a brick-and-mortar retailer, a customer might look at the digital signage, view personalized offers, bring up directions to where a product is in the store, and scan bar codes with the mobile app to make purchases. Or in a fast food restaurant, the customer could either order from a kiosk or on their phone, then pick their food and offer feedback through the kiosk.

Although the privacy implications might seem scary (how do you opt out of something that is scanning your biometrics? Can other shoppers see and hear your personalized ads?). But, once in action, it’s hard to not predict that all retailers will be jumping on board with this highly-personalized targeting. Seems like a win compared to a world of static, one-size-fits-all displays.

David Anzia
Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc.

Once again this holiday season has only 26 days between Black Friday and Christmas, last year had 25 days. Shoppers and retailers are preparing for the biggest shopping season of the year. This less than 4 week window has retailers scrambling to grab and retain the consumer’s attention (and pocketbook). They are doing this in a variety of ways.

Macy’s was the first retailer to announce that they would again be open on Thanksgiving Day. The doors at Macy’s will open at 6 PM on Thanksgiving Day, two hours earlier than last year’s opening time. The department store chain stated this move was “in response to the significant, sustained customer interest in last year’s opening day on Thanksgiving, both at Macy’s and other retailers.” The Walnut Room, the famous restaurant on the 7th floor of Macy’s State Street store in Chicago, will be open for the first time serving Thanksgiving dinner, also at 6 PM. Maybe this is a start of a new tradition, Thanksgiving dinner followed by shopping? Target, Kohl’s, Sears, and J.C. Penney, along with other retailers have since posted they will also be open on Thanksgiving.

Some consumers state that greed has taken over this holiday; however, others have pointed out that the crowds these stores are receiving justify them being open. Jerry O'Brien, director of the Kohl's Department Stores Center for Retailing Excellence, stated that for some people shopping on Thanksgiving Day is no different than others playing football or going to a movie. Conversely, some retailers have opted to remain closed and allow their employees to celebrate the holiday with their families. Costco, Barnes and Noble, and Nordstrom’s are among those retailers remaining closed on the holiday.

Despite the gain in popularity of shopping on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday still remains the king. According to the National Retail Federation, 2013 store traffic on Black Friday was 92 million people compared to 45 million shoppers on Thanksgiving Day. The high presence of loyalty programs, and the data collected when enrolled in these programs, allow for retailers to pinpoint certain Black Friday offers to a shopper. With offers made via direct mail, social media and email marketing, these campaigns allow the consumer to be well prepared when they arrive at the store.

Toy retailer Toys ‘R Us recently announced a revamped loyalty program for the 2014 holiday season. They have good reason to focus on their 18 million loyalty cardholders, they account for 70% of their US sales. Recently announced, in-store and online layaway programs are now available. As an added incentive to shop even earlier, Toys ‘R Us has offered cardholders 10% off their entire purchase every Saturday during the month of November. This is in addition to loyalty members earning $5 in “R” Us Rewards for every $125 spent. When the “R” Us credit card is used for these purchases, the earnings double to $10. For holiday shoppers with children on their lists these rewards will add up quickly.

Macy’s and Toys ‘R Us have also upgraded their omni-channel features prior to the upcoming holidays. Both retailers now offer Apple Pay. In select markets, Macy’s has implemented Smart Fitting Rooms, fitting rooms with wall-mounted tablets which allow associates and customers to scan merchandise items and see other sizes or colors available. Also, in select markets, Macy’s is offering same day delivery. Consumers can purchase merchandise on the company’s website to be delivered to the store the same day. Toys ‘R Us is offering a similar service. Toys and games ordered online can be picked up in store in less than an hour.open sign

Whether you are working off your second piece of pumpkin pie by racing to the stores Thanksgiving evening, or waking up at the crack of dawn the following morning, rest assured that the stores are ready for you and a few thousand of your friends.

By David McCracken
President
Livewire Digital

I don’t know about you, but it seems every time I’ve been in a Starbucks over the last few weeks, it seems like everyone is scanning their smartphone instead of paying with cash. The retail world is moving so quickly towards convenient technology solutions like these, and it’s showing no sign of slowing down. Craig W. Smith, founder of the New Channels Department at London retail giant Marks & Spencer, gave his predictions for the five pretty incredible in-store retail technology trends we will see in the next year. (Original source: http://retail-innovation.com/)

 1. First payment by smart watch

Smart watch payment…because reaching into your pocket or purse is too much effort (not!) Smith predicts we will move beyond paying with cash, credit cards, or even smartphones, to paying with your wrist wear. The smart watch will establish itself as a credible payment instrument.

2. First Google Glass in-store retail applications

Google Glass applications are popping up in the medical and hospitality industries, and retail will soon join them. Retailers will offer applications like customer recognition, personalized concierge services and pick, pack & dispatch.

3. Personalized targeting with beacon technology

Smith says retailers will start to engage customers with location-based personalized targeting. When customers enter a certain geographic range, retailers can send targeted promotions straight to their mobile phones.

 4. Pay and go using your mobile

Have you been in a grocery store that allows you to scan your items as you put them into your cart? Picture the same thing…but with your smartphone. In the next 12 months, retail stores will trial software that allows customers to scan items as they shop and pay on their phones before exiting the store.

 5. Payment on shop floor will move from trial to full-scale rollout

Some retailers are currently taking payments on devices like iPads, but mobile payment is definitely not without its challenges. Over the next 12 months, Smith predicts that hardware and solution providers will fix these problems, which will lead to more and more retailers adopting them. Mobile payments will move from proof-of-concept ideas into fully-fledged rollouts.

In which of these trends do you see the most potential? What other tech predictions do you have for the next 12 months?

Glen Young
Sr. Product Marketing Manager
Philips Signage Solutions

Can remote control apps damage your digital signage?

Smartphone technology continues to amaze with so many different features and functions. But the latest one is the one to be extremely wary of in certain situations. Among the most recent advancements coming from the smartphone is a TV remote changer app.  

This app can be downloaded into a smartphone, and all of a sudden, the person holding that smartphone has the power to remotely control a  TV just in case he or she misplaced the one usually found on the coffee table. Who knows? Maybe one of the kids may have picked it up for whatever reason.  

Not a bad app. Life is getting easier with apps like this one.  

However, there’s a downside to this TV remote control app, especially if a business has taken the low-cost route and is using a consumer TV and PC for its digital signage. There's lots of money saved there — but, boy oh boy, there are a multitude of pitfalls associated now with the smartphone remote control apps.  

Let's say it's a highly competitive business. Who's to say, anyone could stroll into a store, restaurant, fast food place, a small retail business or whatever business? With this new remote control app in their smartphone and a few quick strokes, a business's TV-based signage display could be turned off, switched to another channel, or the speaker volume, colors and contrast could be messed up.

It's one thing to take the low-cost route and incur a considerable number of potential problems associated with using consumer-grade TV screens and PCs for a commercial signage application. But it's another thing entirely to get sabotaged without knowing who or where the culprit is.  

Also, it could be that particular business or restaurant is one of the unlucky ones with a commercial signage that lacks a lock against others' remote control ability. But now, a business owner is placing himself in a position where almost anyone coming into the shop can sabotage all the sales efforts promoted on that signage, and the business owner wouldn't be not aware of it until after the damage is done. When I say damage, I’m talking about incurring glitches in the business operations by altering or jeopardizing your sales displays.

While it's a bit more expensive, it makes good business sense to not only upgrade to, or start out with, a commercial-grade digital signage display, installed professionally, as well as making sure to have the key feature of a remote control lock in that new signage or video wall installation.  

A business owner works long and hard to get the business to a healthy level. The last thing he or she wants is to be a candidate for competitive sabotage or a victim of a prankster who'll do damage to a place of business's signage just for kicks via that smartphone remote control app.

David McCracken
President
Livewire Digital
 

Hi, my name is David, and I’m a Disney-holic.

My family and I have been going to Disney World almost every year since my kids were young. Now that my grown kids aren’t “kids” anymore, we experience the parks in different ways but still love it just as much. On our family Disney trip last month, we couldn’t stop talking about the newest technology advancement that was included in our experience.

Disney’s MagicBands are light, colorful bracelets that make the whole guest experience seamless and simple. They were developed as part of Disney’s billion-dollar MyMagic+ interactive technology system and take customer engagement to a new level.

Let me tell you, if anyone knows omni-channel engagement, it’s Disney.

Inside each MagicBand is a microchip that acts as your interactive key to the parks. Your bracelet grants admission when you wave it over a ticketing reader at the park gate. It saves your place in line for attractions — that’s Fast Pass to you Disney veterans — and your reservations at restaurants. It can let you into your Disney hotel room, keep track of your pictures taken by park photographers, and be used as a charge card to make purchases. It even activates the Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom, an interactive game played at the park.

As someone who can’t even count the number of times my kids lost a hotel room key or FastPass ticket, I see how valuable MagicBands are in easing the stresses and hassles of a family vacation!

The magic behind MagicBands is Radio Frequency, or RF, technology. This is the same tech used with keyless car entries, credit cards, and wireless video game controllers. MagicBands also connect with Disney’s existing interactive software (website, mobile apps, etc.), creating a true omni-channel network.

I couldn’t help but think of ways this technology could be used to bring the customer experience together in many different industries:

Retail:

    track preferred customer programs
    offer special discounts
    make restaurant reservations
    monitor pre-purchase or early-bird access

Healthcare:

    store patient identities/histories
    grant approval for services/privileges
    track process through the system
    schedule appointments

Hospitality:

    grant access to rooms
    book reservations at local attractions
    track loyalty programs
    interact with kiosk software to bring up previous search histories

The sky’s truly the limit with this technology. And would you expect anything less from Disney? What other uses can you see for RF technology like this?

Submitted by Ashley Ropar
Marketing Manager
Industry Weapon

For that matter, nobody's reading those occasional emails, either.
Or the quickly-scribbled reminders on the whiteboard in the lounge. Yet those haphazard attempts at corporate communication aren't uncommon. In a fast-paced work environment, companies find it difficult to maintain strong communication amongst employees. There's always something new to report and there's no way to get that information out instantaneously. At least without digital signage.

It seems pretty obvious, right?
A digital platform allows you to constantly distribute accurate, useful information to each and every member of your team. More exciting and advanced than traditional fliers and emails - let's not even touch on the whiteboard - digital signage demands attention, meaning your message will be received, not ignored.

On Average, an employee receives 304 business emails per week. Lost within that overstuffed inbox important internal emails simply cannot get the attention they need. Trying to sift through emails is exhausting and a waste of employee time: In Fact, 10 IQ points are lost while constantly fielding emails, which is the same effect as losing and entire night of sleep. That guy's going to have some trouble focusing today.

Constantly struggling to convey the latest meeting and event times, as well as their dates and locations?
Relay that information on you digital screens, alerting employees and allowing them to organize their schedules accordingly. No longer will employees be uninformed about where to be and when, juggling layers of information jumbled up within dozens of emails.

Digital signage also serves as a motivational tool for employees to stay on-task.
Display the latest sales numbers and approaching deadlines to remind everyone of their responsibilities as well as the company's overarching goals. Recognize employees who have gone above and beyond by reporting their achievements, announce upcoming events and milestones, and share media coverage.

Internal digital signage is targeted specifically for your employees.
Broadcast it in lounges or breakrooms, hallways, conference areas, cafeterias - any place that employees typically visit at least once a day. External signage, such as media displayed in office lobbies can act as a PR tool. Visitors can view content customized for public consumption, such as image-enhancing company news, employee and company achievements and messages from business executives.

Incorporating digital signage into your office space carries across-the-board benefits. Improve company-wide communication, increase employee morale and motivation and share relevant, engaging information with visitors to promote positive company PR.

Allow digital signage to revolutionize how your company communicates.
The results will speak for themselves.

1https://www.atlassian.com/time-wasting-at-work-infographic
2https://www.atlassian.com/time-wasting-at-work-infographic (repeated)
3Northern Sky Resources, 2010 Global Market for Digital Signage 2nd Edition

Industry Weapon, Inc.© 2014 | more@industryweapon.com | 1-877-344-8450 | Industryweapon.com

Provided by Reflect Systems

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, one of the largest amusement-resort operators in the world, is using digital engagement to thrill park goers and improve overall guest experiences.  Operating 11 amusement parks, three outdoor water parks, one indoor water park, and five hotels, Cedar Fair continuously strives to provide guests with an unmatched experience.  In fact, Cedar Fair’s Cedar Point Amusement Park in Ohio is consistently voted “Best Amusement Park in the World” in Amusement Today polls.

Cedar Fair amusement-resorts provide an ideal environment for experiential digital brand media.  Spanning across all 11 amusement parks, the digital experience starts immediately when guests arrive.  Entry gate digital signage is being utilized to help direct the flow of traffic, indicating which lanes are open or closed.  To add a touch of personalization, entry gate screens also designate lanes reserved for attending companies and groups.

Entrance Screens

Digital media engagement continues throughout the parks with screens strategically placed in ride lines and restaurants to entertain guests while they wait.  Multiple screens throughout the parks also provide guests with real-time weather information.  A custom weather app tells guests when to expect the hottest or coldest hours of the day, or inclement weather, allowing them to plan their day accordingly.

Additional screens located in the parks provide Cedar Fair with the opportunity to educate their thrill seeking guests on other attractions and rides, announce upcoming promotions, and provide entertainment with music, games, and videos.

Cedar’s Fair’s constant pursuit to boost the overall guest experience has led to its world renowned success and solidifies their reputation of delivering world-class fun and entertainment.

By Bill Bishop
Chief Architect
BrickMeetsClicks.com

Stuart Armstrong was pushing the boundaries of using POS data at IRI to understand shopping behavior when I first met him. Today he’s pushing the boundaries of using digital screens to communicate with shoppers inside stores at ComQi.* In between, he developed multi-channel marketing strategies for the consumer goods and retail industries.

I think he has important things to say about where we’re going with the technology-enhanced shopping experience, which changes in the retail environment are most transformative, and how retailers and brands are using interactive screens to build customer relationships.

You’ve spent a long time at the intersection of retail and communications media. How would you describe where we are today?

A lot of the things we’re doing today with omni-channel, big data, technology, millions of dollars, and many hours are taking us back to the future – back to something retailers used to know how to do very well. It’s taking us back to the intimacy of customer service that retailers used to offer.

Back in the day, Sam the grocer might stand on the sidewalk beside his nice-looking produce. When Mrs. Smith walked by with little Patty, he knew what she’d bought, what she liked and disliked, and even that what flavor of penny candy her daughter preferred. It was a great customer relationship. It was personal. He knew her needs and he met her needs. And she talked with her friends about Sam the grocer, the original social media.

Then we moved to the other end of the spectrum with individual consumers. Broadcast media came on the scene, and we went through a bubble. Brands and advertisers developed a theory of reach and frequency, and they built a whole economic structure around mass media: Bombard enough people with messages and the small percentage of individuals that responds will be enough.

Today, we’re trying to get back to the level of intimacy we used to have with individual customers. We may be using technology to get there, but in the end, retail is a high-touch story, not a high-tech story.  We’re using purchase histories and data analysis to re-establish relevance and recency. The more we can relate to consumers at a specific time with relevant information, the greater share of mind we gain and the greater the opportunity to influence purchases.

Which recent developments in retail strike you as most important?

There’s been a tsunami of change in the past 5 years. I think these three are important to recognize.

1. BYOD (bring your own device). Smartphones have spread far and wide in the last 5 years, and 40% of shoppers want to use their device while they are in the store – to compare prices, to scan QR codes, to look up alternatives. It’s changed the in-store experience, and now that people can shop anytime, anyplace, retailers and brands need to be present in the digital space as well.

2. The endless aisle concept. Retailers are trying to do more with less – offer more variety, greater selection, better experiences, but with less square footage. This means smaller on-site inventory and fewer back shelves. The endless aisle enables retailers to say “Sure, we can get that for you” and deliver fast.

3. The potential for technology and data to underpin greater levels of customer service. Frequent shopper programs have mostly delivered a sea of discounts. It degrades the brand and takes away the intimacy. There’s huge potential to use technology to improve customer service.

Powerful synergies arise from these developments. Check-in, for example, is a huge opportunity that touches on at least two of them. Say you go to the big electronics store to buy a smartphone and check in by swiping your device. And say check-in triggers the ability of the sales associate to call up your purchase history. The associate will understand your needs better, and you’re going to get much better service. Using technology and data to deliver customer service like this can bring retailers closer to the kind of relationship Sam the grocer had with his customers. Using it just to push promotions doesn’t create the same kind of intimacy or trust, and the more our customers trust us, the more information they will be willing to share.

What do these changes mean for product brands?

Brands are building stronger presence in stores using the “store within a store” concept. Fashion brands have done this for years in department stores, and CPG and cosmetics brands do it in grocery and drug stores mainly with displays, but brands are branching out into other venues now.

Remember that smartphone purchase? The last time I bought a smartphone, my sales associate walked me over to the manufacturer’s display and introduced me to Sally. “Sally will show you how to use your phone,” he said, and for the next 20 minutes Sally did exactly that. Sally works for the manufacturer, and she was servicing, not selling – but because she was servicing, she was selling.  (Sometimes brands are delivering this kind of service via kiosk or screen.)

Brands used to print and send out mass mailings and figure that ½ to 1 percent of people would trip over them and buy.  Now they’re starting to target stores where they have particular opportunities to grow sales and investing larger amounts of money in those locations. 
 
You talk about the importance of screen-rich environments. What do you mean?

Screen-rich environments are playing a big part in the increasingly interactive store shopping experience.

•     “Public screens” deliver one-to-many messages. You find these on the aisle, over the aisle, or even worked into the décor as part of the millwork; they don’t have to be a screen on a stick.  
•     “Private screens” deliver one-to-one messages and are the best vehicle for customer service. These are the mobile phone screens of individual shoppers, where they can download information and receive personalized offers, support or instruction.

Some screens can do double duty. My company recently helped roll out a digital price board in the automotive service sector that doubles as a “video on demand” screen. Remember Mrs. Smith? Imagine she comes in for an oil change and notices the price difference between synthetic and regular oil and asks about it. Her sales associate might or might not know the answer, but now he or she can use the same sign to show her a 90-second video that explains the difference. Now Mrs. Smith gets the answers she needs to make a decision from a credible source. This would be a powerful tool for many areas within grocery and drug store environments such as health/pharmacy, organics and even the wine department. By the way, it's important to note, that supporting sales in this manner has dramatic effects in increasing sales and trading up the purchase.

Finally, screens can now interact with each other – which means that Mrs. Smith can download the video explaining the difference between synthetic and regular oil to take home and discuss with her husband, and not just in English. If the household is Hispanic why not furnish the information in Spanish? Another example of delivering better customer service that results in increased sales and shopper loyalty.

Which retailers are doing the best job with screen interactivity?

Burberry’s High Street store in London is one of the best. They’ve created an entirely new shopping environment. They can even create a rainstorm to inspire shoppers to buy a raincoat.

There’s a similarly great use of digital screens in the Victoria Secret Harold Square store in New York that includes a 3-story video wall and screen synchronization following the shopper up and down the escalators. (In the interest of transparency, that’s our technology.)

What do you see on the horizon?

More wearables. Google Glass is a prototype, but heads-up display will evolve and wearables will become more common. And more augmented reality, where you can place your phone over a digital or static menu item and it will tell you about calories and nutritional value. Digital signage will serve up targeted content and mobile with will deliver a lot of the information people want without having to print it on a label or a menu or a shelf tag.

*ComQi is a global leader providing a cloud-based Shopper Engagement Technology that influences consumers at the point of decision, in-store, using all digital touch-points: digital signage, mobile, video, touch, web, and social networks. ComQi’s mission is to deliver an end-to-end solution that is tailored to engage consumers by optimizing communications and marketing strategies that provide the best ROI. Learn more about them at comqi.com, follow them on Twitter and Facebook, or visit their YouTube channel.

Kisha Wilson
Marketing Manager
Slabb, Inc.
 

“Today, the internet isn’t accessible for two thirds of the world. Imagine a world where it connects us all.” – Mark Zuckerberg

Internet.org is a global partnership dedicated to making internet access affordable and available to the two thirds of the world not yet connected. It’s an initiative that seems like a mammoth, almost unrealistic task. But is it doable? Only time will tell. Today, only 2.7 billion of the world’s 7 billion or so inhabitants currently have access to the internet with internet adoption at less than 9% annually. If this feat is achieved, the next step would be accessibility to enabling devices.

Internet.org believes that in order to make this a reality, “Potential projects [would] include collaborations to develop lower cost, higher quality smartphones and partnerships to more broadly deploy internet access in underserved communities.” They believe mobile operators can play a central role in this effort through initiatives that can benefit the entire ecosystem.

‘Helping businesses drive access,’ is one of the three challenges that the partnership would address, “Partners will support development of sustainable new business models and services that make it easier for people to access the internet. This includes testing new models that align incentives for mobile operators, device manufacturers, developers and other businesses to provide more affordable access than has previously been possible. Other efforts will focus on localizing services — working with operating system providers and other partners to enable more languages on mobile devices.”

But other options could also be considered, including the feasibility of public internet kiosks, especially for those that can’t afford or choose not to use other devices, even if they are competitively priced. Public internet kiosks are usually used by businesses and are capable of bringing cutting‐edge technology to customers while improving their purchase experience. Imagine if private companies or governments are able to make these accessible to users that otherwise could not access the internet.

Both the hardware and software for public internet kiosks can be customized or standard, and can be ruggedized in order to accommodate the demands of heavy usage. Advertising could also be used to offset the initial implementation costs as well as ongoing maintenance of the units.

Just recently, a project first announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg last year was put back into the spotlight. It is an effort that would see the transformation of aging payphone kiosks into WiFi hotspots or “communication points” bringing free WiFi throughout the city. It is hoped that the project, which will be funded by advertising and allow users to call 911 and 311 free of charge, will be launched by 2018, at the latest. Currently there are a few WiFi‐enabled booths in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn which launched in 2012, but it is hoped that the new project will vastly increase availability to parts of the five boroughs.

It’s a step in the right direction to providing widespread access, and certainly something that can be explored through the use of various hardware options, including public internet kiosks.

By Tracy Robertson - ADFLOW Networks

It’s no surprise that interactive kiosks are popping up all over the retail landscape. Digital interactive kiosks offer innovative ways to interact with your customers, reach target audiences efficiently and thrive in today’s competitive marketplace.

Here are 5 ways interactive kiosks can work for your business:

#1 Help your customers find the right product

Interactive kiosks can help your customers zero in on the right product quickly and easily. Whether its selecting the right pillow, choosing a kids car seat, picking the right GPS system, kiosks can help customers to self-educate and select the right product for their needs without sales assistance. Many customers actually prefer to shop in this fashion without the need to interact with sales people.

#2 Facilitate customer sales efficiently

Interactive kiosks make an excellent sales assistant tool for your customer service representatives. For example, if a customer has a question about a specific product, such as a cell phone, a sales person can lead them over to the interactive kiosk and direct them to the product they are specifically interested in. Simply by touching the screen or scanning a product, the customer can learn about pricing, view different colour options, find buying guides and compare products on the spot. Interactive kiosks supplement the service from your sales person and provide customers with the information they need even when a sales assistant is not immediately available to help.

#3 Reduce "walk-outs"

By keeping your customers engaged, they are less likely to leave the store while waiting for a sales representative to become available. Traffic volumes vary greatly in retail. When customers flood the store, interactive kiosks can begin the education and sales process until sales personnel are free.

#4 Interact with customers in unique ways

As a two-way interaction, interactive kiosks offer a more engaging way to connect with your customers through edutainment or infotainment, such as interactive contests and quizzes. If a customer is looking for a particular product, such as the right pillow for sleeping, a quiz can be useful to help them narrow down the best choice according to their responses. When it comes to answering personal questions, some customers may also prefer the anonymity of the interactive kiosk to answering personal questions posed by a sale person.

#5 Learn about your customers

The data gathered through our interactive kiosks provides our clients with market intelligence on the success of their promotions. It’s possible to see what pages customers engage with and how long they spend on each screen, helping you measure the success of the user experience. You can also track the impact of content changes on the success of the kiosk. Even small changes to content can have a profound impact on user activity.

Simple customer surveys can provide powerful insights into what brought the customer into the store, demographics and product preferences. With customer information and kiosk interaction tracking, the opportunities for continuous learning and improvements are endless.

Provided by ADFLOW Networks

Joe Holley
VP New Business Development
Frank Mayer & Associates

Mizuno Golf DisplayShoppers are bringing a set of expectations and a cache of knowledge gleaned from online research through the doors of stores like never before.  New consumer behaviors have impacted especially categories like electronics, books, clothing, household goods and sporting equipment. Numerous studies of multi-channel shoppers make it clear that online research doesn‘t lead just to online purchases. There are plenty of occasions when the store has the final influence on purchase decision.

Increasingly the in-store experience will incorporate tools like touchscreens, digital signage and mobility, but ask any retailer or brand and they will say that merchandising and point-of-purchase displays where the product is the hero are integral to conveying information and making an impression. Products that are prominently and expertly displayed can be a call to action, whether that action is immediate or takes some alternate path.

So what should retailers and brands focus on to create the maximum amount of impact from a display? Here are some of the tips from the pros that are encapsulated in our latest POP guide, Traditional Merchandising in the Age of Self-Service.

Linda Hofflander, director of vertical marketing with the enterprise business division of Samsung:

People get bombarded with signage, and sometimes it’s what is unique or a little bit of a surprise that can be most effective

David Anzia, vice president of sales at Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc.:

With customers already armed with so much pre-purchase information, retailers have the ability to utilize less copy on their displays. The marketer is able to simplify their message, content copy and photos to distract the customer.

Kevin Lyons, senior vice president of e-commerce with h.h.gregg:

A customer wants to know the most important ways the product will help them, not just everything it does or can do. For example a ‘super radiant heating element’ on a stovetop means nothing to the average consumer, but ‘boils water in 60 seconds’ does! Traditional signage takes on a new role in today’s retail environment as it relates to supporting the mobile customer, those that are researching as well as comparing/reinforcing their purchases.

Dean Cole, brand support manager Mizuno, USA:

If the display can help communicate the benefits of the product and help the consumer visualize how those benefits will improve their experience, the odds of that product being chosen are improved greatly.

Ryan Lepianka, creative director at Frank Mayer and Associates, Inc.:

Having the ability to touch a product and make a connection with it can beat nearly any other way of selling, and some of the most effective displays the company has designed are those that encourage physical contact.
 

Ben Johnston
Director of Product Marketing
RMG Networks

I've been reading a bit lately about gamification and thinking about its implications for our Supply Chain, Contact Center and Digital Signage customers. For anyone not familiar with the term, a definition is useful. Gamification guru Yu-kai Chou provides an elegant, no “bs” definition of gamification on his blog:

Gamification is the craft of deriving all the fun and addicting elements found in games and applying them to real-world or productive activities. This is what I call “Human- Focused Design” as opposed to the “Function-Focused Design.” It’s a design process that optimizes for the human in the system, as opposed to pure efficiency of the system.

Gartner predicts that by 2014, more than 70% of Global 2000 organizations would be using gamification in their businesses. “The potential is enormous… [and] gamification could become as important as Facebook, eBay or Amazon,” one Gartner research VP was quoted as saying.

Experts agree, the benefits of gamification in the workplace include increased employee motivation as a result of intrinsic (makes me feel good) or extrinsic (recognition) rewards for changes in behavior and thus increased engagement with work.

While maybe not every business has deployed gamification in their daily operations, look around closely and you will find many examples of gamification in the workplace and in B2C applications. In fact, entire companies (like Badgeville) exist just to help businesses implement game mechanics into their operations.

It's natural to think of digital signage as one medium for communicating and displaying elements of gamification to a workforce. But if the digital signage display is the end node, what's the starting point?

Yu-kai Chou advises that successful gamification design starts with asking the question, "how do I want my employees/players/users to feel?" instead of jumping straight into the game elements.

For supply chain businesses (or any business with internal audiences), managers and leaders should ask themselves the same question; how do I want my workers to feel in order to be most productive and what can I do to influence that?

Internal communications pros tell us that companies with higher employee engagement scores often outperform their competitors and that employees are more positively engaged. It seems obvious, right? Treat your employees right, give them a mission and vision they believe in and support, and they'll be more productive, happier and help the company succeed.  

Certainly a number of techniques exist for improving employee engagement from incentive-based pay to benefits and programs that support a healthy work/life balance. From installing internal social networks like Chatter and Yammer to the gamification of HR initiatives (e.g., handing out pedometers and posting a digital leaderboard to encourage exercise), business leaders are making use of technology to help them implement these techniques.

Digital signage systems will play a key role by publicly displaying the results – the scoreboards.  Digital signage content designers and solution architects who take into account their audience's motivations and goals (and feelings) when implementing game designs will succeed in helping realize the benefits of workplace gamification. And that’s a game we all want to win.

Julie Rasco
Marketing
RMG Networks

Is your business a trendsetter or behind the trend? Digital internal communications is not a fad, but a new reality. Companies today recognize that employees and consumers alike rely on digital communications for their information.

A recent article by Russell Working at ragan.com outlined seven key trends in internal digital content --  

1.  Everyone Can Create Content. In this digital age of mobile devices, virtually anyone can be an amateur photographer or videographer and share content.

2.  Social Sharing = In; Email = Out.  Companies are turning toward internal social networking platforms over email for company messages.

3.  A Virtual Hub for Competitive Intelligence. Internal communications allows users to collect and share information, including keeping tabs on the competition.
    
4.  Using Analytics for Social Content Dissemination. Large companies are using analytics and data visualization software to identity relevant and interesting social media content for their employees and customers.

5.  Employee Education. Employees are being empowered through education so they can easily identify relevant information to share with their social network.

6.  Digital Signage for More Than Live TV. Digital signage in reception and other common corporate areas have moved beyond live TV and now include company messages, stock updates and current weather.

7.  Measuring Matters. Digital communications highlights the need for internal metrics and dashboards to measure company productivity and solicit feedback.

Recognizing these shifts in digital communication is key for companies to effectively communicate with employees and customers. To learn more about how your company can maximize these trends and be more effective with your internal communications, download the Visual Internal Communications market sheet from RMG Networks.

John Curran CEO of 5thScreen passed on in February 2014. Big loss to the industry.

Summary

I joined 5th Screen Digital in 2010 with CEO and founder Keith Kelsen. 5th Screen Digital Services designs, develops and deploys in-store digital destinations for retailers and brands. Clients include McCormick, Sprint, Mary Kay plus leading technology firms such as Intel, HP, AOpen & Sapient.

In early 2003, I founded mCosm with Michael Curran, CEO of Micro Industries Inc. mCosm became a leading provider of end-to-end interactive digital signage solutions for clients such as Whole Foods Market, Timberland, Channel and The Venetian Resort & Casino to name a few. I was CEO of the Amsterdam based, network security company, TrustWorks Systems from 2001 through 2002. In 1997, I joined Entegrity Solutions Corporation, an application security company, as the Vice President of European Operations and then became COO in 1999. I was Executive Vice President of NCR's EMEA, Customer Services and Support organization located in London, England. In 1991, I joined Granada Computer Services as CEO, the largest independent IT services company in Europe. I remained with Granada for five years. For two years prior to joining Granada, I acted as an independent management consultant. During 1988 and 1989, I was Vice President and General Manager of Control Data's operations in Europe, Australia and the Far East, responsible for 35 subsidiaries in 22 countries with 4,500 employees.

From 1977 to 1988, I moved through various management positions at NAS (subsequently Hitachi Data Systems) starting as the Sales Manager of the Italian affiliate and in 1986, I was promoted to President of NAS Europe. After graduating from The Ohio State University, I was a Systems Engineer with the Mobil Oil Corporation and Senior Consultant with Computer Usage Co. of San Francisco.

Specialties: A veteran international IT business executive with more than 40 years experience in enterprise software, information security and professional services organizations.

CEO & President
5th Screen Digital Services
October 2009 - Present (4 years 6 months)San Jose, CA

5th Screen Digital Services designs, develops and deploys 'Digital Destinations' for leading brands and retailers. We provide strategic consulting services, application development capability and life-cycle support services that simplifies the technology supply chain, reduces the on-going operational costs and content production. We also offer audience metrics to effectively measure campaign effectiveness for in-store Digital Destinations. Our services significantly lower operating and content production costs by as much as 35% plus provide the metrics that improves the solutions ROI or ROO. In addition, 5th Screen Digital Services solutions encompasses Mobile and Social engagement applications and methods.

At this time last year, I was telling the DSA that I would sponsor the Dallas Symposium. Now I’m the Executive Director of the DSA, and responsible for it.

What a difference a year makes.

How many shows have you been to in the past year? A lot? I would need both fingers and toes to count myself. And at the end of every trip, I would ask myself, “Was this worth it?” Coming from so many different sides of the table, my perspective is unique.

It would be easy for me to move from sponsorship to ownership and say, “This is the place you should be.”

This is the place you should be.

Why? Two very good reasons.

You attend because you want to get something out of it. Insight, knowledge, networking, and business. With the Symposium, we have moved in a new direction that focuses on two key components of any valuable conference: Education and Networking.

First, from the educational side, we bring some of the best minds in the digital space to the stage, and listen to them talk about how this all works together, to share their experience and real-world situations. We encourage a discussion among the entire group so that no digital stone is left unturned

Smart people with smart things to say? Smart.

Second, with networking, we have created large breaks and an evening event that allows you to carry on the discussion beyond trading business cards. At the end of the day, you want to go back to work with “to-do’s,” people to call, discussion, and hopefully business.


How about business cards and a handshake? That’s what this is about.

That’s what the Symposium is all about. And that’s what visiting any conference should be about. Education and Networking.

Click here to learn more about the Symposium.

If you’re wondering about the quality of the event, allow the survey we took last year after the Dallas event to explain it.

And here were some of the testimonials from the survey:

•     “Best networking I've had in a long time between end users. Very open discussions. Even conversations with vendors were non selling, which I appreciated.”
•     “A very effective use of my time and value for our money.”
•     “We'll definitely invite and push for all of our clients to attend in the future”
•     “Great exposure to people I normally would not get to meet or hear their perspective as a buyer. Very interesting conversations.”
•     “I thought all speakers/panelists were high quality, value add. I could find parallels even with industries that were different than mine.”
•     “Glad I discovered this meeting. Very worthwhile. Very little preaching to the choir. Real meat as opposed to the tiresome ‘content is king’ or ‘this is the breakout year for digital’ you usually hear.”
•     “Do one every quarter. I will sign up every time”

A LOT of time to network, and discuss what it takes to create a terrific experience.

So should you come to the Dallas Symposium on April 8-9? Yes. You’ll walk away with some great insight from some fantastic people who have been there and are doing that. You’ll be able to have in-depth conversations with other attendees and vendors who can help you move from ideas to experiences for your customer.

Because your customer is always right. Right?

(And if you’re interested in sponsoring, let me know. We are locking down sponsors now, and I would love to see you as part of the lineup!)

 
Laura Miller
Director of Marketing
KioWare

Usability can make or break the success of any new website, application, or software. Also known as the UI (user interface) or UX (user experience), usability refers to the user's ability to successfully navigate a product in the manner intended to accomplish the desired tasks. There are entire industries built around better understanding these experiences, from optimizing a website checkout process to encouraging users to visit a particular page. These research industries use buzzwords like Voice of the Customer, Consumer Obsession, and User Experience Advocate and they staunchly advocate that nothing be deployed without an extensive cycle of research, testing, revision and testing.

Why usability testing?

Why is usability testing so necessary? While the layout, process, verbiage and navigation of a website, program or application may make sense to those involved in the design, they don't always seem so obvious to the user. Age, technical savvy, and education may play a role in how a user navigates, but so too may cultural differences, intended goal, and fresh eyes. Knowing your user, and their abilities, goals, and environment are key components to creating a successful product.

Why does UX matter?

Why should we care about User Experience? Self-service kiosks are responsible for setting up a user's experience with a brand. There are many moving parts in a kiosk deployment. Three that come to mind from the start include: hardware, application/program, and lockdown software. Watching how these things work together to make for a comprehensive user experience is an important component to a successful and enjoyable user experience.

Kiosk usability fail

Here's one example of how a kiosk deployment can fail (and yet, still "succeed") in a restaurant environment. The waiter, in this example, finds a workaround for a system that is not serving their needs. It's a must read for any naysayers of usability testing and observation as a means of testing and refining software. According to the author, "Computer systems are not always used as the developers suppose." As evident in this example, computer systems are not always used as the developers intended, nor as they would hope. More importantly, a complicated system is not always the answer.

The only way to know how users will interact with your kiosk is to observe them via lab controlled usability testing and in-field studies. In addition to traditional observation techniques, technologies such as heat mapping and eye tracking can also be used to better understand the user experience. Kiosk software with server capabilities can also assist in gathering usage statistics. In future posts, we'll identify common usability errors, solutions, and research methods.

Are you observing your kiosk in action? Does your client allow time for testing? What is your favorite example of something you discovered (and corrected) through usability testing?

By Jon Stine
Director, Internet Business Solutions Group
Retail-Consumer Products
Cisco Systems

Trust. It’s a powerful human emotion that often drives our behavior. The level of trust, or lack thereof, between a retailer and its customers can literally make or break the business. Given the importance of trust, many retailers are asking: How much do customers trust retailers? What are the benefits of increasing trust? How do retailers gather the information needed to provide the  personalized experiences many customers want, while maintaining and even building trusted relationships?

These questions are especially important given the critical juncture at which we find ourselves—the convergence of people, process, data, and things called the Internet of Everything (IoE).

To help retailers build customer trust in an increasingly digitally connected world, Cisco Consulting Services surveyed 1,174 consumers in its fourth annual Digital Shopping Behavior survey.* From a behavior perspective, shoppers are becoming more digital. In fact, eighty percent of respondents are what we call Digital Mass shoppers—people who research, browse, and purchase digitally. Within this group, Über Digitals, who almost always use a smartphone to shop, increased from 11 percent last year to 18 percent this year. Clearly, your customers are digital.

Before we discuss “how,” it is important to understand “why.” Our research showed $100 billion of IoE value was available for retailers in the United States to capture in 2013 by offering more personalized shopping experiences. If you missed your share, don’t worry. This number is expected to increase slightly in 2014. Realizing this value, however, isn’t easy.

When it comes to trust, retailers are starting from a low base. When asked, “How much would you trust these companies/institutions to protect your personal data and use it to provide something you value?” respondents ranked retailers second to last, at 31 percent—behind government agencies (37 percent), and ahead of Internet companies (18 percent).

Even so, shoppers want personalized experiences. When asked, “Which personalized experiences do you prefer?” respondents ranked promotions via touch-screen or smartphone first (Digital Mass: 46 percent; Über Digitals: 53 percent). This was followed by personalized products, personalized shopping lists, and personalized service.

So, how do we solve this dilemma between a lack of trust and the desire for personalized shopping experiences, which require the collection of personal information? For answers, let’s look at a few of the research findings.

•     Shoppers want personalized offers that are easy to use – Most people want to receive personalized offers via email at home. This suggests that shoppers — even Über Digitals — start the shopping process while they are in their home environment. The vision of in-store offers may simply not be in sync with the reality of shopper decision making and in-store behavior.
•     Shoppers are willing to share information – Both Digital Mass and Über Digital shoppers are willing to share past purchase history and basic personal information (name, age, etc.) with retailers to receive a more personalized shopping experience. Topping the list of acceptable information for retailers to use are time spent in the store, location in the store, and products you try but don’t buy.
•     Shoppers want something in return – To give personal information, however, shoppers must get something in return. By far, the top two factors that would lead shoppers to share more personal information are guaranteed percentage savings on their next purchase and specific dollar savings on their next purchase. Interestingly, a world-class privacy policy ranked third, 21 percent below the second choice for the Digital Mass, and 14 percent below the second response for Über Digitals.

Based on our experience working with many of the world’s leading retailers, there are three key takeaways and actions when it comes to building trust:

•     Shopper trust must be earned. Retailers can do this by delivering a clear data policy and making the benefits of providing personal information transparent and easy to understand.
•     IoE is already here. To capture your share of the $100 billion value at stake, develop a strategic plan that takes into account the information above.
•     Über Digitals are too important to ignore. Selling to these shoppers requires an architecture and infrastructure that can support their increasing expectations for connected, digital shopping experiences.

To gain even more insights into developing trust in an IoE world, take a look at:

    http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/IoE/IoE-Retail-Key-Findings.pdf
    http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/IoE/Digital-Shopping-Behavior.pdf
    http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/IoE/Digital-Customer-Infographic.jpg

*  This year’s Cisco Consulting Digital Shopping Behavior survey includes responses from 1,174 consumers who are representative of the United States broadband population by age, income, and region. It is the fourth in a series of popular “Catch ‘Em and Keep ‘Em” studies by Cisco Consulting Services.

Kisha Wilson
Marketing Manager at Slabb, Inc.

It seems that the word "interactive" is being used in various forums and mediums. But what makes interactivity so important, especially when it comes to kiosk design?

In the simplest terms, I think we can all agree that in this age of advanced technology, where everything is more accessible, faster, more responsive and ever changing that the "interactive element" is a must, in order to stay ahead or simply keep up with competitors. In addition to this, we live in a world of the informed consumer – they know what is available and what is possible and they demand it.

Just look at the technological advancements in our lifetime and the rate of change ... we have already seen five iterations of the iPad, six of the iPhone, there are over 100 tablet models – a number that continues to increase, laptops that are rivaling the thickness of paper and the technological evolution shows no signs of slowing down. This is our normal and the kiosk industry is no exception.

Kiosk interactivity gives a business one additional touch point (no pun intended) to their customers. This provides many unique opportunities for businesses, namely:

• A kiosk that enables interactivity will allow the input of customer data, providing both quantitative and qualitative information that can track buying patterns and assist in driving sales.
• Interactive kiosks reduce the amount of staff needed allowing a company to reduce training and staffing costs.
• The increased presence of interactive kiosks has encouraged the creation of customized software that can facilitate several web‐based applications, thereby reducing implementation costs.
• It is an ideal platform for a company to showcase their product while providing a modernized brand experience.
• It allows a business to differentiate itself by creating a unique, quick and efficient self‐service option for customers.
• An interactive kiosk is the perfect solution for brick and mortar retailers with an online presence to bridge any divide that may exist between the two channels. It is also an easy transition for customers who shop online to use the kiosk to purchase their products.
• And we haven't even mentioned the benefits to customers yet...
• An interactive kiosk can provide 24 hour access to products and services allowing customers to shop at their convenience.
• It gives customers a self‐service option which reduces the time that could normally be spent doing a traditional transaction; not to mention, it eliminates the need to stand in line.
• Customers get the opportunity to view products on an interactive platform that can simulate the physical attributes of the product, assisting with final purchase decisions.
• It is a source for easily accessible, updated company and product information.

By: Kisha Wilson
Marketing Manager at Slabb, Inc.

 

A company should offer a good product, great customer service, exceptional after-sales service and options to attract customers. But even with all of this, is the deciding factor when purchasing a product all about convenience?

We may know what product we want, if not, we research and identify various options. It is also great when the salesperson we communicate with is knowledgeable and helpful. A warranty on the product and the assurance that having the product maintained and repaired when needed is also a plus. Let's suppose we get all of this at a store and have our much needed product in hand only to face the prospect of a long, meandering line or slow checkout service?

Just think of the angst you experience at Thanksgiving and Christmas when you're faced with long lines. It can also be like this if the store or product is popular. Would facing this, ultimately change your decision about getting the product? For some people, it wouldn't.

I think for me it would. I have three children, two under the age of four and my time is literally never my own. There are so many options and alternatives now that a long line is definitely a deterrent for me. It is even more infuriating when there are several check-out counters with only one or two being manned. I often wonder why businesses do this when they can choose the alternative of providing a self-service method such as an interactive kiosk. Think of how much easier flying is when you check-in beforehand or you avoid the lines by going straight to the check-in kiosk.

Some may argue that it may seem impersonal and limit a company's ability to create a lasting relationship with a customer. Could it also be a missed sales opportunity to promote the benefits of additional products at the check-out line? Maybe not. There have been so many times when things are just so busy the salesperson cannot dedicate their time to the customer in front of them or forgets to offer add-on purchases anyway.

Most customers would return to a store that considers their time, and makes their shopping experience easier. On that account, being less harassed by the sales experience, they might even take the time to answer a quick survey at the kiosk, or entertain add-ons to their purchase which, once programmed correctly, the kiosk will never forget to offer.

According to the Zendesk Benchmark Q2 2013, there has been an increase in customer satisfaction reflected in an average customer satisfaction score of 81 percent. One of the main factors contributing to this is the increase of self-service offerings such as kiosks.

Interactive kiosks are the machinery of choice when it comes to giving the public as many options as possible when conducting transactions. We used to be limited to ATMs, but now self-service kiosks are everywhere, from supermarkets to theatres, to every type of retail location where transactions take place. Depending on the industry, businesses can choose outdoor models, freestanding, desktop or wall-mounted self-service kiosks that offer superior convenience and serve a variety of needs.

This makes it important for companies to choose the right kiosk provider that can understand their needs and provide service and support for the unit. A company with experience, that will ensure that every element of programming and maintenance will be taken care of with the utmost care and precision, as well as ease-of-use for both customers and employees. A kiosk provider should offer custom solutions with both hardware and software to ensure smooth operation at all times.

Previously posted on www.KioskMarketplace.com

Anna Kuzina
Public Relations Manager
DigiSky

 

 


About 10 years ago, digital signage first appeared in the Russian market. Currently, digital signage systems are widely used in metropolitan cities and are being actively introduced in regional areas.

Digital signage advertising networks in the Russian Federation are similar to those in the United States and Europe, but there are differences and varied features. The networks in Russia are mostly from the old generation, in reference to general concept and installations. The majority of the retail and corporate digital signage networks do not use content management systems; instead they utilize USB flash drives or CDs for upgrading and managing the systems. This method appears to work, due to the smaller size of retail and corporate networks compared to Europe and the United States.

The first digital signage advertising network in Russia appeared in the retail sector. Scala’s digital signage network was integrated in the Ramstore retail network. The Ramstore chain features shopping centers, hypermarkets and supermarkets throughout the Russian Federation. Multiple screens were installed throughout stores, displaying advertising content along with entertainment to shoppers. Now, digital signage appears in a variety of retail stores.

The extent of the digital signage expansion also can be seen in the corporate, information and safety sectors. For example, DigiSky, a digital signage network provider, launched a pilot project for the OBI franchise center, a home improvement retailer in Moscow. The OBI deployment included a display with corporate content, Bluetooth capabilities and touch screen kiosks.

In Russia, the main focus of digital signage is in the implementation of interactive technologies and audience measurement tools. Also, there is a clear interest in the innovative information medium, such as interactive kiosks and digital shop windows.

Satellite content distribution systems are another widely used feature in Russia. Due to the country’s massive size, the use of remote access helps minimize operational costs. For instance, DigiSky and City Fitness, a chain of fitness clubs, worked together to develop a content distribution system that is managed remotely from the headquarters in Moscow. Each fitness club has portrait-shaped digital posters and two channel audio devices. The content is then distributed remotely, so every club, even those thousands of kilometers from Moscow, feature the same content.

Digital signage deployers in Russia are eager to learn about the newest technologies and systems. The key Russian industry players include:
• Captivate Media
• DigiSky
• Dismart
• Magitel
• Polymedia
• Screen Media

The interest in the digital signage industry in Russia is rapidly developing and more international players are planning to start activity in the market, such as Harris, Haivision, XPlace and others.

Furthermore, digital signage events are starting to grow in popularity in Russia. The fourth annual Colours of Digital Signage show, organized by the AV Club, takes place on Sept. 6, 2011 in Moscow. For the past four years, this has been the only show held in Russia dedicated to the use and innovation of digital signage and audio-visual informational systems. In 2010, the conference was attended by 189 industry specialists; representatives of more than 15 companies, including both the world leaders of the market; and well-known Russian companies specializing in digital signage. The first day of the conference was aimed at the corporate sector, and the second day was dedicated to the issues of using digital signage systems in the advertising sector. Lectures presented at the conference described all the aspects of digital signage industry development.

The Colours of Digital Signage is the main Russian conference in the digital signage sphere. For now, there aren’t many digital signage shows or exhibitions in the Russian Federation. This year, Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) Europe is scheduled to begin hosting seminars in Russia on a regular basis. In November, the Digital Signage Conference (DiSCO) will be a part of an Integrated Systems Russia show.

It’s official. DSA will be reaching out to 41,000 attendees at the CTIA wireless and mobile conference in Orlando next week. It won’t be the grand booth, large video wall and hyper-engaging video that we originally envisioned, but it will be a coordinated effort, sponsored by Symon and Intel, to educate the mobile industry on the value of digital signage and kiosks.

What will DSA be doing? The association will be conducting two educational seminars in the CTIA Emerging Technology Pavilion. DSA will be introducing the mobile industry to digital signage, kiosks, the Digital Screenmedia Association and to the Customer Engagement Technology World show. DSA will be talking about how digital signage can create “context” in the mobile world and how wireless carriers, mobile app developers, advertisers, and others can use digital signage to expand their reach. For more information on this topic, see the article I recently published in Mobile Commerce Daily.

Why no digital signage pavilion, video wall and compelling video? The answer is simple: not enough time. By the time DSA received the agreement of all involved, there was simply not enough time to put together the big splash that we desired. Rather than do nothing and wait until next year, we decided to do the next best thing to capitalize on the momentum and CTIA relationship-building that we already had going.

DSA, Intel and Symon are pleased to be on the forefront of establishing linkages and relationships between the digital screenmedia and mobile industries. We fully expect that we will be able to identify and exploit new synergies that will be of benefit to all involved.

On average, 70 percent of all new business is gained through referrals or relationship marketing. It is also considered to be one of the most cost-effective ways to build your business.

I’m a believer that business relationships, companies and products are built by people, and the more you engage with, value, and leverage those people and their individuals skills and talents, the better your solutions and organizational performance will be.

If the DSA was to sponsor and build out a powerful industry networking program that outlined a referral marketing strategy for its networking members, and designed networking programs to develop individual, executive and company wide networking skills, what type of opportunities, mapping of online marketing, social media, and events do you feel would be most valuable?  

Should networking be regional? By vertical market? Or by solution set?

 

Kiosk and digital signage industry leaders discuss the new Digital Screenmedia Association, and the exciting times ahead for the digital signage, interactive kiosk and mobile technology industries.

Intel head of digital signage Jose Avalos was scheduled to talk about "Using an intelligent and innovative digital signage strategy to reduce total cost of ownership" at today's Digital Signage Strategies Forum in London. 

But after polling the audience he went off track a bit and dwelt more on Intel's view of the future of the digital signage industry - and on the company's inititatives to both grow the industry as a whole and to create a preference for Intel's technology in the sector.

Intel obviously sees digital signage as a growth industry and an opportunity to get into a less-than mature market early on, and it's already partnering with fellow big-boy Microsoft to leverage their way into the sector.

And now that Microsoft has announced its digital signage-friendly Windows Embedded 7, reps from both companies at the show today dropped a bombshell during Avalos' talk, the availability of what Avalos called "a reliable and standards-based media player platform for the digital signage industry."

The jointly developed Digital Signage Evaluation Kit is aimed at simplifying and speeding the time to market of signage deployments. Using Windows Embedded 7 and Intel's Core I.5 processor, the kit solves many of the technical issues deployers face, says Lorraine Bardeen, Windows Embedded EMEA marketing manager. 

According to a website link provided by Avalos, "the Digital Signage Evaluation Kit (DSEK-10) offers device manufacturers and software developers an open media player platform that is optimized for digital signage applications."

The DSEK is an integrated hardware and software platform that has been tested extensively by the companies' joint engineering team, Bardeen says, which will allow digital signage deployers to spendmore time on content and less on the technical issues.

"They can spend more time on 'wow'-factor," she said. "Their job is to meet the needs of their business...not spend time integrating the hardware and the software."

 

 

Digital signage continues to gain momentum as an effective marketing tool in today’s retail environment. Since digital signage is still a relatively new technology, there is not a general understanding of what it takes to run a successful campaign once the hardware has been purchased. Let’s talk about content.

Content is the media that will play on your display. Content can consist of imagery, footage or a combination of both. Think of content as mini-commercials featuring your product or message.

Creating content from scratch is an option, but not the most cost effective. The most cost effective option is repurposing your existing print marketing materials to create a digital campaign.

A major commercial retail chain recently approached my company for guidance regarding their digital signage content creation. They were spending a significant amount of money on national print advertisement campaigns and were now faced with the additional expense of content creation for their digital signage. The additional cost was daunting and not in their budget. We suggested repurposing.

Repurposing was suggested to not only save the retail chain money, but to reinforce their branding. The retailers’ current campaign was reaching their targeted audience every week via mailers. Our suggestion was to reinforce their pre-existing campaign by animating the print materials already in circulation and featuring them on displays in the retail stores. This created yet another touch-point for their marketing campaign and added to its recognition.

Utilizing pre-existing marketing material reinforces your company's branding by maintaining its consistency and integrity. Your brand can easily become less effective each time you recreate your marketing pieces through various design firms and content companies. To maintain and reinforce your company's brand, you must deliver a uniform and consistent experience to the customer, every time. Without consistency you are not reinforcing your brand and the success of your campaign will suffer. The most successful brands consistently reinforce their message over time.

A company interested in digital signage that is currently running a successful print media campaign is a step ahead of the game. We have found that repurposing our clients' print material to a digital format results in an instantly recognizable campaign at a fraction of the cost. We are able to offer quick turnaround times since the content is pre-existing.

I hope you can now breathe a little easier knowing there is an alternative to high priced content creation. Repurposing your companies pre-existing marketing materials is not only cost effective, but beneficial to your branding strategy. Before you start from scratch, consider the benefits of repurposing with the help of an experienced company.

Katy R. Dailey is a communications specialist with CE labs, an association member. 

VIDEO: Janet Webster, president of the Self-Service & Kiosk Association, gives her thoughts on the merger of the SSKA with the Digital Signage Association to form the new Digital Screenmedia Association.

Over the past five years, the evolution of wireless networks to 3G data speeds, alongside increasingly sophisticated yet cost-effective cellular routers and antennas, has allowed many kiosk and digital signage deployers to have either successfully deployed stable networks using cellular technologies or at least seriously consider it as a viable alternative to landline options.

Now that 4G is available via Sprint and Clearwire, what does that mean for kiosk and digital signage deployers interested in deploying a cellular network?

4G is especially compelling for those deployers with bandwidth-intense applications, such as content streaming or video. Consider that with more bandwidth, applications such as a live video call from the kiosk to a customer service agent to enhance the user experience are very possible and can be delivered with great quality.

First, though, let me offer a word of caution: I believe we are experiencing the dawn of a new world for cellular networks, meaning this is just the beginning. For self-service it’s promising, it’s real and it will allow for the support of applications that we could only dream of before. But in order to adopt 4G completely for the purposes of an un-manned, machine-to-machine, mission critical network, many factors need to be considered and vetted out before rolling full force ahead.

Now, let’s first take a look at the technology itself and what is available today in the United States.

What is 4G?

4G refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards and is the successor to 3G and 2G standards. In the same manner that data-transmission speeds increased from 2G to 3G and allowed for the adoption of new applications utilizing cellular networks, the leap from 3G to 4G again promises higher data rates and lower latencies that could realistically support applications such as real-time streaming of multimedia voice, data and video.

The 4G spectrum services available through Clearwire and Sprint are based on a technology known as WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). WiMAX is an international standard developed expressly for sending high-speed data signals to mobile users that blends the speeds of Wi-Fi with the portability of cellular. It broadcasts on the 2.5-GHz portion of the radio frequency spectrum and has a longer range. In the real world (not the lab), speed depends on variables such as how many subscribers are using the network at the same time, how far you are from a transmitting tower and how much data is being sent across the Internet. However, a realistic expectation can be up to 3 Megs or 5 Megs per second download, which to a user will feel more like a high-speed DSL or cable type of experience.

What markets are available to deployers today?

The Clearwire and Sprint 4G footprint currently serves 28 markets.*

For self-service deployers who are planning a nationwide reach, a more likely scenario is that 4G won’t be a realistic option until 2011 and beyond. If ubiquitous coverage is required, the best plan is still to deploy 3G equipment but to ensure the 3G equipment is future proofed as much as possible for a 4G upgrade when available.

What cellular equipment is required to properly support a kiosk or digital signage network?

Carrier Modem: Sprint’s 57 percent ownership stake in Clearwire allowed the two companies to launch a cellular USB device that is backward- and forward-compatible with both networks. It utilizes the Sprint 3G network wherever necessary and will automatically jump to a 4G network when available.

Cellular Router: TeraNova takes a more conservative approach to designing and building robust and reliable kiosk or digital signage wide area networks, and we recommend the use of a router with the carrier modem. We leverage 3G cellular routers to provide a consistent connection with the cell tower and to provide over-the-air (OTA) functionality to the equipment in the field. This is especially important in the self-service sector where the systems are unmanned, and every truck roll is a cost consideration. We want to see high network uptime and the ability to remotely manage the network as much as possible.

Don Bush, director of marketing at CradlePoint Technologies, a leading manufacturer of 3G/4G equipment, shared CradlePoint’s vision to allow the customer to "future-proof" their solutions:

"We believe it is in the customer’s best interest to provide them a product that allows them to take advantage of the best current technology without replacing hardware with every technological leapfrog."

CradlePoint’s cellular routers have firmware that has been successfully tested with 4G equipment. As well, CradlePoint offers the ability to "push out" new firmware as required OTA to the routers one by one or all at once so that it can accept new carrier modems (aircards) and limit the amount of truck rolls required to maintain and service the network. Routers start at $250 and virtually pay for themselves after the first dispatch.

Client Case Study:

Five hundred kiosks are rolled out in Q1 2010 on a Sprint network so that 3G can be utilized today with a clear roadmap to 4G. Note: ATT and VZW are pursuing LTE, which is their 4G strategy and technology of choice and is also very promising but has not rolled out yet in any markets.**

3G/4G Routers are deployed in the kiosks that are compatible with the carrier equipment. Once the 4G network is ubiquitously available and the 4G equipment is tested and proven, the deployer can then choose to exercise specific terms and conditions we negotiated in their carrier contract that allows them to switch out to 4G without incurring additional cost.

The next step is to utilize the remote management software to command the routers that are forward-compatible with 4G to accept the new firmware OTA. This deployer enjoys the best of both worlds: a current deployment utilizing proven technology and equipment, with a clear roadmap for the future that does not put the burden of technology obsolescence back on the deployer.

As a conclusion, despite an evolving arms race between WiMAX and LTE 4G technologies in the carrier world and trying to stay informed of the many acronyms that form the alphabet soup of our cellular space — our advice is to not get overwhelmed or overly optimistic about bleeding-edge technologies. The idea is to build a kiosk or digital signage network using proven technologies today yet future-proofed without significant re-investment required to capitalize on the brave new world.

* Currently the 28 markets are Atlanta and Milledgeville, Ga.; Baltimore; Boise; Chicago; Las Vegas; Philadelphia; Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro, N.C.; Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii; Seattle and Bellingham, Wash.; Portland and Salem Ore.; and Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Houston, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Waco and Wichita Falls, Texas.

This year Clearwire and Sprint plan to expand into at least the following markets: Los Angeles, Miami, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City; New York City, Houston, Boston, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Denver, Minneapolis and the San Francisco Bay Area.

** LTE, short for Long Term Evolution, is considered by many to be the obvious successor to the current generation of UMTS 3G technology, which is based upon WCDMA, HSDPA, HSUPA, and HSPA. It will enable significantly faster data rates for both uploading and downloading. Verizon Wireless, partly owned by Vodafone, has announced it will support LTE as its 4G technology of choice, abandoning its current CDMA based network. AT&T also previously announced plans to boost its mobile broadband capabilities by investing in next-generation broadband technology (LTE).

Natasha Royer Coons is the managing director of TeraNova Consulting Group Inc., the creators of the Kiosk Wide Area Network (K-WAN) kit. The kiosk connectivity specialists will be at KioskCom 2010 in Las Vegas at Booth #335.

• Identify the brand colors of the company, product, etc.
• Colors are usually designed to work well together and live in harmony within compositions.
• Use color bracketing, which is using the colors’ opacity to deliver gradient shades of each color.
• Use gradients, which is using gradient backgrounds to create a sense of space around products.

2. Font usage

• Utilize the brand’s font guidelines to ensure continuity among other marketing materials. There will typically be only one or two fonts used on the network.
• Vary the usage of the font to create visual texture in contrasting ways that are appealing and balanced. Combining bold and light weights will help keep the viewers’ attention on the right words.
• Select three or four font weights, such as light, regular, semi-bold, and bold.

• Ensure that one is consistent in how products are photographed or videotaped, so the look has continuity from one product to the next.
• Maintain high quality and resolution of product shots to ensure high quality of all content on the network.

• Create a shorthand language for the network with icons to help guide the viewer around specific themes. Depending on the network, these can fall into a number of categories. They can be seasonal, departmental, contextual or emotional.
• Animate icons in specific ways to enhance network continuity.
• Icons need to be consistent. For example, all icons may relate to a specific look and feel. They may be bold or soft, or bright or pastel, in nature.

• Transitions add movement to the screen and can direct the viewer’s attention to one place or another on the screen.
• Transitions need to be seamless within a piece of content and among other pieces of content.

• Determine which screens within an environment are designed to serve a specific purpose. For example, one may have screens on an aisle end (endcap) or at the cash register. Each type of screen may be treated differently to accomplish one’s goals.
• Determine what onscreen zone layout may be appropriate for each type of screen to help serve the intended purpose.

• Structure the zones on the screen. In some networks one may want to have an onscreen zone with main content, another zone with secondary content and potentially a third zone with informational content.
• The main zone is usually the product or the main advertisement.
• The secondary zone typically relates to the main zone in context and tells the viewer what to do next.
• The informational zone could provide weather, news, the date, or the time.

• Themed messaging can be useful according to the type of network. For example, in a corporate communications network one may want to have themes based on the department so viewers understand the type of message being presented.

• Determine the content specifications. Setting the standards for acceptable deliverables will save a lot of headaches. Determine what formats, codecs and sizes are acceptable and whether the deliverables will be high definition, standard definition, or both.

NEC Display Solutions of America has been busy in the week leading up to this year’s KioskCom and The Digital Signage Show in Las Vegas.

Over the last several days NEC has made three announcements about new additions to its lineup of commercial LCD display and projector solutions.

On Monday, April 5, the company announced the latest addition to its top line of digital signage LCD displays, the P Series, with the new 52-inch P521 joining the 40-inch P401, 46-inch P461 and 70-inch P701. The new industrial-strength display is ideal in rigorous 24/7 environments like airports, public information, rental and staging and healthcare, according to a release from the company.

Tuesday NEC unveiled its new S Series, featuring the addition of the 40-inch S401 and 46-inch S461 LCD display, which will replace its well-regarded M Series. NEC says the S Series is ideal for customers with digital signage and entertainment applications running for extended operation times, like deployments in airports and public areas.

And on Wednesday the company launched its new V Series with the debut of the 32-inch V321, which it calls “a value-driven LCD display ideal for those new to the digital signage market.” The V321 succeeds the MultiSync LCD3215 and offers new features to benefit deployments with robust runtimes, like in restaurants and corporate lobbies.

The P521 is set to replace the company’s MultiSync LCD5220 and offers new features and connectivity to NEC’s previous 52-inch customers. Additions to the new model include DisplayPort for maximum connectivity, Ethernet connection for ease in remote monitoring and more than 30 built-in features as part of its Enhanced Digital Signage Technology Suite. The Quick input change feature provides fast and easy switching between inputs for customers that require content to continuously run with near-uninterruptible flow.

“NEC’s new P521 display brings digital signage customers beneficial features that make deployments more effective and long-lasting,” said Luke Bruschuk, product manager for NEC Display Solutions. “The P Series battles harsh conditions with a premium-grade panel, including internal temperature sensors, a sturdy mechanical design and a sealed panel design to protect against damaging elements in less than optimal settings. The combination of these advanced features secures the P521 during use and aids in maximizing the display’s lifecycle.”

The new S Series of full high-definition displays offer a variety of new features compared to previous generation models, including DisplayPort and Ethernet connections for added flexibility, an ambient light sensor for optimum brightness based on existing lighting conditions and more than 30 built-in advanced features in its Enhanced Digital Signage Technology Suite. The displays boast a contrast ratio of 4000:1, an increase from its predecessors, while maintaining the same level of power consumption.

The S401 and S461 have the ability to be tiled in a video wall matrix up to 10x10 (100 displays), which is an improvement from the previous 5x5 capability of the M Series. Their NaViSetT technology offers an intuitive graphical interface to adjust the displays’ settings, and remote access is enabled for IT professionals with the Administrator version.

“Our new S Series displays offer a feature-rich solution to those customers looking for a strong presence with sufficient connectivity options that allow similar performance as our award-winning P Series products,” Bruschuk said. “The S401 and S461 bring incredible new benefits to projects involving extended use and satisfy a market that didn’t fit with the product offering in the past. Their standard bezel and business-grade panel benefit flagship stores and designer shops that require a sleek, sophisticated look without straining budgets.”

And finally, NEC says its new V Series was designed with small businesses in mind, for those applications that require commercial-grade technology on a limited budget. The high-definition V321 presents new, convenient features that simplify the customer experience, such as the built-in text ticker feature. This enhancement enables end-users to dedicate a portion of the screen to emergency warnings or breaking news. While the primary, scheduled content is displayed and fills the majority of the screen, the secondary ticker information can be displayed on the lower, remaining portion of the screen through a separate input.

Other improved features include quick input change for faster switching between sources, advanced terminal settings and monitoring and control over Ethernet, including e-mail notifications in the event the display encounters an error. Additionally, its SPVA panel contributes to the increase in contrast ratio from 800:1 to 3000:1 and to the reduced number of CCFLs, relating directly to the decrease in mercury content.

The V321 supports video walls of up to 25 displays in a 5x5 configuration using TileMatrixT, an improvement from the 4x4 capability in the MultiSync LCD3215. The display also allows individual or group identities with only one command, where users can address monitors individually, as an entire group or defined sub-groups. Certain settings can be customized within each group, providing further flexibility.

“NEC’s V Series allows any and all customers the ability to outfit their facility with advanced digital signage without straining their budget,” Bruschuk said. “The V321 supplies entry-level users with extended connectivity options, including Ethernet control for remote monitoring, RS-232 loopback and HDMI high-definition image quality. Pairing this invaluable control capability with a multitude of advanced features creates an incredible value-driven digital signage solution.”

A little more than a year ago, the Digital Signage Experts Group (DSEG) premiered its Digital Signage Certified Experts course as a broad overview of the digital signage industry — and since then "somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500" people have taken the course either online or in person, according to DSEG board member Jonathan Brawn, a principal at Brawn Consulting.

DSEG, which describes itself as an impartial and brand-agnostic organization that works hand-in-hand with the manufacturers, distributors, content creators and resellers in the digital signage industry, has announced the addition of three new certification programs to complement the group’s original certification offering.

The DSEG now will offer certification courses for Digital Signage Display Experts (DSDE), Digital Signage Network Experts (DSNE) and Digital Signage Sales Professional (DSSP) to its curriculum. Just like with the DSCE, the new courses will be offered at live events around the country and via live webinars and virtual online versions.

"We had additional courses in mind from the start…because you really can’t fit all of the bits and pieces people really need to know into one course," Brawn said.

The original DSCE (Digital Signage Certified Expert) course is an "immersion into the digital signage market for those wanting an impartial and agnostic approach to understanding the complexities of the industry. It covers the scale and scope of the industry and examines the disparate parts of complex digital signage solutions culminating in the 7 Key Elements of Digital Signage," according to a press release from the DSEG.

The new DSDE (Digital Signage Display Expert) course goes over the science of sight and how it relates to display specifications, selecting the appropriate type of display for deployments and display calibrations, among other topics.

The DSEG says the DSNE (Digital Signage Network Experts) course "is a fundamental approach to understanding network structure and operating principals, as well as security." The course has an introduction to networks, network design and topology, and gets into networking hardware and network protocols.

The DSSP (Digital Signage Sales Professional) course looks at the obstacles faced by digital signage salespeople in "conveying to the customers and end-users what digital signage entails as well as what it can really do for them," according to the press release. "The DSSP focuses on the information and skills necessary to translate value into the reality for the digital signage customer."

Brawn says the DSSP course is essentially "the Certified Expert-Lite" for people who don’t need some of the more technical aspects of the more intensive course.

"All the material that’s in Sales Professional is also contained within the Certified Expert program, but the Sales Prof program is aimed at people who want to take a half-day, real focused seminar purely on the sales elements of digital signage who don’t need or want any of the technical elements at all."

All of the courses culminate in an online test for participants, after which they’re awarded certification in the program.

Several players in the digital signage industry have started incorporating the original certification program into their training, and some are starting to explore adding one of the new courses, Brawn says.

Earlier this year, Ingram Micro Inc. started offering the DSCE course to its channel partners, and Kevin Schroll, Samsung Electronics America’s senior product marketing manager – large format displays, says that Samsung sales reps are encouraged to take the courses offered by Brawn’s company.

"The training courses provide pertinent information to better enable the Samsung sales representatives to properly assess the customer’s digital signage needs and match it to the solution Samsung can provide," Schroll said.

And late last year, Almo Professional A/V announced that it was the first distributor in the industry to have its entire sales force successfully complete the DSCE program.

"Digital signage is clearly one of the fastest-growing segments of the commercial audiovisual industry," Sam Taylor, executive vice president and COO of Almo Professional A/V, said in a release at the time. "The challenge is that most professionals don’t have a full understanding of how to take all the complex parts of a digital signage system to produce an effective image and create value in the network…This designation gives our partners an edge because not only can they get all the digital signage hardware and software from Almo Professional A/V, they also have an expert resource to guide them through the process and help them create a system that is the best solution for their customers."

The new courses augment the broad understanding of the industry the earlier course provided, Brawn says.

"They are really focused on a single element," he said. "We break everything down in the Cert Experts program into seven key elements of digital signage, and so now we’ve created technical courses that are just really in-depth in certain areas."

DSEG will continue offering the original course along with the new programs in-person at seminars and tradeshows, Brawn says, but the group has found that most professionals are opting to take the courses online.

"It’s more of an issue that people don’t want to make the time commitment of spending the entire day out of the office," he said. "So the self-guided, which is exactly the same course material…we’re finding that is really in demand."

by Bill Collins of DecisionPoint Media Insights

Last week’s decision by the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) to rebrand itself as the Digital Place-based Advertising Association (DPAA) probably should have come as little surprise to people in the digital signage and kiosk industries.

Now that it has come, though, the association will use it as a springboard to seize new market share opportunities and launch new initiatives, say DPAA officials.

According to longtime OVAB board chair (and CEO of Captivate Network) Mike DiFranza, the name change was approved by the OVAB/DPAA board after an extensive consulting process — and some of the most enthusiastic advocates for the rebranding were the advertising professionals who plan and buy out-of-home advertising time for their brand clients.

These ad-agency professionals recognized, DiFranza says, that the "out-of-home" moniker from the old OVAB name was not specific and clear enough to describe the different engaged audiences that brands can reach with "digital place-based" networks.

DiFranza said that these agency professionals view their buys of digital place-based networks as a separate and distinct complement to their other media buys of static roadside billboards, digital LED billboards, street furniture, transit advertising, airport advertising and other traditional out-of-home media.

Changing names equals seizing new market opportunities

This rebranding of the Madison Avenue-based DPAA is another example of how the leading U.S. organizations serving the digital signage, place-based digital media and kiosk sectors have successfully repositioned and renamed themselves for the last several years.

This repositioning and refinement (and sometimes rebranding) in our industry also has been done by tradeshow and event producers (the Digital Retailing Expo rebranding as the Digital Signage Expo and KioskCom’s announced rebranding as Customer Engagement Technology World) and industry publications (Captive Audience Network Briefing merging with Narrowcasting News to form AKA.TV back in 2004).

The bottom line here is that we’re all trying to keep pace with the market and seize new revenue opportunities.

New initiatives are coming at DPAA

DiFranza acknowledged the current U.S. economic slowdown has caused some networks to drop their memberships in DPAA. Also, some DPAA member networks have been acquired by other DPAA member networks. (Memberships run about $40,000 per year for operators of digital place-based networks.)

DiFranza said that, with this rebranding and DPAA’s new focus on selling the digital place-based networks into the digital and TV budgets, the DPAA hopes to woo back some of its lost members and gain new ones. He cited Gas Station TV and AccentHealth as example of networks focused on TV ad-buying budgets that DPAA hopes to recruit in the coming months.

To pursue ad buys from the digital and TV ad-buying buckets and win new members, DPAA president Suzanne La Forgia said the association plans to take several initiatives:

• DPAA will expand its work with Mediamark Research (MRI), a prominent research house that publishes the annual Survey of the American Consumer. This annual survey collects information on adult consumers’ media choices, consumer product usage (tracking more than 6,000 product/service brands), demographics, lifestyle and attitudes. La Forgia explained that DPAA has persuaded Mediamark to incorporate more questions about consumer viewing of digital place-based media into the survey, so that the data will go into databases that define the media-planning and media-buying tools for many ad agencies.
• La Forgia is working closely with both Nielsen and Arbitron to expand their work tracking the audiences of digital place-based media. La Forgia said that Nielsen and Arbitron are motivated to expand their research work here because of the rapid growth in the sector. She also hinted that both will soon be announcing major research results regarding place-based digital.
• She is working with DPAA members to gather case studies and speak on seminars and panels at events sponsored by Mediapost and other influential organizers of events that media professionals attend.

"We felt that the old name was more exclusive"

"The new name clearly defines us as our own entity…Just like TV is different from cable, digital place-based media is different from digital signage," DiFranza said in a recent interview. "The name change opens up opportunity for this space. By engaging the multiple constituencies in the agency community (out-of-home buyers, digital-media/Internet/mobile media buyers and broadcast/TV buyers), that helps this industry grow. It’s a more inclusive strategy. We felt that the old name (OVAB) was more exclusive."
 
 

Bill Collins is principal of DecisionPoint Media Insights.

DecisionPoint produces custom audience research for Digital Signage networks and Digital Place-based Advertising. The company also provides B2B go-to-market strategy consulting for companies that market B2B products and services to those industries. Bill Collins can be reached at bill@decisionpointmedia.com.

by James Bickers, editor of RetailCustomerExperience.com

If an award were given for "most generous session content" at the recent GlobalShop event, it surely would have gone to Wirespring CEO Bill Gerba for his remarkable talk on "Seven Proven Strategies for Better Digital Signage Results."

The talk was just under 45 minutes, but Gerba packed in what was surely several weeks' worth of education. He broke his tips for digital signage content into seven broad categories; here are selected highlights from his talk.

Be sure to allw ample time at the end of a text message to enhance the recency effect. Don't wipe text off the screen too soon. Allow users the opportunity to read it, then read it again.  

Take advantage of "chunking and coding," which refers to the human tendency to better remember things that are prearranged into groups of like items — for instance, phone numbers printed in the XXX-XXX-XXXX pattern are much more memorable than 10 consecutive digits strung together.

 

Unbeknownst to the digital signage and digital out-of-home industry, there are groups of creative professionals out there truly excited by the opportunities of the space. These people are exactly what the industry has been waiting for to take it to the next level.

The key to identifying such leaders is to take a closer look at their backgrounds.

Those who have only worked in the traditional print/point-of-sale space jump on the chance to create digital content on signage and love it, says Peter Viento, a 15-year shopper-marketing veteran who has worked across media formats.

"They get really excited because now there’s the flexibility of going from a picture with words to telling a longer story — they can do more, come up with a bigger concept and really blow it out," says Viento, who is the executive creative director at Saatchi X in New York.

Viento also loves the ability to tailor the messaging depending on the location of the screens in store, plus the quick turnaround nature of digital.

His team recently put together a mini-spot for a client. "It had really beautiful footage which we created the messaging on," says Viento. "Now when we go into that retailer and we see it, my guys are pumped. They think it’s the greatest thing ever."

Similarly, over at Atlanta-based SapientNitro, the team is fascinated by the endless opportunities with different screens and surfaces, with the goal to be everywhere the customers are and give them the same brand experience.

"We want to make everything touchable. We have whiteboards filled with ideas," says John McHale, who has been with the agency for three years as the creative director.

Without a doubt, Sapient has a culture of embracing new media and innovation: It was the agency, in partnership with client Coca-Cola and Samsung, that rolled out interactive vending machines. The 46-inch LCD touchscreen combined with Flash technology, motion graphics, video and Bluetooth capabilities for mobile downloads generated much buzz and recognition. Specifically, it turned what was once a pure transactional experience into a true interaction.

The experience really pushed McHale’s team to explore ways to expand the footprint of a brand. He has no shortage of designers and staff with a passion for new technologies that can help create unique and immersive experiences. Granted, Sapient is a digital advertising and marketing agency.

For creatives with the traditional print and TV background, the uptake and enthusiasm for digital signage can be less. This is sometimes due to the fact that "in-store" isn’t considered as exciting or that the budgets are much smaller than they’re used to for TV.

Drivers for innovation

What one acclaimed creative finds most interesting about digital is the fact that it’s constantly evolving and the toolbars keep getting bigger as new technologies are invented. With over 14 years of experience in interactive marketing, Lars Bastholm has seen inventions that seem small and inconsequential at first, such as Google, YouTube and Facebook, turn out to have mass impact on marketing.

For the chief digital creative officer of Ogilvy in North America, digital media provides the playground for engagement, entertainment and involvement, but also utility. As an example, Bastholm cites the Charm Toilet paper "Sit or Squat" iPhone application. It’s not exactly a brand or category that goes for "fun" advertising, but the application where they crowd source information on all the public toilets in the world is brilliant, he says.

"It’s right for the brand. It’s incredibly helpful for the consumers looking for a restroom in a city they don’t know. It puts them top of mind."

To help encourage clients to try new spaces and channels, Bastholm typically asks clients to set aside 10 to 15 per cent of the budget to do things that have not been done before. The investment is used to test pilot different ideas to see how they work, see how consumers respond, then adapt accordingly.

In terms of digital OOH hitting that stride as a permanent buy, he suggests doing the PR and letting people know about the success stories in the space. The three constituencies to influence are:

McHale, who started his career in book publishing and design before transitioning to digital, sees innovation being driven from a peer-to-peer perspective. He looks for what’s recognizable in other formats and explores how they can be applied to different mediums. Examples include applying elements from the Web to phone, or how to build on the idea of the Wii interface. The Sapient digital team, much like Viento’s retail team at Saatchi X, is actively exploring RFID, quick-response (QR) codes, e-couponing and more to enhance consumer brand interaction.

At the end of the day though, one of the key drivers for adoption of new spaces and innovation is effectiveness.

Measuring success

While advertising-based digital OOH networks often stress the number of views generated, a successful digital campaign is often seen through the lens of data capture or actual sales lift.

"Anything that motivates a consumer to act, to give you their information and to engage with your brand or product or services, that’s definitely the number one metric for success," says Sean Cunningham, VP, associate creative director at Hill Holiday, a multidiscipline communication company.

"Lead generation and acquisition is very important."

In the retail world, "moving the needle" is the best way to gauge success, says Viento. This often involves running a digital campaign, then tracking sales from the particular retailer and seeing if there is a lift.

The number of impressions still remains important since it translates to "softer" metrics such as brand recall, brand recognition and brand love.

However, executives from the creative world readily admit there are many ways to measure success and defer to the analytics team on the details.

At the end of the day, what makes it worth all the late nights and extra hours for a creative professional is the talk value.

"If the consumers are talking about it, if the press is talking about it, if the industry is talking about it as something that’s pushing the boundaries, as something new and fresh, I would say that’s a success from a creative standpoint," says Bastholm, who is no stranger to industry and peer recognition. He is one of the most awarded creatives in the digital marketing industry, having won a multitude of international awards, including three Cyber Lions Grand Prix.

The more retail, interactive and digital talents continue to embrace and drive innovation in digital signage content, the more the industry will grow to its full potential.

For more insights on how creatives feel about the space, join Peter Viento, John McHale and Sean Cunningham at the fifth annual Digital Signage Content Strategies Summit on April 12-13 in Las Vegas. Also be sure to catch Lars Bastholm’s keynote on the "State of the Digital Creative Nation."

Christie Liu is a conference producer at Strategy Institute, host of the Content Summit.

I’ve been reading everyone’s reactions to the 2010 DSE show this week, and have scoured the blogoshere to compile what I believe to be the top posts. You will notice some common themes among the various posts.

Let's focus on what was in Las Vegas... 
By Chuck Gose, MediaTile

There have been a few mixed reviews on last week's Digital Signage Expo. The consensus seems to be that there was too much focus on digital signage hardware and software providers and not enough on content, strategy or integration. If that was the case, then don't fault those who were there - fault those who weren't…continue


Themes From DSE
By Ken Goldberg, Real Digital Media

Let's take a break from the drama surrounding the DSA and DSF, which received enough attention over the past week. I'll have some new thoughts on that later this week or next. The real news is that the Digital Signage Expo (DSE) was held last week in Las Vegas and continued its own growth and maturation, matching that of the industry it serves…continue


Where’s this thing going?
By Pat Hellberg, The Preset Group

DSE veterans (some of us have been around since DSE’s predecessor, the Digital Retailing Expo, barely filled a small hall in San Francisco in 2004) have never seen as much activity nor felt as much energy as we just experienced in Las Vegas.  Exhibitors entered DSE 2010 anticipating the norm:  that they would spend the majority of their time educating the “tire kickers.” But instead, we heard that buyers were qualified/legitimate and conversations were pointed/positive.  Some vendors were even writing business on the trade show floor.
So the future is bright, right? Maybe yes, maybe no…continue


Impressions from DSE 2010
by David Weinfeld, The Preset Group

The trip to Las Vegas for Digital Signage Expo 2010 was great. The entire Preset Group team was there, which made for a fun, busy week at the show. Our pre-show mixer went off like a rocket ship, seeing around 180 of the over 210 registered attendees make their way into Lavo for the event. The excitement from the mixer spilled over into our meetings throughout the whole week…continue


#dse2010. Whew.
By Paul Flanigan, The Preset Group

Another Digital Signage Exposition has come and gone. Last year I spent all my time in the sessions. This year, I spent all my time on the floor. Instead of giving you the top five things I learned (as was my habit with shows I attended last year), I will just drop some thoughts on you. Take ‘em or leave ‘em. (Or hold ‘em or fold ‘em, as Mr. Rogers would have you do if you’re the gambling sort.)…continue


More DSE 2010 Impressions
By Dave Haynes, The Preset Group

So the theory was that because I was not going to be chained to a booth, I for once could really have a good look around. Didn't work so hot. I did indeed see a lot more than usual, but there were a lot of vendors and I ran out of time to have more than a glance at about two-thirds of them. I never did get upstairs for any conference sessions.
Oh well. Here's what I did see...continue


#dse2010 – One Canuck Perspective
By Dmitry Sokolov, Ingram Micro Canada

DSE organizers recorded some 160+ individual Canadian registrations; accounting for the booth staffs of Canadian software companies Capital Networks, X2O Media, CognoVision, Intello, Harris and Scala’s Canadian contingent, the total Canuck ‘visitor’ traffic would have been close to 100 attendees…continue

DSE was a whirlwind week, as it always is. The first day’s educations sessions were well attended and from what I could tell received good feedback. I attended the DOOH Advertising Summit for most of the day. Those who had not yet seen the keynote speaker, Shelly Palmer, were impressed by his insight into this industry from a media perspective. I heard him speak at an NEC event several years ago and have been keeping up with him ever since. You can follow his blog at www.mediabytes.com.

The Summit was an obvious success, and something I think Exponation will likely continue. All seats were full for most of the day, and during the morning sessions there were about 25 people standing in the back, including myself.

I went next door to steal a chair from Alan Brawn’s new training course, the Digital Signage Display Experts certification, which had about 20 people in it. Brawn said it was a good number for the first time the course was held, and that many people were upset that it coincided with Brawn’s Digital Signage Expert Certification because they couldn’t attend both. I myself am a certified expert and would highly recommend the course to industry newcomers.

Highlighting the DOOH Summit was Palmer’s keynote and a breakdown of the Walmart SMART Network, which I wrote up on DigitalSignageToday.com. The article can be viewed here.

Association undertones

Many of the conversations throughout the week were tinged with Association talk, reflecting the decision on the part of Exponation to launch the Digital Signage Federation a week before DSE. Expnation also announced its interim board for the Federation on Wednesday morning. Here are the initial board members:

•    Phil Cohen, President & CEO, Care Media Holdings
•    Rich Cooley, CEO & Founder, Visser Digital Media
•    Alan Brawn, Principal, Brawn Consulting, LLC
•    Laura Davis-Taylor, Vice President, Creative Realities, Inc.
•    Jack Sullivan, Senior Vice President, StarCom World Wide
•    Jennifer Bolt, Executive Director, TracyLocke Advertising
•    Bob Stowe, Director, Marketing Services, Wendy’s International
•    Carre Dawson, Director of Business Development, DS, Harris Corporation
•    Bil Trainor, President, Capital Networks Limited
•    Brian Dusho, President, BroadSign International
•    Ken Goldberg, CEO, Real Digital Media
•    Pierre Richer, President & COO, NEC Display Solutions Americas

New tech

The show floor was of course packed with new technology, so instead of breaking it all down here I’ve included links to some significant stories that came out of the show that I posted on DigitalSignageToday.com.

Also be sure to check out the photo gallery from DSE 2010 and if you are on Twitter, search the hashtag #dse2010 (or click on it here). The guys at DailyDOOH calculated that the number of Twitter impressions for #dse2010 was 534, 233, with my account @DigSignageToday accounting for 51, 729 of those. Not bad!

DSE: JANUS adds emergency messaging, visual paging

DSE: MediaTile demos new interactive HumanKiosk

DSE: 2010 Apex, Content award winners announced

DSE: LuxuryTec, N4D form partnership on 3D displays

DSE: LG announces new hires, messaging, products for digital signage unit

Digital Signage Association votes for independence, tradeshow 

DSE: D.A.T and AmberAlert.com bring advanced alert tech to DOOH networks

DSE: Wireless Ronin reaches milestone in food service digital signage

DSA elects new officers

DSE: PlayNetwork debuts the C500 Media Player

DSE: Hiperwall teams with Ingram Micro to deliver video wall systems

DSE: Philips Public Signage introduces slim 65-inch display

DSE: Harris Corp. demonstrates latest DOOH advancements

Magnetic 3D unveils glasses-free 3D solutions at DSE 2010

DSE: Symon Communications launches a different approach to 3D digital signage 

DSE: Cisco focuses on content creation for digital signage

DSE: Hughes launches digital signage iPhone application for instant emergency response 

DSE: Seven principles of success for digital signage

In his presentation at DSE’s DOOH Advertising Summit on Tuesday, the Imperative Group’s Chris Heap presented the following real quotes from viewers, which he labels the “Seven principles of success for digital signage.”

1. Don’t make it hard for me to watch you.
2. When I do watch you, show me something relevant to me.
3. Save me money.
4. Save me time, don’t waste my time.
5. Help me make better decisions.
6. Tell me something new, innovative and interesting.
7. Give me ideas.

At my recommendation, EnQii committed its time and money to join the DSA shortly after the association was formed. At that time, I was skeptical about an association that was being supported by a for-profit business, NetWorld Alliance, and at my first DSA meeting I raised my hand and asked in my NYC blunt style to show me that although the organization was not a 501(c) that it was operating as one. 

Not only did I get a straightforward “no BS” answer but also a walkthrough of DSA finances. I was convinced. Also, along the way, I developed a great deal of respect and gratitude toward NetWorld, their leadership and the opportunity they were offering the industry by incubating a true association for the burgeoning digital signage industry. 

A few months later I raised my hand again, this time to be considered for the role of association president. Immediately in this capacity I started discussions, which soon turned into planning sessions, on how to get the DSA standing on its own two feet and be the true voice of the industry and its member companies, all constituencies and from all geographies. 

The first step was to ensure that we had a strong value proposition that resonated with the members and drew in membership. In two short years, we are now 420+ member companies strong. Second, but concurrently, we needed to move on a path to establish legal independence as a 501(c) not-for-profit organization. Inextricably linked to independence is the need to identify revenue sources so that (1) You can channel that money back to industry and member directed programs, and (2) You can maintain membership fees an affordable level so the association is accessible for all.

I am very proud to report that this goal is coming to a significant milestone this coming Tuesday, February 23rd, when the Advisory Board is voting on proceeding with the filing of our 501(c)(6) status, and send out a request for proposals from trade show management companies to partner with the DSA on management of an industry trade show.  

The NetWorld incubation era is coming to the close and the DSA, and I believe the industry, should be extremely grateful for their leadership and vision. The Digital Signage Association is something we should all be proud of and rally around to support the advancement of its pure mission, "To accelerate the growth and advance the excellence of digital signage deployments worldwide." 

If you are part of the DSA, continue to participate as you have and by helping to “raise the industry tide, your boat will rise as well.” If you are not part of the DSA, then do as EnQii and 400+ companies have done - get involved and become part of an exciting movement as we work to make it a healthy and sustainable industry. 

If you are going to DSE, please stop by the DSA Booth #1113. Also if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me.

Timeliness of messages and availability of your intended audience may be the most fundamental reasons digital signage is effective.

Two of the most basic reasons digital signage makes sense as a communications medium are its timeliness and availability.

In terms of timeliness, short of actually telling someone something face to face in a place of business, there may be no way to communicate more quickly with your co-workers, employees or customers than digital signage.

With digital signage, the time between actually conceiving a message and delivering it can be measured in seconds in many instances. When used properly, tapping into this extraordinary advantage means digital signage content will be fresh and relevant, both key factors in attracting and holding the attention of an audience.

When it comes to availability, digital signage may even have face-to-face communications in a business setting beat. Because the location of digital signs should be strategically chosen before a single message is ever created, they can be located where they are most available to their audience. For example, imagine a lunch room in a manufacturing plant, a break area in a mechanics shop, suspended from a ceiling above a production line. Each of these locations makes communicating some messages to employees much easier than finding an employee or group of workers and having face-to-face conversations.

Taken together, the timeliness of digital signage message and their availability to employees can be leveraged to improve productivity, enhance safety performance and even to boost sales.

I am familiar with one factory manager who regularly updates production figures on the company's digital signage network to inform his workforce about how well they are doing in meeting production targets. Given the ability of digital signage systems to tap into databases, it is possible for this manager to keep groups of workers apprised of their performance as data is updated in the database the company uses to track production.

Similarly, in some sales settings, digital signage is an effective way to encourage production, recognize performance and reward success in a public way that taps into the competitive nature of many sales people.

Customer service and support, too, can benefit from the addition of digital signs to help employees at a single glance keep track of wait times, percentage of problems resolved, open tickets and even customer satisfaction.

Businesses should also consider tapping into the timeliness and availability digital signage offers when it comes to safety. Not only can digital signage networks offer admonitions aimed at keeping the workplace safe, they also can be used to remind employees of their ongoing safety record.

Equally important in that regard is the ability of digital signs to offer timely emergency messaging to a workforce spread out through a factory or corporate campus. Potentially lifesaving warnings and emergency information can be communicated in seconds during severe storms and tornadoes and when other hazards may occur. Modern digital signage can even tap into public address systems to mirror an audible warning with visual emergency information. This can go a long way to meeting various disability requirements in work or public places.

There are many reasons digital signage makes sense as a communications medium, but none may be more fundamental than its ability to serve up timely information -be it production figures, customer service wait times or even warnings of a threatening storm- where that information is most available.

Last week, in a post titled “Getting The Message,” we discussed how three forces appear to be engaged in a battle for the hearts, minds and wallets of the digital signage marketplace. The unstated thesis of the post was that marketing dollars are likely to have a greater influence on buyer and investor perception of our still-young industry than unbiased analysis or hard-earned lessons from insiders. That was not a gripe: after all, you get what you pay for in this world. In any event, the post closed with a call for industry leadership and standards, without which we risk allowing the marketing machines of giant technology companies and advertorial publishers to define the industry and its priorities. In my mind, allowing that to happen would be a disaster.

The post, and in particular the call for leadership, opened a discussion regarding the Digital Signage Association (DSA), its work, organizational status and future. When writing the post, I had contacted David Drain, Executive Director of the DSA, and asked if DSA was a 501(c)(6) tax exempt, non-profit association. I knew that in fact it was not, which David confirmed. I chose not to open that can of worms in the post, because it deserves its own post, and a more detailed discussion with David out of courtesy. At this point, the discussion has been had, and this is the post.

Before entering the digital signage industry in 2004, I spent most of my professional career as a retail IT consultant, first with a Big 6 firm, then my own firm and subsequently with a public entity. In the course of those years, I was exposed to many industry associations: The National Retail Federation, the Direct Marketing Association, the Food Marketing Institute, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Association of Convenience Stores, and the International Mass Retail Association (renamed RILA in 2004). I was engaged on projects by both DMA and IMRA, have attended more conferences than I can remember, and presented at many. I came to appreciate that these associations are examples of effective voices and leaders of their industries. They have wide and deep support of suppliers, users and constituent companies. They provide advocacy, education, leadership on standards, and many member services. They have their own conferences, which provide a venue for all of their agendas and supplemental revenue to make them possible. Some have their own magazines that provide monthly or quarterly touch points with their members. Visit the links above and get a flavor for how those associations operate and serve their industry. Digital signage as an industry needs that kind of organization to take its next important steps forward. And to their credit, I think it is fair to say that DSA’s own leadership knows this. Getting there is the challenge.

DSA, established in 2007, is a part of NetWorld Alliance, a for-profit media company focused on B2B communications. To be fair, in 2007 and probably until now, a standalone non-profit association was probably not feasible in our young industry. NetWorld took the initiative to get the ball rolling and has underwritten (and presumably benefited from) the growth of the DSA. Under NetWorld’s auspices, DSA has accomplished many positive things. However, the call to separate DSA from its for-profit roots is out there, and it seems to be the correct call at this point in time. Here’s why: A true advocate must be independent. A true neutral advocate cannot have a web site plastered with advertising, or share resources with a sister industry web portal business (Digital Signage Today) that only allows external hyperlinks to paid advertisers in its content. To be clear, DST can and should have whatever editorial and advertising policies it wants (even bad ones like the link policy), but DSA’s relationship to it undercuts their desired position as a neutral advocate and leader.

There are over 400 members of DSA today, and room for aggressive recruitment of many more. Part of the recruitment drive should be fueled by a new vision of what the DSA is going to be. Until DSA is split from NetWorld legally and organizationally, it will not achieve the type of presence and leadership that other industry associations have achieved. If getting to that level is not their goal, it will open the door for another entity to step through and make it happen.

In 3 weeks, most of the people reading this post will converge upon Las Vegas for the largest trade show in our industry, the Digital Signage Expo. Six weeks later, back in Las Vegas, and again in November in New York, The Digital Signage Show will also offer great venues for education, selling and networking. DSE and TDDS are run by terrific companies with great people and both provide important services to the industry. That being said, if a non-profit association is to emerge as the linchpin of the industry, it will be absolutely vital for it be in the conference business. Its conference(s) would be a hub of association meetings, the key event from an educational perspective, and an important source of revenue to advance the goals of the association and the industry. Again, look at the other associations mentioned above. Doing so seems to make it clear that a precursor to an independent association would be development of a plan for owning and driving an industry conference schedule. This would not preclude the existence of non-association conferences, but like anything else, supply and demand will find their balance. In my opinion, an independent association (whether it is DSA or a new entity) would be a non-starter without this vital piece.

Digital signage is experiencing explosive growth, consolidation at many levels, the entry of very large corporations, and the scrutiny of people who don’t necessarily get it or share our enthusiasm for this emerging media channel. We need and deserve a neutral, non-profit industry association to drive education, advocacy, standards and industry presence. The DSA currently has the best shot of becoming that voice of digital signage. If they don’t seize the day, another entity will surely fill the void. Let the discussion begin.

Much ado was made about NCR Corp.’s under-funded pensions by industry analysts. But NCR beat financial expectations, despite a $56 million net loss, negative 35 cents per share, from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2009. Income from operations came in at $39 million for Q4, and included a $41 million pension expense.
 
The loss — a significant drop from the $55 million net gain, 34 cents per share, reported a year earlier — was fueled by a $151 million ($97 million after-tax) net charge related to the Fox River environmental matter, a $24 million ($15 million after-tax ) impairment charge related to an equity investment and related assets, and $6 million in expenses ($4 million after-tax) related to the relocation of NCR headquarters.
 
That compares to $7 million of pension expenses and $25 million of costs related to organizational realignment and legal matters during Q4 2008.
 
Revenue for the quarter was down 5 percent from last year, coming in at $1.35 billion. As of Dec.31, 2009, NCR had a debt balance of $15 million.
 
Diebold Inc. came out in the black, reporting Q4 income from continuing operations of $7.9 million, 12 cents per share, and revenue of $724.9 million. But net income and revenue were down, 55 percent and 8 percent, respectively, from Q4 2008.
 
"The economic challenges that 2009 imposed on our business affected our results but did not slow the initiatives we’re putting in place to build NCR into an exciting growth company," said Bill Nuti, chairman and CEO of NCR. "This year we successfully launched our entertainment business, opened new manufacturing plants and greatly strengthened our operating infrastructure. Despite tough end-market conditions, we also finished 2009 on a solid note, exceeding expectations largely due to improvements in our core industries. Taken together, we believe these accomplishments and our ongoing commitment to investing in innovation put us firmly on the path to produce better results in 2010 and make continued progress toward our long term goals."
 
NCR during Q4 exceeded its goal to roll out the first 2,500 DVD-rental kiosks by year's end. In December, the company expanded its network of DVD-rental kiosks through the acquisition of DVDPlay, an operator of approximately 1,300 kiosks in the United States and Canada. The company now says it plans to convert the acquired kiosks to its BLOCKBUSTER Express brand and has plans to install its BLOCKBUSTER Express kiosks in more than 200 Duane Reade locations in New York. NCR also during Q4 expanded its BLOCKBUSTER Express brand to Tedeschi Food Shops, a 188-location convenience store chain across New England.
 
NCR also announced a digital download pilot with MOD Systems, which allows users to download movie titles to memory cards.
 
Like Wincor Nixdorf AG, which reported a 6 percent dip in net sales and a 13 percent dip in profit for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009/2010, NCR and Diebold say the global economic downturn continues to take a toll on ATM and related self-service sales.
 
"We delivered solid operational results during the fourth quarter, despite a number of challenges the financial industry continues to face," said Thomas W. Swidarski, Diebold’s president and CEO. "In addition to growth in orders and full-year cash flow, we generated improved service margins during the quarter — representing our 10th consecutive quarter of year-over-year improved service gross margin."
 
Swidarski said that while sales improved across most geographies, Diebold’s business related to bank branch construction in North America has taken a hit.
 
"To improve our ability to invest in key growth initiatives, we are realigning our organization and resources to better support our opportunities in the emerging growth markets," he said. "Unfortunately, these changes will result in the elimination of approximately 350 full-time jobs from our North America operations and corporate functions. These reductions will be largely completed by mid-February."
 
NCR’s reported overall revenue for the Americas was down 7 percent. In the Europe, the Middle East and Africa, revenue was down 12 percent, while revenue in Asia-Pacific was up 12 percent.
 
But the quarter brought with it some highlights. In the financial space, NCR announced plans to equip ING Belgium with at least 1,200 cash-recycling ATMs — the most extensive deployment of cash-recycling ATMs in Europe, according to NCR. NCR also made its two-sided thermal printing technology standard on all NCR SelfServ 20- and 30-series ATMs in North America.
 
In November, NCR opened its new manufacturing plant in Brazil, the world’s 3rd largest ATM market.
 
At Diebold, product and services orders for financial self-service and security were up more than 20 percent from 2008, and global financial self-service orders increased more than 40 percent year over year. The company also noted a 40 percent increase in financial self-service orders from Q3 to Q4 — positioning the company for a positive second half of the year, Diebold says.
 
Orders in Asia-Pacific were up more than 50 percent. In the Americas, financial self-service orders also increased more than 50 percent — orders in Brazil and Latin America offset the double digit decline in North American sales. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, financial self-service orders were up more than 20 percent, while security orders dropped year over year in the low double digit range. However, security orders were up for the second consecutive quarter.
 
Diebold’s lottery systems sales in Brazil, which analysts speculated would offset losses in other regions, remains strong, despite an 8 percent dip in total lottery systems revenue in the country when compared with Q4 2008.

I have been invited to speak at this year’s KioskCom/Digital Signage Show in a brand new kind of session. The folks at JD Events have come up with kind of “Meet the Press” session at the show, where marketers and those involved with digital signage communications can meet and question the industry press.

The idea is to help improve communication between the two groups, especially at a time when media is rapidly changing. Internet news, Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets are changing the way that information is shared, as well as the pace that it comes and goes. News is instant now – therefore any slip ups can become big disasters really quick.

On the other hand, this new type of news reporting allows more information to be shared, and the companies that embrace that are going to reap the rewards. So instead of sending a news release in a word doc, you could send a social media release, complete with images, video and quotes that facilitate the creation of a news story for the digital age.

I’m really looking forward to hearing specific concerns from the marketers and seeing how we can improve communication in the industry. I think there is a lot we can learn from each other.

Here are the specifics on the session:

Say What?  Peeking Inside the Minds of Leading DOOH Electronic Media

In today’s media frenzied world, electronic journalism – columnists, articles and bloggers – often lead the way with industry news insights, analysis and awareness.  With thousands of opt-in followers, these journalists feel the pulse of the industry on a real-time basis – from buyers to sellers, and those who help ensure success along the supply chain.

In this session you will hear directly from leading electronic journalists/bloggers in the DOOH and digital signage space.  They will address a myriad of timely and relevant issues, and provide their unique insight into the good, the bad, the ugly and the exciting world of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Media industry.

 Attend this session and hear:

•    How digital media can improve customer engagement and increase sales lift
•    Examples of successful implementations and their impact on brands
•    Measurement methodology and ROI
•    Successful trends they are seeing
•    Who needs to be involved in the process for success?
•    What makes a project a winner? 
•    What brands and venues can do to succeed though the use of digital signage and DOOH
•    What does the future hold?

Session Chair: Adrian Cotterill, Editor-In-Chief – The Daily DOOH
Panel: Bill Yackey, Senior Editor, DigitalSignageToday.com

The session will take place on Wednesday, April 14, 2010, from 1:30 - 2:30 pm

At the helm of the world’s second-largest ATM deployer, Eckard Heidloff is always thinking about ATMs. But he’s thinking about them from a higher perspective these days, understanding where they fit into the overall cash scheme.
 
For Heidloff, the chief executive of Wincor Nixdorf AG, the future of ATMs will depend on how well connected they are to other channels, how easy they are to use and how well they are managed from a 360-degree perspective. Where the ATM fits into the cash chain is key, he says, and could ultimately ensure a future for self-service as the world evolves toward more efficiency.
 
The evolution of cash handling in retail environments as well as banks has stagnated. Heidloff says most banks, regardless of how developed the markets in which they reside may be, have not for the last 50 years changed the way they deal with cash. Heidloff says Wincor Nixdorf expects to change that.
 
“One-third of a bank’s costs come from managing cash,” Heidloff told ATMmarketplace.com. “As the cash cycle is optimized and better managed, the use of self-service increases. The more transactions that are moved to the self-service channel, the more efficient the cash cycle becomes.”
 
Channel integration is the key, he says.
 
“An increased use of self-service can improve cash management and customer satisfaction,” Heidloff said. “So, as more self-service is incorporated into a branch or a retail environment, with cash coming in (automated deposits), the more opportunities we will see for cash recycling within the self-service channel, within the branch or store, and the more integration we will see. This all improves efficiency.”
 
Wincor Nixdorf’s new cassette technology also is improving this cycle, as cash cassettes can be taken from teller or cashier lines and then used elsewhere in the branch or store.
 
“Cash-cycle management. This is a revolution for banking and retail,” Heidloff said. “The retail and banking industries work closely together, and once we implement the same solutions for cash-cycle management to both retail and banking, we can see a convergence, a stronger integration, of the two industries. This leads to savings for the retailer and improves efficiency for the bank.”
 
Bringing cash solutions to retail and banking, and then working to integrate the back-offices for a streamlined cash process — one in which the cash taken in by the retailer at the ATM or checkout, for instance, can immediately be credited to the back-office and housed in a cassette that calculates and credits the cash with the bank, ultimately empowering the bank to take over the retailer’s back-office responsibilities — is technology that to date only Wincor Nixdorf is offering, Heidloff says. He suggests that Wincor Nixdorf aims to be a trendsetter in this cash-integration space.
 
“We believe this will change the industry over the next five years,” Heidloff says. “We see long-term growth and change in the way banks manage cash. Bankers are interested in integration and so are retailers. We are creating standards that we expect our competitors to follow. They will have to. We were ahead of our competitors with deposit automation and they followed. In this area of cash-cycle management and integration between banks and retail, we expect the same trend. They will follow.”

Digital Signage Expo announced the 22 finalists for the 2010 Apex Awards yesterday. I was a judge for the awards, along with several other industry journalists. This is my third year judging the awards, and I’m happy to say that each year it’s nice to see how the technology and application have progressed.

Of course, in each category, there is usually one stand-out installation. Generally I remember news of the installation catching my eye when the news story originally came out in the previous year. I am always interested to see who wins compared to who I thought should win, although I’m told by the awards organizers that all of us judges generally agreed in our ratings. This is a good thing!

When the awards are over, we’ll highlight a few of the significant installations on DigitalSignageToday.com and I may even compare my picks to the actual winners.
The awards are going to be presented at a special awards banquet slated for the opening night of DSE 2010 on Wed., Feb. 24, at Paris, Las Vegas.

Finalists for the DSE 2010 Apex Awards are:

Art Entertainment Recreation
Adler Planetarium — nominated by NEC Display Solutions
NYC & Company — nominated by GestureTek Inc.
The Olympic Experience Museum of the Olympic Committee of Israel — nominated by C-nario

Corporate & Government
Unisys Belgium NV — nominated by X2O Media

Education & Healthcare
BC Children's Hospital Foundation — nominated by Scala Inc.
Indiana University — nominated by Scala Inc.
Northern Virginia Community College — nominated by Cisco Systems

Public Spaces
Amsterdam RAI — nominated by Scala Inc.
Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. — nominated by Aerva Inc.
IDS Center - Inland American Office Management — nominated by AlivePromo

Hospitality
ARAMARK — nominated by Wireless Ronin Technologies
Portland Trail Blazers/Rose Garden Arena — nominated by Omnivex Corp.
Zoom Media & Marketing — nominated by LocaModa Inc.

Retail
Miele Inspirience Centre — nominated by Scala Inc.
Sprint Studio Store — nominated by Scala Inc.
Turk Telekom Group/TTGaleri — nominated by Dreambox

Stadium Arenas
Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment — nominated by Digital Display & Communications/Omnivex Corp.
Miami Dolphins/Land Shark Stadium — nominated by Cisco Systems
Miami Heat/American Airlines Arena — nominated by Sony Electronics

Transportation
Monopoly Media/Zoom TV — nominated by Scala Inc.
The Port Authority of NY & NJ — nominated by Tightrope Media Systems
Underground of Barcelona — nominated by ADmira Digital Networks

Without customers, businesses fail. As we ponder and project what 2010 has in store for us, I look back to my thoughts and predictions from this past year to see what the future could hold.

There are a number of questions that continue to stick out in my mind just as much today as they did last year. “What will happen when companies are finished with the layoffs, the cuts, and downsizing? How will companies rebound, engage their customers, and encourage them to spend again? What will they need to do to engage customers and win their business?” And finally, “what will be the most efficient and effective manner to accomplish this?”
 
Executives challenged by these questions have much to consider – so, where do they start? They start by considering the total cost of ownership. From strategy development to execution/deployment, operational and maintenance issues to scalability, the total cost of ownership is a critical number for organizations to understand and examine. Understanding what technologies are available to enable their customer engagement strategies, what is needed to justify and implement these solutions (especially in the tough economic climate we face), as well as how they impact the path to purchase is vital to determining a proper ROI.

The true challenges lie in what executives must consider next. How do companies re-engage (or in many cases, engage for the first time) with prospects and customers? And just as important: How can their everyday experiences be turned into exciting and pleasurable experiences, yet also demonstrate an understanding of the time constraints and other limitations people face?

And therein lies my big prediction. Customer engagement will be the name of the game in 2010. Customer engagement will be what provides answers for these important questions. While electronic communication often can be effective and improve both cost and operational efficiencies, communication alone does not address the dilemmas companies face, nor does it do more than suggest reasons for product purchase. It may be a piece of the puzzle, but it does not provide the solution.

What is needed is a focus on engagement and the development of a strategy that ties in not only informational communication, but more importantly, addresses how to engage customers and prospects in a manner that takes them down the path to purchase.
In the coming months, I’ll revisit this prediction and discuss if this prediction is in fact holding true. It should be interesting to see the path our industry takes this year and I think it’s safe to say we’ll have some amazing examples to discuss along the way.

A few months ago, I started reading a new blog called “Buzz, not Buzzwords.” And as I continued, I wondered if someone had magically tapped into my stream of consciousness and made a blog out of it.

After covering the digital signage industry for three years and coming from a PR background, I’ve painstaking sifted through many a bad press release and wondered what corporate communication department actually gave it their blessing. Apparently, there was someone else out there thinking the same thing.

That man is Dave Haynes, known to many as one of the veterans of the digital signage industry, having worked for EnQii, Broadsign and now with the Preset Group. But Haynes is also a former journalist, and like me, reads through all the digital signage press releases that hit the wire (both good and bad).

Seeing that a lot of the mar-com in this industry needed some refinement, he launched the Buzzwords blog along side a service called PressDOOH in 2009, which is geared specifically at improving public relations in the digital signage industry.

As an industry journalist, let me say that companies that have taken him up on this offer have reaped some rewards with the digital signage journalism community (as small as we may be). I know when I see an email coming from PressDOOH, I can expect an organized press release, images and quotes that actually have some meaning to them.

That’s because, from my point of view, Haynes writes for the modern multimedia journalist. Here are several examples:

1. Unlike traditional PR, he doesn’t walk the line between providing key information for journalists and making an executive board happy. This means that we don’t have to dodge terms like “best-in-class,” “leading provider” and “next-generation.” (or “bleeding-edge!” Grrrrr!)

2. He takes the most relevant and appealing information and puts it first. Bottom line: I have a reason to keep reading.

3. When possible, he adds images and video to any releases he sends out. This allows us as editors to create a more complete story, and these days, that kind of multimedia reporting is almost expected.

Let me say that not all press releases are bad, but the ones that are, I get the impression that they’re coming from a small company where someone untrained in public relations or professional writing was tasked with throwing something together at the last minute. Or, the release is so jargon-heavy that I can’t understand what the product even does (this usually occurs in release about media players or connectivity hardware).

Now, the Buzzwords blog hasn’t existed without any criticism. I’ve heard several mar-com people knock Haynes for being overly judgmental of their press. For those folks, I encourage them to just take a few minutes to take a look at the blog and be open to a few things that Haynes has written. The advice is coming straight from the source (several of us industry editors are quoted in posts) – and it will help us work better together in the future.

For those who do want to enlist Haynes services, especially with “tradeshow season” coming up, he’s started a new program for the spring called the “Message Tune-Up.” Basically, he’s relaxed his minimum engagement policy for the next few months so you don’t have to do a full-blown campaign, maybe just a few hours of copy editing.

Digital signage offers advertisers and marketers the chance to reach consumers at the point of purchase via a medium that's powerful and appealing.

The latest figures from The Nielsen Company, the outfit that's best known for tracking TV watching and compiling viewership statistics known as ratings, reveal the number of dollars spent on advertising in the United States during the first nine months of 2009 declined 11.5 percent, a drop of $10.9 billion to $83.4 billion, compared to the same period the previous year.

To help put the decline in perspective, consider that this total exceeds by nearly $2 billion the approximate cost of a pair of Nimitz-class super aircraft carriers, like the USS Carl Vinson and the USS John C. Stennis. If the decline proves to have continued on pace in the fourth quarter, throw in another Nimitz-class carrier to visualize the annual decline for 2009. By the way, that's nearly a third of entire U.S. fleet of Nimitz-class carriers.

Hardest hit was the local Sunday supplement advertising category -down 48.3 percent compared to the first three quarters in 2008, Nielsen reported. But many other categories, including spot TV, local and national newspapers, network television, radio and local, national and B-2-B magazines, all suffered double digit declines in advertising spending.

Without question, the precipitous fall reflects the ongoing economic struggles in this country. Looking a little more carefully at the findings also reveals advertisers are reassessing where to spend their dollars. That's nowhere more apparent than in the continuing migration of advertisers away from print. According to Nielsen senior VP for new business development Terrie Brennan, local newspapers saw 12,000 fewer advertisers in their pages last year, while nine of 10 top cable TV categories saw increased ad spending.

Why would so many fewer advertisers spend their precious ad budgets in newspapers, while other advertisers embrace cable TV? One important reason is declining newspaper circulation. In October 2009, The New York Times online reported U.S. newspaper circulation fell 10 percent since the end of 2008. People reading fewer print newspapers turn to new media like the Internet and other traditional sources, such as cable TV.

The uptick in cable advertising also likely can be traced to the ability of cable channels to serve special interests, i.e. cooking, home improvement, movies, news, weather, etc., as well as that of cable operators to allow advertisers to target specific geographic areas of the cable service area.

Beyond these specifics, there's a more basic reason: tough economic circumstances focus the mind, sharpen thinking and force reassessment of spending. It appears from the numbers, that reassessing media selections comes down in favor of the popularity of video in a form that can be targeted to reach desired consumers.

This sort of reasoning is easily transferable to digital signage. It too makes use of all the appealing elements of television. It too can be used to target specific, desirable demographics. But unlike cable TV, digital signage also offers the added benefit of reaching shoppers at the point of purchase -or more accurately at the point where a buying decision is being made. Advertisers forced by the recession to sharpen their thinking and reassess media choices should keep in mind that more than 70 percent of consumer buying decisions are made at retail, according to the Point of Purchase Advertising Institute.

Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Given today's economic climate, advertisers can no longer afford to make tried-and-true media choices. Declining budgets are forcing them to reassess their options in a bid to remain as effective as they have been in the past with fewer dollars to spend. Mindlessly remaking old media decisions would be insane, and ignoring how digital signage can help achieve desired goals would be downright crazy.

 

…won’t ever been seen in the marketplace. That’s because Intel’s “proof-of-concept” digital signage application, like a concept car, is designed to show the capabilities of “tomorrow’s digital signage,” using today’s processors and software.

For those who haven’t been paying attention to the computing giant’s foray into digital signage, Intel last week showed a multi-screen retail digital signage installation at CES. The nearly eight-foot-tall structure made an appearance again this week at Intel’s booth at the National Retail Federation’s BIG Show in New York City.

I spoke with Intel digital signage director Jose Avalos yesterday while he was at the show, and he said that the proof-of-concept is the first step in a six-month push from Intel to make its digital signage efforts more apparent to the public. Based on the conversation, I understand the efforts consist of three main things at this point:

1. The retail proof of concept, which serves as a way to let the retail industry know what is possible through the use of digital signage. As Avalos said in the interview, the concept won’t be put into production, and the technology is still several years off, but the processing units and the software platform is in fact available on the market today. The concept essentially has three screens – two back-to-back LCDs and a clear holographic screen that is supposed to support augmented-reality-like shopping experiences. It’s also equipped with a CognoVision anonymous audience metrics system which gathers audience demographic data and relays it to advertisers. The applications can be left to the retailers, but Intel suggested it could be used to explore merchandise, find out about promotions, submit feedback on products, read customer reviews, view past purchasing histories and share information.

Here is a video of the concept to give you a better idea:



2. A partnership with Microsoft for a digital signage platform that supports both Intel processing chips and Microsoft software. Officially titled the “Windows 7-based Windows Embedded Standard 2011 operating system powered by 2010 Intel Core micro-architecture,” the platform is supposed to help “defragment” the industry by supplying a common platform that everyone could work off of. Essentially, the idea is that the users’ familiarity with Microsoft Windows Embedded and Intel Core processors will help drive adoption of the system. You can read details of the platform on Digital Signage Today. http://www.digitalsignagetoday.com/article.php?id=23537&na=1&s=2

3. Intel’s architecture of processing chips to be used with digital signage was disclosed to me yesterday in a presentation by Avalos. Intel is going to be using three processors to power various levels of digital signage systems:

-    The Intel Atom processor will be used for basic digital signage apps: Single-player per screen, Single-source video advertisement content with limited content blending.
-    The Intel Core i5 will be used with what Intel calls “mainstream digital signage,” which are networked, remote-managed and can support interactivity and rich media.
-    The Intel Core i7 will be used with “high-end digital signage,” like the proof-of-concept, where content is extremely interactive or requires running multiple apps at once (like augmented reality, audience measurement and wayfinding as on the concept. This is also the suggested processor for video walls.

We have a new member of our team at here NetWorld Alliance (my employer and the company that operates the Digital Signage Association), and honestly we are very excited. Andrew Davis has been with Condé Nast, Time Warner and the New Yorker. Below is the press release issued by NetWorld this morning:

NetWorld Alliance, a growing business-to-business publisher with properties including Web portals, executive summits, and associations, is pleased to announce that Andrew Davis, a former Regional Director for Condé Nast and Time Warner, is joining the company as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He will be based in the company’s Louisville office.

Andrew Davis has over 20 years of experience in sales and management with a number of well established publishing companies. A 13-year veteran of Time Warner’s Entertainment Weekly, Davis was also the founding Publisher of Modern Luxury’s The Atlantan and Atlantan Brides magazines, leading luxury lifestyle and bridal magazines in the greater Atlanta market.  Most recently, he opened the first Southeast office for The New Yorker, a Condé Nast Publication. In his new post, Mr. Davis will provide his knowledge to support the sales and marketing departments and all nine of NetWorld’s portals, four associations, and three executive summits.

“We’re extremely fortunate to have someone with Andrew’s expertise join our team,” said Dick Good, CEO of NetWorld Alliance. “He has the kind of experience with large accounts and agencies that our company needs. While we had a solid 2009, we’re looking forward to Andrew taking us to a new level of profitability in 2010 and beyond.”

The strategic addition of Mr. Davis replaces ten year veteran of NetWorld Alliance, Bob Fincher, who will be spearheading the company’s ambitious media launch into green residential construction later this year.

I’m making my prediction for the top disruptive technology for 2010, and that is 3D. Three dimensional movies are nothing new – they were around before I was even born. And admittedly they’ve made leaps and bounds in the digital era (many are claiming Avatar to be a defining moment in cinema technology), but on the advent of CES 2010, 3D is looking like its going to go somewhere its never gone before – into the home.

Several announcements over the last few months point to the fact that in-home 3D is about to become a reality, teetering on a cusp much like HDTV did a decade ago.

For one, screen manufacturers are developing high-definition 3D screens designed for consumer use. LG announced in early December a 23-inch model, and rumors are going around the blogs about models from other manufacturers shown at CES this week that will come in at about $1,300.

It also looks like we’ll have the content to support those screens. Just today we learned that ESPN is going to launch a full-3D channel this summer during the World Cup, which will broadcast 85 games through June 2011. The channel will go dark when a 3D event is not being broadcast.

Also, the Discovery Channel, Sony and Imax signed a letter of intent today to create a joint venture to create the US’s first full-time 3D cable channel. According to USA Today, “the channel initially will feature lots of shows about science and nature, much of it from Discovery's and Imax's libraries. But the partners plan to license TV rights to general entertainment 3D movies, music videos, and game-related content.”

This is a big step that will require a lot of investment from the networks, as 2D shows can’t be converted into 3D automatically. The show will have to be shot twice with two different kinds of cameras. For ESPN, this means that they will need two film crews at each game, and even two sets of announcers.

The success of 3D will also initially hang on the cable, phone and satellite providers, who have the option of carrying the channels and how much of a premium they will make consumers pay to watch them. My guess is that big companies like DirectTV and Comcast will jump on board right away but charge a high premium, while more local providers will hold out for awhile.

What’s also important here is to watch how this technology impacts our industry. Since we can’t wear 3D glasses everywhere we go, out-of-home 3D applications have to be autostereoscopic, also known as no-glasses 3D. This is achieved by placing several lens filters on an LCD over specially-designed content. If you’ve been paying attention over the past several years, you’ll have noticed that the technology is getting better, meaning that the images look a “lot more 3D” than they did several years ago.

As they say in the media business…watch this space!

The digital signage has no shortage of leaders. If it did, the year-over-year expansion the industry has enjoyed wouldn’t have occurred. Already, especially as economic signs are trending better, 2010 is shaping up to be an action-packed year. As we head into it, here’s a quick look at five execs poised to make much of that action happen.

Keith Kelsen, CEO, The 5th Screen

Not only has the former chairman of MediaTile launched a new company, called The 5th Screen, he will release “Unleashing the Power of Digital Signage: Content Strategies for the 5th Screen,” a book to be published by Focal Press. I was able to preview a few chapters recently, and can say the book is unique in that it’s the first to focus strictly on digital signage content and usage strategies. An accompanying Web site allows users to see video examples of content discussed in the book. It will be interesting to see how the book is received and what Kelsen does with the 5th Screen company. Kelsen’s still not saying.

Pierre Richer, president, NEC Display Solutions

All eyes in the digital out-of-home world will be on NEC and company president Pierre Richer, at least for the first part of 2010. In November the company launched its VUKUNET video ad distribution platform, which was touted as a way to unify the 300-plus ad-based digital signage networks already in existence. This, of course, will require VUKUNET to “sign up” enough of those networks to gain critical mass sufficient to make the tool beneficial to its users. In other words, will it achieve the “universal” status it’s going for?

Lou Giacalone Jr., CoolSign

Giacalone might be one of the most passionate digital signage advocates around when it comes to the overall well-being of the industry. He has said boldly that the industry needs to make a lot of changes if it is going to “get out of the playground,” and says that 2010 is a “year for the industry to get back on track.” Giacalone said he is going to work through several organizations in order to bring more education and cohesion to the industry in 2010, including the POPAI Technical Standards Committee and the Digital Signage Association, in which he plans to submit his name for presidency.

Brad Gleeson, president and CEO, Vertigo Digital Displays

Brad Gleeson is a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur. Like Giacalone, he’s a long-time industry veteran, having started the first digital signage-specific distributor, ActiveLight. Based on his previous successes, it will be interesting to see where he takes Vertigo Digital Displays, his newest endeavor. Gleeson and partner Scott Hix, along with help from Chilin Technology, purchased the outdoor digital signage company in October 2009. http://www.digitalsignagetoday.com/article.php?id=23177 

Jason Cremins, CEO, signagelive

One of the bigger names in digital signage software in the U.K. is signagelive, a product of Essex–based Remote Media. There, CEO Jason Cremins has built the small company into an innovative and successful SaaS-based platform. Cremins has solidified all kinds of strategic partnerships for the company, as well as experimented and implemented emerging digital signage software technologies such as Twitter content feeds, mobile integration and triggered retailing. Look for Remote Media to land more content and distribution deals in the next year.

 

Matching messages to the interests and needs of audiences as they change throughout the day is a fundamental strength of digital signage.

Have you ever wondered why pickup trucks and beer commercials don't appear during TV cartoon programming? How about why there aren't hemorrhoid and antacid commercials during TV sports presentations, or toy and sugar-coated cereal ads during the evening news?

The answer is simple. Different types of TV shows attract different audiences. Cartoon viewers are likely to be interested in the coolest new toy and tastiest new breakfast cereal. Heavily male sports audiences are prone to having an affinity for beer and pickups. And who could argue with the notion that viewers of the evening news aren't perfect candidates for hemorrhoid remedies and antacids given the general state of affairs?

All kidding aside, recognizing that different programs -generally run at different times of the day- attract different audiences is a foundational principle of how TV organizes itself and the way ad agencies identify groups of viewers who share a common interest and can be targeted with appropriate ads.

Many uses of digital signage, as well, benefit from a similar recognition that audiences change throughout the day. Thus, those with important communications to convey to a digital signage audience can select which specific messages to serve up at the most appropriate time of the day.

Often referred to as "dayparting," segregating messages based on the time of day offers digital signage marketers and advertisers a way to target changing audiences in a manner similar to how TV advertisers reach desired audiences based on a schedule that puts cartoons on Saturday morning, college football on Saturday afternoon and local and national news on every evening. Both acknowledge the fact that audience demographics change throughout the day.

In digital signage, dayparting messages can be as simple as offering time-appropriate communications based on changing audience desires throughout the day, or it can be as complicated as identifying different demographic groups likely to see signs at different times of day and playing back messages targeted to those changing groups.

Consider a digital sign in a hotel lobby. In this example, the same group -specifically hotel guests- are likely to view the sign at different times throughout the day. Smart marketers would use this to their advantage by targeting their digital signage messages to the changing interests of the guest at different times of day. Thus, from 5 a.m. till 11 a.m. the message might promote the hotel's coffee shop as well the availability of tickets from the concierge desk to local tourist attractions. From 11 a.m. till 3 p.m., it could promote lunch specials, and transition to messages about fine dining on premise for dinner in the late afternoon and early evening. Finally, the sign could promote the lounge and entertainment from 7 p.m. till midnight.

Compare that type of dayparting to one based on different demographic groups visiting a mall throughout the day. Early in the morning before the retail shops open, a mall restaurant uses the facility's digital signage network to promote an early bird breakfast to health-conscious mall walkers out to get their mileage in. Later in the morning when moms with young children dominate the mall traffic, messaging on the same signs transitions to promote a visit from a state agency charged with early childhood health screening. As the day progresses towards the end of the school day, the digital signage messages focus on a skateboard clinic being put on outside the mall's sporting goods store and a special makeup clinic being held outside a department store. During the late afternoon and early evening when those who have been at work all day begin arriving at the mall, messaging transitions to promote free cholesterol and blood pressure screening outside a mall pharmacy and a job fair in the central part of the facility.

While different in how they go about it, both examples lay out effective use of dayparting digital signage messages to meet the changing needs of audiences throughout the day. Unlike other alternatives, digital signage possesses an inherent ability to respond to changing audience demographics and maximize the effectiveness of communications. That's just another reason digital signage is gaining popularity for a variety of communications applications.

 

2009 was an interesting year for the digital signage/DOOH industry. Despite the recession, new deals were won, new technology was released and the industry continued to grow as a whole.

Here are five moments that changed the digital signage and digital out-of-home industry for the better in 2009, and one that certainly didn’t.

1. The rise of DOOH aggregation platforms

With digital out-of-home spending on the rise, the industry is working to make it easier for media buyers to purchase DOOH ads. This has led to the proliferation of aggregation services that allow ad agencies to purchase screen space across multiple networks using one online platform. Existing services like SeeSaw Networks, Adcentricity, rVue and DOmedia all expanded their networks and services in 2009, while new platforms like VukuNet and BookingDOOH.com were launched.

Why it’s important

The chore of arranging agreements with multiple networks has turned agencies off to using DOOH in their media mixes. There also exists a disparity between software platforms, file formats and payment systems, which is why aggregation services, which unify these networks under a common platform, are so important to the continued growth of DOOH.

Rick Ducey, chief strategy officer, BIA/Kelsey, a research firm, shares these sentiments.

“DOOH must get easier to plan, buy and measure in order to reach scale,” he says in the “Digital Out-of-Home: Hyperlocal and Hyper Growth report. “With consolidation, partnerships and interoperable platforms, we see the buying process becoming more integrated, which will spur growth.”

2. Dallas Cowboys Stadium installs Cisco StadiumVision

The poster child for digital signage this year has been the new $1.2 billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium. In addition to housing the largest HD screen to date, Cisco has installed nearly 3,000 digital signage screens throughout the complex as part of its StadiumVision offering. StadiumVision consists of screens in the concourses, luxury boxes, restaurants (as digital menu boards) and retail areas, all connected to the internal IP infrastructure.

Why it’s important

Pardon the pun, but StadiumVision is a “game-changer” for the sports entertainment industry. Fans are delivered entertainment pre-event, in-event and post-event, using video and content, such as out-of-town games and scores, team trivia, weather, traffic and news, in addition to the action on the field.

On the back end, the stadium staff is able to centrally manage the delivery of all of the venue's available video assets, including broadcast, cable, satellite and in-house feeds, to displays over a single IP infrastructure. And it’s catching on – in 2009 StadiumVision was installed in the new Yankee Stadium, Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Land Shark Stadium in Miami, Fla. and many European stadiums. 

3. Samsung and NEC release ultra-thin bezel screens

This spring, Samsung and NEC both released new screens that changed the video wall landscape. Designed specifically to be tiled in video wall matrices, the screens feature a screen-to-screen bezel width of 7.3 mm, creating a near-seamless look when placed together.

Why it’s important

Digital signage users are always in search of, literally, the next big thing. For several years, large format screens, like the 103-inch plasma from Panasonic, have been eye-catching but expensive. Also, traditional video walls appeared clunky because of large bezels that chopped up the image. Building a video wall with these thin-bezel screens is not only more cost effective, but allows the user to be more creative by arranging screens in non-traditional arrays.

(Honorable mention for video walls: The release of Christie Microtiles)

4. USA Today features digital signage supplement

On March 20, 2009, USA Today featured a pull-out section specifically focused on the digital signage and digital out-of-home (DOOH) industry. http://www.digitalsignagetoday.com/article.php?id=21939 The 16-page section was distributed in the New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles markets. Readership of two million was recorded based on distribution of 750,000 copies with an estimated four readers per supplement copy.

Why it’s important

Although most of the content was advertorial in nature, the section went a long way in bringing this industry to attention of readers in major DMAs. You could call it an “awareness campaign.” This year at tradeshows many of the exhibitors said they were seeing more educated attendees and fewer “tire kickers,” and projects like the USA Today supplement have a lot to do with that. Another supplement is planned for Jan. 29, 2010.

5. Capital Area Transit enables mobile digital signage

In April, Harris Corp. along with WRAL in Raleigh, N.C. and Microspace Communications, announced they had launched the nation's first free, over-the-air broadcast of mobile digital television to the public. The CBC New Media Group and the City of Raleigh, N.C., were also part of a project that delivers live WRAL-DT broadcasts to Capital Area Transit (CAT) buses traveling around the capital city.

Why it’s important

The CAT project epitomizes many of the best practices of DOOH advertising. Screens are placed on buses, where there is an extensive amount of dwell time. Viewers can be exposed to hyper-local, highly relevant content as they are taken through the city and have the ability to interact via mobile phone. And because the screens are still connected to a network, ads have the ability to be geo-targeted based on where bus is at that moment. It serves as a great example of content relevancy and contextual advertising.

..and one not-so-great one

If there was one story we wish we didn’t have to write this year, it would be that of Reactrix. Many of those in the industry remember the slow demise of Reactrix around this time last year. A victim of the recession, the Redwood City, Calif.-based interactive media company first went into receivership in Oct. 2008, called it quits early this year and had its IP bought in May.

What it’s not-so-great

Digital signage is a young and nascent industry, and it doesn’t image well to have any company go under, particularly one with the kind of innovative and forward-thinking technology that will help propel it. Reactrix had several good network deals, especially in malls. But I believe it was outrageous spending that eventually brought the company down (They burned through an alleged $85 million!) Even Wall Street Journal used Reactrix as an example of a tech start-up bubble burst.

In my first post, I briefly outlined the seven convergent implementations of digital signage and mobile technologies. In my second post, I discussed the first, and most basic, convergent implementation: DTMF. In this post, I’ll briefly discuss the second, but most commonly used, form of signage/mobile convergence: SMS/Text Messaging. 

A SMS/Text Messaging implementation is basically defined as the processes for interacting with digital signage using the text messaging feature of a cell phone. Before we delve into the workings of this particular convergent implementation, it may be helpful to briefly review the history of text messaging.

In 1995, the Federal Communications Commission awarded select companies licenses to provide a new form of “digital” cellular service. This new service enabled cell phones to support features such as call waiting, three-way calling, in-bound number display, data communications and Short Messaging Services (SMS). SMS was deemed to be the feature that would allow cellular users with SMS-equipped, digital cell phones to send “text messages” of up to 160 characters to other SMS equipped cell phones.

The SMS feature was not however measurably used until about the year 2000. It was only then that there were enough SMS-capable cell phones and networks in use to support mass adoption of the technology. But even then, it was not until about 2005 that SMS became widely and actively used by cellular subscribers. Since ’05 however, SMS usage has been skyrocketing. Today, in the U.S. alone, approximately four billion text messages are sent each day. 

As SMS usage began to grow, it soon became the primary form of communications for many -- especially those in their teens and 20’s. This growing affinity for text messaging was not lost on digital signage software companies, digital signage network operators, content providers and advertisers. Soon each was trying to find ways to integrate SMS into their digital signage networks.

Today there are four ways in which SMS is commonly used in conjunction with digital signage.  However, before we review these four, it is important that we become familiar with the concept of Common Short Codes. Common Short Codes are an essential element to each of the four convergent implementations. Common Short Codes are five digit numbers that serve as a substitute for phone numbers. The purpose of Short Codes is to provide companies or organizations a carrier-independent way to engage with the general public via text messaging and then track those interactions.

The four SMS-based convergent applications are as follows:

1.       Signage as Recipient:  In this implementation, signage viewers send text messages via a Short Code to a digital sign for the other viewers to see. Viewers of the messages can then send SMS-generated responses to the message, thereby creating a group dialog.  This feature is frequently used in places where people congregate and is typically instituted as a way to stimulate conversation.

This implementation generally requires that messages be relayed through the signage operator so that an administrator can filter out objectionable content. Some of the more intelligent content management software packages perform this filtering function automatically. But as a leading outdoor signage vendor recently found, sometimes even the best filtering techniques have their weak points. In that situation, a picture of three local news anchors was shown on the screen accompanied by a message that said, “Three Accused of Gang Rape.” Obviously the three were not the newscasters pictured, but an embarrassment for the signage operator none-the-less.

2.       Content Selection: This implementation allows the viewers of digital signage to control the content that appears on the screen. For example, the viewer is informed that if they text a particular keyword (e.g. number, word, code, etc.) to an SMS Short Code, the content on the screen will be changed commensurate with that code. For example, a user could text the keyword “11111” to Short Code 55555 to see a movie trailer, or text the keyword “22222” to the same Short Code to see a music video. The content management software would receive the code and changes the displayed content accordingly.  It also tracks and reports on the viewer’s content preferences.

3.       Content Control: This implementation allows viewers to use their phone's SMS feature to control elements on a screen. For example, the viewer can move game pieces on a game board by texting a keyword to an SMS Short Code. The signage software uses these keywords to manipulate the game pieces and control the action of play. Like the "Signage as Recipient" implementation, this convergent model is designed to get large crowds engaged with the content. 

4.       Promotional/Marketing: This implementation uses the digital signage to promote an interaction between the viewer and a marketing promotion. For example, the digital signage may display a message that says "Text the keyword COUPON to 55555 to receive a coupon for 20 percent off of your next oil change." In this example, the user executes the transaction and receives a text message back that includes a coupon code for subsequent presentation to the sponsor. In another example, the digital signage could encourage viewers to text a keyword that will initiate the delivery of promotional content back to the viewer’s handset.

SMS-based convergent applications have been growing along with the adoption of SMS.  But which of the four have been growing the fastest, what are the pros and cons of each, what is the future prospects of each? These questions will be addressed in a soon to be released white paper called “SMS and Digital Signage: What Is It and Where’s It Going?”

…to create another innovative social media/digital signage ad campaign. Yesterday Vans, the shoe company, and LocaModa launched a digital billboard campaign called Be Here Times Square using the Viacom digital billboard in Times Square.

Here’s the deal – users can log onto the Vans Web site or text a shortcode to send pictures and/or messages to the screen. All “appropriate” messages are automatically posted on the Vans Web site, and every hour several of them are selected to run on the actual Times Square billboard itself.

Not in NYC? No worries – the site sends you an email if your message gets up on the digital billboard, and also takes a live picture of the message on the screen and posts it to this site: http://beheretimessquare.com/display/

I decided to have a little fun with it and post the pic below of me writing the news story about the Be Here campaign to the Be Here site. It appeared on the site within a few minutes, then later this morning appeared on the Times Square billboard.



I know this because the www.vans.com/behere site has a live feed every hour of the submissions that run on the billboard. See the image below its a screenshot of the live feed from Times Square taken this morning. And yes, it is my birthday today.

…at least for Delta Airlines it did. Last week I was tipped off to a story about a recent DOOH campaign that proved quite successful for Delta Airlines. If you have read my writing on DigitalSignageToday.com, you know that one of my main goals when covering this industry is working to make DOOH and digital place-based media a more viable medium in the eyes of ad agencies.

I decided to focus on this piece because I think it goes a long way in proving the worth of DOOH in an ad campaign setting.

Here’s the shortened version – the whole story can be read here:

Earlier in the year, Delta its ad agency, Digitas, ran a brand-awareness campaign for Delta’s international travel services using digital out-of home screens combined with traditional media. After the campaign was over this past summer, Edison Research surveyed consumers prior to the launch of the DOOH campaign and again during the campaign to measure how effectively the messages reached Delta’s target audience and whether awareness was increased. The results indicate that Delta’s goals of reaching the target audience and increasing awareness of Delta as a preferred international carrier were accomplished.
 
Specifically:

• Awareness of Delta as an international carrier increased more than 28 percent.
• Among business travelers, the perception that Delta “flies to the international destinations you want to go to” increased 26 percent.
• The percentage of people “very likely” to recommend Delta to friends, family or colleagues increased 61 percent.
• Of those who noticed the screens, 32 percent fit Delta’s income demographic.
• Those who noticed the screens were frequent travelers who had an average of 5.2 business trips a year.
• Overall awareness of Delta increased by 15 percent.

Note that these results are just for the DOOH portion of the campaign, and don’t reflect on the traditional media part.

I spoke with Pat Connolly, vice president and group director of Digitas, and although he never cited the initial goals of Delta, he did note that these numbers exceeded those goals.

The screen space was bought through SeeSaw Networks’ aggregation platform, and although we’ve talked about their Life Pattern Marketing approach many times on the site, its worth discussing it again as it pertains to this a campaign.

The idea behind Life Patterns is that ads are bought based on certain target demographics, then the same message is shown to that demo at different times throughout the day. In this case, Delta wanted to target affluent business travelers. So ads were placed on screens rotated over five digital networks including on RMG Networks screens at cafes, the WHEN network at health clubs, cardio machines on the NetPulse network in health clubs, ferry terminals through the Affinity Network and PumpTop TV at gas stations.

The idea is that they see a Delta ad while getting their morning coffee, then see the same ad on the way to work, after work at the gym, and on the way home at the gas station.

All in all, I think the industry would benefit from more stories like this that show statistical success for DOOH campaigns. My hope is that this example will reach those decision makers with the brands and ad agencies and potentially effect future buying decisions.

Digital out-of-home is a growing medium – a significant statement in a time when media outlets are struggling to sell ads and subscriptions. TV still dominates the media market landscape and newspapers and magazines have a declining presence. Although DOOH represents less than one percent of that landscape, over the past several years it has shown an increase in awareness, revenue and presence.

Recent research reinforces this. Arbitron reports that approximately 155 million (67 percent of) U.S. residents aged 18 or older have seen a digital out-of-home (OOH) video display in the past month. PQ Media expects the U.S. DOOH spending to reach $2.47 billion in 2009. And DisplaySearch, which monitors flat panel shipments, says that shipments of large-format displays (26-inches+) is set to grow 44 percent in 2009, indicating that there is a growing demand for screens used for public-facing applications.

Agencies are recognizing the growth as well. In the agency world, digital out-of-home has traditionally fallen into the realm of out-of-home (OOH), which comprises mainly on billboards and the like. OVAB and other organizations are working to separate the two and help agencies establish a separate “media bucket” for DOOH, so that it gets its own budget. Several forward-thinking agencies have already made this move.

The future of this medium and its success relies heavily on the participation and backing of advertising agencies. In the past, one of the key reasons that agencies have shied away from DOOH has been because there have not been proven metrics for the medium, like exist with traditional advertising, and that the buying process has been too difficult.

Knowing this, the DOOH industry has begun work to make the buying process easier for ad agencies. In addition to OVAB releasing Audience Metrics Guidelines for the measurement of DOOH advertising networks, the networks themselves are enlisting companies like Arbitron, Nielsen and Edison Research to perform network audits. The results help give both the networks and ad agencies accurate traffic counts, dwell time and other pertinent information in the ad buying process.

For agencies and their media buyers, the DOOH ad buying process is becoming easier, thanks to the work of those within the industry. Not too long ago buyers would have to go to individual networks in order to place ads on screens – a process that was tedious and often dreaded. Network aggregation services, such as NEC’s Vukunet, SeeSaw Networks’ SeeSaw Ads and Adcentricity have emerged in the past several years and are now gaining a critical mass of nationwide networks. This means that media buyers can now go to one place and place ads to targeted demographics down to the screen level.

As the industry streamlines processes and improves technology for DOOH ad placement, agencies are catching on to its effectiveness and beginning to invest more in digital campaigns.

In the world of sports franchises that use digital signage, the Miami Heat is emerging as a champion of the technology.

The 2006 NBA Champion franchise announced this week two new areas of its American Airlines arena that have been outfitted with custom-designed video walls, created in partnership with Magenta Research. 

One of the video wall installations went into the Bacardi Grand Entrance, one of the main arena entrances. Twelve Sony displays are programmed with Sony’s proprietary ZIRIS software system and include signal extension provided by Magenta’s high-definition MultiView XRTx transmitters and AK600 receivers. The screens are tiled together diagonally at 45-degree angles.



Another area to receive a video wall installation was the Dewar’s Suite Level. The Dewar’s wall is made up of six Sony screens arranged in both portrait and landscape orientations. Content for the video wall is focused on Dewar’s branding.

Both installations represent a trend in the industry toward custom-shaped video walls. Sony actually showed a diagonally-mounted video wall very similar to the Bacardi installation earlier this year at Screen Media Expo Europe. Most recently, Christie entered this space with the launch of their MicroTiles product, which are small, configurable, square screens designed to be stacked into various shapes.

This is not the first time that the Heat and American Airlines Arena have embraced non-traditional digital signage. Early in 2009, a2aMedia announced the installation of MediaMesh, a three-story high LED screen mounted to the side of American Airlines Arena. Mediamesh is a high-grade architectural woven stainless steel mesh interlaced with LEDs. When the screen is off, it blends with the building’s architecture.

On Thursday, December 3, we reached a milestone in the young life of the Digital Signage Association. We celebrated our two-year anniversary just last month and we now we have over 400 members. Member #400, The University of Illinois and #401, individual member David Carbert, joined that day.

I remember how we got started.

Some of you may know that I also serve as the executive director for the Self-Service & Kiosk Association (SSKA). In 2007, we decided to start a Digital Signage Council due to the fact that we had a number of members in the digital signage space. We held our first (and only) meeting in Chicago at the Digital Signage Expo.

At the time, we talked about whether it made sense to change the name of SSKA to include digital signage. “You’ll have to get new shirts,” one of the participants joked, since we were wearing SSKA-logoed oxfords at the time.

In the months that ensued, it became apparent that the digital signage industry deserved its own association. We talked to several members of the Council as well as others in the industry and received support for the idea, though admittedly there may have been a few skeptics wondering if we could pull it off. After all, some associations were involved in digital signage even if there wasn’t a dedicated association to it serving all market segments.

We “soft launched” the association in October at KioskCom in New York City, but really didn’t sign anyone up officially until November. By the end of 2007, we had 22 members. By Digital Signage Expo in February 2008, we had 62 members and a 24-person Advisory Board. The board met for the first time at that show. Stu Armstrong was elected as the first president of the Association in the summer of 2008.

So here we are two years later, with 401 members, a 41-person Advisory Board, eight committees and task forces and whole host of activity going on.

One industry blogger wrote to me recently: “As you know I poked at you guys a little in your early days to question the motives and value of the DSA, but to your absolute credit (and I am being sincere) you have made it the real deal.”

Of course we couldn’t do it without all the support of our board, committees and members.

Onward and upward!

Following The Digital Signage Show in New York last month, I decided to write a company profile on Monster Media, a company that I have been closely following since I first started covering digital signage.

But why Monster Media? Well, in my opinion Monster Media has always been on the proverbial “leading edge” of interactive digital signage, at least in the three years that I have been covering the industry. Granted, most of their installations are in single locations and for limited-run campaigns, but they sure do get attention, and keep getting better at it. As Monster president John Payne said in the article, “With each campaign, clients want to top what others have done. Every 90 days to six months we have to keep evolving everything we do.”

I would say my interest first started in 2007 when I attended a tradeshow at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, which houses one of Monster’s longest running installations, a gesture-based projection for Shark Reef. (Viewers can move water around on the wall by swooshing their hands in front of the projector – movements are detected using infrared cameras.)


(Photo: from sixteen:nine blog)

Even now, that wall stops people in their tracks, although Monster’s installations have become much more advanced. Payne said they’ve scrapped floor projection, cut back on wall projection and started rolling out LCD video walls for their interactive campaigns. Payne said they’re more functional, versatile and brighter.

They’ve also become more advanced as far as interactivity goes. With the Monday Night Football installation from this year, users can interact with video versions of their favorite NFL quarterbacks, then play virtual catch with them.

Payne also said that the company is making mobile integration a priority and using some kind of mobile functionality in every new installation. At first, this was just offering shortcodes for viewers to text to, now they can even control on-screen content using their phones. And while this interaction is cool in the eyes of viewers, it’s even better for the advertisers or sponsors of the installation, who can gather valuable audience data.

To read more about how the company came to be and awards for recent installations, check out the article on DigitalSignageToday.com.

A story went out today from Aeris Solutions about a 750-screen install going into 160 Bunnings stores in Australia and New Zealand. But most interesting is the fact is that Bunnings doesn’t want this network, well, networked. Here is the paragraph from the story, run earlier on DigitalSignageToday.com:

Bunnings goal was to implement a solution that would offer all the features of a networked system, including multiple playlists, scheduled playback and automatic content updating, without having to install the network infrastructure typically required for a project of this size.

Bunnings marketing department, located in Hawthorne, Victoria, will create all the content management files required, then upload these files along with the new content to their main server. These files are then downloaded to each store via Bunnings current FTP network infrastructure. Once the information is delivered to each store it is a simple case of copying the content folder to a USB memory stick. A Bunnings team member simply plugs this USB memory drive into each media player and waits while all new files are automatically updated.

So this huge network, spread over 160 stores in two countries, doesn’t want to network? I’m not going to crunch the numbers, but consider the man-hours and the USB stick mess caused by hundreds of employees scurrying around manually loading the content onto the 750 media players (Based on the release I assume each screen will have its own player).

Actually the fact that this installation is not networked doesn’t come as that big of a surprise to me. This fall, the Digital Signage Association did a survey as part of its Digital Signage Future Trends Report and found that 45.6 percent of respondents said none of their screens are networked. Furthermore, 18 percent said “some are, some aren’t.”

I know Bunnings doesn’t want to make the infrastructure investment, but it seems almost foolish not to in this case. In the end, they are the ones missing out by not being able to take advantage of the flexibility and economy of the medium. Customers and staff will be the first to react when content becomes quickly stale. No doubt they will find this our sooner than later.

In today’s challenging economic climate when workers are stressed to the max, strengthening existing relationships through effective communications with employees and can help your enterprise succeed.

The government’s latest unemployment number of 10.2 percent acknowledges the human toll the nation’s economic contraction is having on people and brings into sharp focus why anxiety among workers is running high.

Without minimizing the “green shoots” economic commentators detected earlier in the year and the third quarter’s tick into positive territory for gross domestic product, it’s safe to say that apprehension among workers and employers alike continues to grow as each new day seems to bring announcements of shutdowns, layoffs, bank failures and a so-called “jobless recovery.”

Consider these findings from a Rutgers University survey released in April when the nation’s unemployment rate was reported to be 8.9 percent. The university’s Heldrich Center for Workforce Development found in its most recent “Work Trends” study that:

    * 67 percent of workers said they were very concerned with the unemployment rate, compared to 46 percent one year prior

    * 49 percent said they were concerned with job security for those currently working, compared to 32 percent in spring 2008

    * 68 percent said they were very concerned about the job market for those who are looking for work, compared to 48 percent the year before.

Into this environment of worker apprehension and doubt, businesses must maintain productivity –even with fewer employees- and carry on operations with an eye towards future revenue growth and a return to normal. While some managers may see this worker fear as a chance to raise expectations in the hopes of boosting productivity –i.e. more stick and less carrot, many will tread carefully recognizing the potential for prolonged job anxiety to chip away at the mental health of their employees.

While I am certainly no psychologist or psychiatrist, it seems pretty apparent that constant apprehension about job loss coupled with the reality of meeting one’s financial obligations is a recipe for depression. A depressed workforce is likely to be less productive and lose focus --potentially exposing themselves to more injuries, fewer sales closes and more missed opportunities, depending on the type of business involved. Further, once the economy rebounds and job growth resumes, some of these overwrought workers will look for the first chance to flee the pressure cooker, taking with them the job experience and performance that made them valuable to the enterprise to begin with.

While it’s probably impossible to eliminate these apprehensions, mitigating and managing the fear can be done through effective communications. Certainly, many of these fears grow out of seeing friends and family dismissed from employment, but what makes them worse is the not knowing –not knowing how the company is doing, how they are performing and what, if anything, can be done to make a difference.

Outside of one-on-one conversations, digital signage may be the most effective communications medium employers can use to boost flagging morale and keep workers motivated and focused. Why? First, it’s public by its very nature. This makes it effective in acknowledging individuals and groups of workers for superior performance. Second, it’s easy to update with relevant, current information workers may need to be more productive. Third, digital signage can help to strengthen esprit de corps by promoting and acknowledging the efforts of workers when they are off the clock, such as walk-a-thons to raise funds for charity and involvement in youth programs.

In today’s economic climate, when companies need to ensure their workers are as efficient as possible, digital signage should be a key component of any corporate communications effort. Those managers looking to maintain productivity, build morale and contribute to their workers’ safety and peace of mind would do well to consider how digital signage can help them attain those goals.

David Little is a charter member of the Digital Signage Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate their unique marketing messages.

As the days of 2009 dwindle, I find myself crisscrossing the country, talking to retailers of every stripe. These conversations have revealed a few consistent themes, which are likely to drive customer-facing retail technologies in the coming year.

To my relief and that of probably everyone in the industry, there’s a sense the economy is coming back. Earlier this month I was at the Kioskcom Self Service Expo in New York, and I would describe the mood as "unexpected optimism." Retailers and technology buyers of all sorts were on the floor in surprising numbers with specific projects they needed to execute. One exhibitor even exclaimed, "We’re on the way up!" while making a swooping airplane motion towards the sky. Now that’s what I call a return to confidence. It is a safe bet that retailers who have been waiting on the sidelines will resume investments in their store experiences in the coming year.

The dominant theme I have heard from retailers is the need to inspire shoppers. Retailers are seeking technologies that do for any product category what mannequins do for apparel—show the customer how to bring many items together into a compelling, personalized solution. An expectant mother furnishing a baby’s room, a couple designing a home theatre, a parent building a fish tank for their child—shoppers need to be inspired and guided to a final solution. Retailers understand that addressing a consumer’s end goal is the key to driving more sales, yet doing this with human interactions is expensive. So, I expect to see increasingly sophisticated shopper assistance tools emerge from the simple product selectors of today. Retailers are keenly focused on the problem, and a few are ready to test solutions.

Closely related to inspiration is the idea of cross-selling. Retailers are interested in technology that helps them add items to a shopper’s basket by reaching across the store to cross-sell many product categories. I get the sense from retailers that this is an area in need of improvement. Customer-facing technologies that draw upon in-store and online inventories to automatically suggest the best complementary goods will likely be tested in the coming year.

Another recurring theme is a desire to provide quality customer service where today’s economics simply do not allow it. Many complex products do not sell in enough volume or at high enough prices to justify having human experts in the store. Several retailers see technology as the way forward. Expert systems can give customers the additional product education they need to make an informed choice, while sparing the cost of additional store labor. Expect to see customer-facing technologies deployed most commonly around these so-called "marginal" product categories.

Finally, with recessionary pressures on staffing levels, retailers want to make the most out of their store staff through sales process automation. They want humans doing what humans do best—guiding customers through complex, personalized, real-world product problems and decisions. For the 80 percent of any selling process that is the same for every customer, retailers are looking for technological solutions that do this work, letting store associates handle more customers in a given period of time. In a sense, self-checkout was only the beginning. The phrase I have heard is "moving customers from questions to the counter" as quickly as possible. I personally view this as challenging to execute in practice and anticipate some failed trials, given the need for seamless integration between store personnel and in-store technology. However, the first retailer to do it will reap significant rewards and set the stage for the future of retail.

Government Video ran a story this morning about a new digital signage installation for the Colorado National Guard. In addition to improving communication among armories, the network is also being touted as a way to improve solider retention by promoting career opportunities within the Guard.

The project was a joint effort between Tightrope and members of the National Guard’s IT and recruiting departments. One screen was placed in each armory and runs content promoting job openings, as well as news, videos and motivational information.

The government vertical has been a long sought after area of the digital signage user market. It has been typically a bit difficult to penetrate as there are many layers of bureaucracy in order to get to the decision makers. Also, connectivity becomes an issue because of the sometimes confidential info running on the existing networks. Such was the case here with the Colorado National Guard. The team instead used the Verizon Express Network wireless data services, making the installation a cellular digital signage network.

The Guard used the Tightrope Carousel Pro server and 14 Carousel Solo 220 players, which are connected to the network via a Verizon Air Card. It is also using 42-inch Sharp 42SB45U LCD screens.

OC Edward Tuholske, Marketing NCO, told Government Video:

The response to the digital signage system has been 100 percent positive. We are getting more and more requests from our commanding officers to add extra information to the digital signs because they see that more effective communication is improving the morale of our soldiers. Everything we have heard so far indicates that the signage system is improving soldier re-enlistment.

Panasonic has come up with cool new application for its giant 103-inch plasma screen, this time as a part of a promotion for its compact Lumix DMC-ZX1 digital camera in London.

A team of six artists created a giant version of the camera, where the 103-inch plasma serves as the camera’s screen. The camera is one of a series of objects which have been “magnified” by Panasonic to illustrate the 8x optical zoom lens of the Lumix camera.

The giant camera is presently located in London’s Waterloo station, but will move to London Victoria from Nov. 26-28 finally to London’s Liverpool Street Station from Dec. 3-5.

Users are encouraged to upload photos of themselves and the oversized camera to Panasonic’s Facebook page for a change to win a trip to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. Mark Robinson, head of Lumix Marketing at Panasonic, said:

We’ve received some fun and imaginative photos on our Facebook page showcasing perspective resulting from our larger than life sculptures. We’re sure our giant sized camera will prove a popular past time for commuters and help to raise the profile of our 8x life campaign.

There are many reasons why digital signage and interactive applications are unlikely to fully converge. By their fundamental natures they strive to meet different objectives, require different development skills, and are generally implemented by different functional owners within organizations. Despite their differences, there are clear opportunities for each technology to learn lessons from the other. The market (defined as technology buyers) has not demanded that they converge, and the technical, organizational and functional obstacles to true convergence make such a requirement unlikely for the foreseeable future. Digital signage and kiosks will continue to coexist. Buyers who “force” or assume convergence may very well sub-optimize both their interactive and digital signage capabilities.

Arrow Electronics and Seiko Instruments recently announced a partnership that makes Arrow an authorized distributor for Seiko’s line of receipt and ticket printers. The agreement is meant to bolster Arrow’s solution offering for kiosk designers.
 
From a distribution standpoint, Arrow carries a menu of kiosk components from leading manufacturers, such as displays, printers, power supplies and computing engines. Arrow OEM Computing Solutions (OCS) also provides kiosk vendors with an array of value-added services, addressing each of the phases required to bring a kiosk to market. The company says these outsourcing capabilities include design assistance and prototype development, integration and manufacturing, logistics, installation and post-sales support.
 
We sat down with George Papajohn, director of marketing for Arrow OCS, to discuss the need for outsourcing in the kiosk industry and to explore the potential impact these services can have on a kiosk vendor’s business.    
 
What outsourcing services are kiosk vendors asking for?
 
Kiosk designers’ requirements tend to be fairly broad in scope. Fundamentally, the need is for a reliable distributor with technical competency and strong manufacturer relationships. The distributor has to be able to recommend and deliver proven components that perform reliably in the field and don’t add integration complexity. The ability to offer the right financing programs is another imperative. Cash flow requirements cannot be overlooked. I would also say that scalability is a recurring theme.

For example, a smaller kiosk designer can develop a fantastic concept and prove it with a successful pilot program. And when it does go well, they might be faced with the enviable but perhaps daunting prospect of supporting a giant retailer. Not every kiosk designer can afford to maintain the capacity, logistics and support capabilities needed for a hiccup-free deployment on such a large scale. And we all know how difficult it can be when the end-customer introduces late design changes. The level of complexity and need for scale can spike fairly rapidly in this industry. With a robust outsourcing partner, the designer has a single supply source to rely on, and has access to integration facilities that can immediately scale to meet individual project needs.  

How does outsourcing impact a kiosk vendor’s business?

The right outsourcing partner can align themselves with a kiosk designer’s business and deliver a program that meets each project’s needs, in terms of components, value-added services and financing. It boils down to augmenting the designer’s internal capabilities on-demand, reducing overhead costs and eliminating headaches. This frees up the kiosk entrepreneur to focus on their true talents: product innovation and bringing in new business.

How do end-customers perceive a third party’s involvement in the project? 

I think the majority of customers are aware of the important contributions made by third parties in the supply chain. Distributors, contract manufacturers and logistics providers all play critical roles. A comprehensive outsourcing solution basically consolidates these elements. Some customers refer to this as having “one throat to choke” if an issue comes up. Regardless of the players involved, my perception is that customers want seamless execution, without unnecessary costs.   
 
Have outsourcing requirements been evolving?

With the recession, obviously most solutions providers have been feeling added pressure when it comes to cost and financing issues. Beyond that, there is no question that the breadth of self-service applications has continued to expand. This makes it even more important to align with the most capable suppliers, so that the right products are available to support these increasingly innovative solutions. 
 
How do you see this business in 2010?

The analyst reports we’ve looked at tend to predict growth for self-service in 2010. And there is no question that self-service technology provides a tangible bottom-line impact for end users. We anticipate this will certainly continue fueling new projects, and we are working hard to be able to anticipate and respond to customers’ continuing needs for value-added capabilities on a global scale

Digital signage expert Keith Kelsen, founder of MediaTile, today launched a new initiative entitled “The 5th Screen Project,” an endeavor geared toward driving digital signage deployments and moving the industry forward.
 
As part of the initiative, Kelsen also will publish a book focused on content for digital signage. “Unleashing the Power of Digital Signage — Content Strategies for the 5th Screen,” is the first comprehensive book on digital signage content and will be published by Focal Press.
 
Kelsen describes digital signage as the fifth screen, with the other four being TV, computer, cinema and mobile.
 
The 5th Screen Project is comprised of three parts:

• Leveraging the forthcoming book to educate the market on achieving content optimization
• Continued development of content best practices through Kelsen’s chair position with the Digital Signage Association
• Heading a stealth project related to a massive shift in media development and delivery
  

The 5th Screen Project began over a year ago as Kelsen began writing the book based on extensive interviews with industry leaders who research new media methodologies. Kelsen also took over as chair of the Digital Signage Association’s Content Best Practices committee in 2008 and was named the 2008 Digital Signage Man of the Year.
 
As part of the 5th Screen Project launch, Kelsen also stepped away from day-to-day operations of the MediaTile Company and handed control to newly appointed CEO Simon Wilson.
 
With the announcement of the project, Kelsen also has stepped down from his chairman of the board position at MediaTile and is now chairman and CEO of the newly formed 5thScreen Corp.
 
Kelsen announced the 5th Screen Project today at the Strategy Institute’s “Building Your Digital Signage Business” conference in Chicago, where he serves as chairperson for the two-day event.
 
“The fullest potential for digital signage has gone mostly untapped, and my vision is that this project will deliver a substantial uplift to deployments by concentrating on the critical elements for success,” said Kelsen. “Taking on this challenge to further drive the industry forward, and at greater pace, comes at a time in our industry that I consider to be the tipping point.”
 
  

Supermarket giant Tesco recently created a buzz in the industry by opening a concept store (in Kingsley, Northampton) with just self-checkout lanes and no cashiers. Understandably, the reaction to this initiative from various quarters has been mixed. While Tesco claims that customers have reacted positively to the idea, workers’ unions have predictably expressed serious concerns over the implications of completely eliminating cashiers at the checkout point.

This move shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone tracking the evolution of self-service in the retail sector. In fact, it was entirely along expected lines. Despite the sizeable initial investment, there has been a clear shift towards self-checkout since the turn of this century, especially by big-box chains. Retailers are studying ways to attract new customers (in addition to retaining existing ones) and in this context, self-checkout has been positioned as a technology solution that can drive up customer satisfaction levels, leading to a more lasting relationship. Not to mention the cost savings.

And therein lies the rub.

Studies reveal that 20 percent to 30 percent of the payroll in retail is typically directed toward cashiers. With self-checkout, this figure can be brought down considerably. The key is to get a commitment to the cause at all levels, from top management to store managers and cashiers. While it’s true that self-service lanes would create some redundancies, the primary aim is to redeploy resources to service-oriented areas in the store. The redistribution of cost savings to other productive areas needs to be clearly articulated to store-level staff for this to work.

And there are the operational realities, of course. Retailers often tend to understaff self-checkout lanes, which can cause considerable delays if inexperienced users create a bottleneck. More often than not, consumers who become confused or embarrassed about their inability to complete a transaction tend to avoid self-checkout in the future. This makes the initial few transactions crucial from the retailer’s perspective. Studies also indicate that self-checkout systems lead to a marked decrease in impulse purchases — low-priced products such as candy, mints, chocolates, soda, water, chips and gum are placed around the cash counters. This can be attributed to the fact that customers have to focus on the checkout process completely. Inevitably, there are nagging security issues that need to be addressed as well.

None of this detracts from the obvious value proposition of self-checkout — when designed and implemented correctly, it can enhance the customer experience at the store and drive top-line growth. Most importantly, it leads to an increase in labor productivity and resource utilization. Labor productivity essentially refers to two aspects: The first is to remove the labor element itself, as an obvious cost-cutting measure. The second is to redirect the labor or resource into other departments where it can be better utilized, such as restocking shelves, bagging groceries or helping customers as they make purchases. Counter-intuitively, self-checkout can end up enhancing personalized service at the store, although it might appear to be leading to impersonalization. The consumer experience, always driven by speed, is made more efficient as customers can get out of the store faster. The privacy and convenience provided by these systems doesn’t hurt either.

The bottom line

Customers like choice. Studies show they are growing increasingly comfortable with self-service systems, such as ATMs and kiosks at airport terminals. Self-checkout, if offered alongside an optimal number of staff cashiers, is a definite positive. With time, the number of cashiers needed to supervise checkout lanes will decrease. In fact, the future might be even more radically different once RFID/mobile-POS/smartphone-enabled checkouts gain prevalence. Although the industry is not ready for a widespread rollout of self-service-only stores, this is the right time to experiment. Besides, the marginal cost-savings offered by self-checkout might be too good to pass up on during these tough economic times.

Aravindh Vanchesan is a program manager with the Frost & Sullivan North American ICT practice. He focuses on monitoring and analyzing emerging trends, technologies and dynamics in retail markets worldwide.

Last week I was sent an article from the Consumerist entitled “Bumblebee Tuna Tricks You Into Watching Commercials At The Grocery Store.” The article, which was filed under the Consumerists’ “Badvertising” section, is a commentary from a reader that encountered some in-store digital media from Bumblebee Tuna at his local Safeway store.

The display was a small shelf-edge screen with a silver button above, which upon pushing, caused the screen to play a 30-second Bumblebee Tuna TV commercial.

The writer’s reaction? “No coupons. No cooking ideas. No direct engagement with the shopper. Just the same, unimaginative advertising penetrating deeper into our everyday experiences - as if the market isn't saturated enough. I don't know how this could possibly be effective, but apparently they think it will be.”

Its no wonder the writer was upset – this is a BAD in-store digital signage installation! If you read this site or any other industry portal, you will see that we spend countless hours try to send the message to deployers to create compelling content, don’t repurpose 30-second TV ads and to give the shopper a reason to watch the screen.

The Consumerist digs this kind of stuff, but these kinds of articles don’t reflect well on the digital signage industry, especially when it is trying to battle its way into media budgets.

This article does serve as a great focus group, however. At this time of writing this, there were 38 comments to the post, and not too many of them were positive. For example:

“[In-store screens] were slightly annoying at Wal-Mart, but I expected as much from them. When they started showing up in Kroger and Publix a few months later they became downright absurd. The problem with the second wave is that some of them are not button-activated, but start blazing away whenever you walk by.”

“What a waste of store resources. And how annoying would it be to try to get past someone in the aisle watching that?”

“Hopefully these things test out to be a failed ad concept and in 6 months we'll forget all about them.”

Here’s the thing – it seems the writer would actually be open to the media if it were useful in some way. Take his quote above. He is looking for coupons, cooking ideas and direct engagement.

Here is another commenter’s response: “The bizarre part, in my opinion, is that they could do something cool with this…For example, what if there was a short puzzle you had to solve to get a coupon code or something?”

Bingo – in order for in-store digital media to work, there has to be a compelling reason for the shopper to engage with it. Thirty-second commercials and cheap ad spots don’t cut it with today’s modern shopper. And for those directly involved with retail digital signage, take some time to go through the 38 comments. Chances are these are the opinions of some of your customers.

*Note: When I read this article, I immediately contacted Paul Flanigan and Laura Davis-Taylor, two retail experts I work with often, to get their commentary. Their opinions on this subject are published below:

Paul Flanigan, Preset Group:

“Being an industry insider, I consider this a wonderful little focus group. Reading the article and the comments shows that customers do care very much about how they are treated with digital signs in a retail environment, and shows the vitriol when it goes wrong.

Overall, this is about as bad an example of digital signage or customer engagement at retail as I have ever seen, and I agree with several of the comments. This does nothing good for the industry as a whole. Instead, it puts many of us on the defensive to explain or justify why this is in the store.

There are several negative issues with this experience, from the fact that the reader pushed the button out of curiosity (instead of a desire) to the end result of complete disengagement (and ultimately sharing online with others). I’m willing to bet the reader did not purchase any Bumblebee Tuna. Seeing the photo of the display and seeing not only his reaction to the sign but the comments, it’s pretty easy to see that there was very little, if any, strategy or thought put into this. And that’s bad.

The single biggest reason the shoppers find this annoying is because it doesn’t offer anything to enhance the store experience, anything different from what the shoppers are already experiencing with other media. The reader and comments suggest exactly what it should be doing, providing something deeper than advertisement, something that would move a customer closer to a purchase decision in favor of the tuna. HogwartsAlum sums it up best: “If I were to watch a video of a recipe that looked kind of good and the product were right in front of me, I would probably reach out and take one.”

Worst of all is the fact that the manager would consider removing it because it does nothing but anger his shoppers, meaning it most certainly does not move product.

But, this is a great way to start the conversation of how ad agencies, brands, and retailers must work together to understand the environment and craft messaging much more appropriate. This is a world that agencies of all kinds must embrace to be competitive and valued in the eyes of their client, the brand, and the retailer.

I imagine that this will be used by several industry educators to explain what not to do when putting signage in the store.”

Laura Davis-Taylor, Retail Media Consulting, Inc.:

“My one key takeaway: “Just because you can, it doesn’t mean that you should”.

I will bet my bottom dollar that an ad agency that has no in-store experience came up with this utterly useless and contextually irrelevant promotion and it’s projects like these that are a black eye to our industry.

The author hit the nail on the head when he said that he hopes that someone figures out a way to deliver useful, informative or somewhat interesting information with these types of emerging digital media tools. People are busy, they are overwhelmed and they are under served. The last thing that they want to encounter is more “visual spam” in a world in which they encounter 3 – 4,000 media messages a day—most of which are not helpful or useful in any way.

One of the commentaries aptly stated that “the bizarre part is that they could easily do something cool with this” and “they could easily use this tech to engage people instead of just piss them off.”

It’s truly that simple. No retailer should EVER let a CPG put something like this into their aisles unless they have dug deep to understand what might help or delight their shopper and put some real-world testing into play to ensure that it’s readily accepted.

If shoppers love the experience, it becomes a fun or rewarding part of their shopping visit. If they hate it, they do things like write about how awful it was and spread the word to whomever will listen.

Let’s hope articles like these make brands wake up before we jeopardize what can be a really wonderful shopper help tool. (And ad agencies, get out of the store!!!)

Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP Group CEO, made several key points that relate to Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) while delivering the opening keynote to a packed house at Ad-Tech in New York this week. WPP employs 145,000 marketing agency professional in 2,400 offices in 107 countries.

Agencies can “have their cake and eat it too” by using DOOH. A brand can be positioned using placement and content strategy at both specific and multiple points along a communications continuum of “one-to-one” versus “one-to-many.”

Sorrell noted that “agencies are going to become much more involved in the development of 'content' and all of its implications.” This points to a refocusing of brand messaging by agencies, which are, after all, both guardian and builder of brand equity.

Bill Ratcliffe, formerly of the WPP analytics provider Millward Brown is credited with noting that “the power of digital signage is to both brand and merchandise at the same time”.   

“The lines between advertising and editorial are going to become much more blurred,” Sorrell added.

DOOH can readily accommodate “sponsored content” which can provide advertiser profiles with value to the viewer and the display location provider at the same time. For example, while credit card advertising is often restricted on campuses, messaging aimed at improving financial-management skills could be sponsored by a particular card service provider.

As the pressure on all media to deliver more value increases, Digital Out-of-Home is already positioned where leaders of the agency “puck” want it to go. Win-win-win on the part of brands, agencies and media companies is offered by DOOH.

I often get requests for digital signage case studies that show sales lift – of any kind (A recent conversation: "One percent! I don’t care if it’s even one percent!") Most of these folks are digital signage companies or marketers looking to sell systems and need hard evidence that digital signage works when selling products.

Here I am going to feature two case studies that do just that. One is a case study from YCD Multimedia that I have been pointing people to for awhile now, and the other is a recently released study from the Wall Street Journal Network and Starcom for its 2008 Blackberry campaign.

Aroma Espresso sales boosted through YCD digital merchandising (2008)

Since Aroma Espresso Bar began using YCD Multimedia’s cash display screen, the chain has experienced a 25-35 percent overall sales increase. In this case, customer-facing screens were placed in front of the POS systems in order to influence customer decisions. Furthermore, Aroma has experienced a sales increase in the following categories:
 
• 70 percent increase on promoted desserts
• 30 percent increase on promoted flavored mineral water
• 50 percent increase on coffee and cake promotions
 
Aroma is an international espresso chain with over 80 locations in Israel, New York City, and Toronto, Canada. Aroma uses YCD’s digital media solution to increase revenue with point of sale, deliver a coherent brand experience, and provide customers with on-site entertainment. The cash display screens provide Aroma with a direct promotional channel that can be easily measured.

Wall Street Journal DOOH network creates 16% sales boost for Blackberry

The Wall Street Journal Network released a case study about its 2008 DOOH/place-based media campaign with Blackberry that resulted in a 16 percent sales lift from those who engaged in the program.

Last year, Starcom, while working for Blackberry, bought a program of media on the WSJ Network and also coordinated 15 place-based events in three cities: Atlanta, Philadelphia and San Francisco. The events that reached 90,000 customers and resulted in 7,000 direct interactions with customers. The events resulted in 3,000 gathered leads.

WSJ saw that average purchase intent grew 51 percent and brand engagement went up 61 percent. Nearly three months later, attendees were surveyed about their purchases and it was found that there was a 16 percent sell-through for Blackberrys from those that attended the place-based events. This case study was profiled last week at the OVAB Digital Media Summit in New York City by Erin Simino of Starcom Worldwide and Robert Passikoff, Ph.D., of Brand Keys Inc.

Compared to a control group who had not seen ads or attended the event, sales from attendees were about eight times higher.

The global economic crisis — coupled with increasing competition and rising customer expectation — has compelled the aviation industry to devise innovative and cost-saving solutions. As such, airlines all over the world are looking to technology to generate more demand and drive down costs.

Self-check-in services are helping airlines cut costs and improve customer experience. Moreover, according to IATA’s 2009 Corporate Air Travel Survey, more than 50 percent of passengers worldwide want more self-service options. Customers feel more empowered while using self-check-in services and save time at the airports. Online check-in, kiosks and mobile technology are ushering in a new era of customer self-service, while self-service kiosks are increasingly becoming more and more popular, as proven by their increased usage. Kiosks are also working well in tandem with online and mobile technologies.

According to the SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self Service Study, kiosk check-in usage is set to rise over the years and interactive kiosks will increasingly shift to the forefront of self-service. Kiosks not only benefit people who do not check-in online, but can also be used to provide multiple functionalities at the airport — like car rental or hotel check-in. Moreover, in the near future kiosks may become excellent avenues through which ancillary services might be purchased.

Another area where kiosks will play a huge role is in the process of self-tagging baggage. IATA, with its Fast Travel Program, will immensely improve and enhance passenger self-service through kiosks performing the functions such as printing bag tags, scanning documents, automating boarding gates and reporting missing baggage. Furthermore, the advent of CUPPS (Common Use Passenger Processing System) architecture — technology that enables airlines and handling agents to access their own applications from multiple workstations and peripherals throughout the airport that are shared by all users — will help continue to bring about increased efficiencies and cost savings.

In addition to kiosks, mobile technology will continue to take the world by storm. Mobile technology has a distinct advantage over kiosks — our mobile phone is always with us. It is thus very convenient to use one’s phone for various services. Mobile phones can be used not just for checking in but also to complete the entire booking process. They can also be used for the sale of ancillary services like hotels, cars and also for timetables, notifications, alerts, social networking and much more.

According to a 2009 SITA IT Trends survey, 80 percent of the airlines surveyed are planning to offer mobile check-in capabilities by 2012. What’s more, IATA has targeted 100 percent Bar Coded Boarding Passes (BCBP) by 2010. These facts alone guarantee the future of self-service technologies at the airport.

As network access speeds become ever faster and smart phones become increasingly powerful, the future of mobile services is poised to become even more popular than kiosk and Web check-in. Now, mobile check-in users consist of business and frequent travelers and smart phone users. However, this trend is sure to change as more and more leisure travelers are also purchasing smart phones.

The writer is senior business associate with NIIT Technologies.

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) is the result of media evolution over the years. First came outdoor, before TV and PC. For hundreds of years, bill posting signs to advertise has been in our out of home experience. Think about the Barnum and Bailey or the Wild Bill Hickok show posters in the late 1800’s. Even before that, in Egypt, papyrus was used to create wall posters for sales messages thousands of years ago. In a sense, out-of-home is the oldest form of advertising.

In the 1920’s came the automobile, as did the roadside signs and the barn-side painted ads (Think “Mail Pouch Tobacco” and “Burma Shave”). This truly launched the out-of-home nomenclature among the industry.

Fast forward to the mid 1960s.Out-of-home advertising again became part of the advertising world’s nomenclature simply to differentiate it from TV which was becoming more influential. OOH was used to describe everything from magazines at the dentist office to billboards.

In the 1970s, out-of-home media was used quite extensively by advertising agencies for billboards. In the late 70’s the first Light Emitting Diode Television Screen was invented, which was the predecessor to LED Billboards. By the mid 1990s we entered the digital age of media and digital out-of-home was developed as a term used by agencies again to describe digital billboards and other screens such as those in point of transit (not necessarily networked).

Meanwhile, from 1995 through 2005, other types of advertising networks were being launched, like NGN and LED screens in Times Square and were sometimes called “animated and digital signs.” This is where the technologists and entrepreneurs were building networks and calling it “digital signage,” taking the technology approach to naming this new industry.
Another phase that needs to be thrown into the mix was narrowcasting. This was also used by many at the time to describe a new industry. And who could forget the launch of FRED, or Foto Realistic Electronic Displays in 1997?

Then the first Digital Signage Expo in San Francisco was launched in spring of 2004, cementing the name for the industry. Later in the fall of 2004 at a meeting in NYC, the name “digital signage” was still being discussed among leaders in the industry. Everyone was still looking to hang their hat on a name for the industry and many did not want digital signage. At the time, the industry was referring to itself as “digital signage” so the majority had made the decision to stick with the name digital signage simply because of technology companies that had marketing money invested in the name.

In the time frame from 2005-2008 most agencies were referring to it as digital out-of-home simply because it fit their historic nomenclature out-of-home advertising. Today most agencies think of it as DOOH and many in the industry are referring to it as digital out-of-home when it refers to ad-based networks. The agencies are driving this. More of the industry itself is referring to in-store placements and internal communications as digital signage. There is a distinct difference between ad based networks (DOOH) and non-ad based networks (digital signage).

In 2009 we are seeing the name DOOH starting to incorporate mobile or any DOOH strategy that ends up on a display. Today digital signage is commonly replaced with DOOH referring to it in context of the digital signage medium.
In summary, digital out-of-home is anything that is digitally shown on any display. Mobile falls into this category as does digital signage, but all related to ad-based networks.

I predict that over time digital signage will be replaced by DOOH in relationship to ad-based networks, where as corporate communication and in-store networks will continue to refer to the industry as digital signage.

In the ongoing battle to attract and retain consumer mindshare, retailers are increasingly turning to innovative marketing mediums to engage and stay top-of-mind with consumers. Gone are the days of unlocking the door and turning on the radio; today’s retailers are pressing fast-forward to fully customized soundtracks. Paper POP table tents and static signage are being replaced by sophisticated digital media networks.

Smart companies are implementing ways to take the in-store experience beyond the lease line to extend brand affinity, drive consumer behavior and provide relevant lifestyle content to the consumer. All these advancements aim to enhance the shopping experience, lifting it to more than just a trip to a store, but rather a theatrical experience where purchasing merchandise is only part of the journey.

Not only are these solutions successful at engaging consumers, but they have also been proven to extend dwell time and increase brand awareness – key factors in ongoing loyalty and long-term buying relationships. Keeping consumers inside the store is even more important today than it has been in past years. The current economic downturn has meant a loss in revenue, so on those days when consumers are out and about, it is imperative that a retailer attract them, keep them in store, and close the sale. Just as important is that, as your customers go mobile, so must your brand.

A recent Retail Systems Research report ("Walking the Razor’s Edge: Managing the Store Experience in an Economic Singularity," June 2009) states 70 percent of retailers surveyed said they use in-store technologies to maintain or improve the customer experience and extend that experience past the lease line. According to the same report, two-thirds of the retailers surveyed said they have reduced their payrolls in the wake of the economic slide, but those same two-thirds of retailers surveyed have not changed the expenditures devoted to in-store technology.

So, what are some key elements of the "store as theater" retailers can take advantage of to increase mindshare, and stay connected and engaged with their customers?

The eyes have it

Digital signage is becoming the fastest-growing segment of retail media and advertisers are taking note; a 2007 Forrester survey found 72 percent of advertisers are looking at in-store media as an alternative to traditional advertising. In-store digital signage has the power to effectively relay brand messages to consumers by providing the message diversification needed to captivate shoppers in a new way.

With digital signage networks, advertisers can target consumers in different parts of a store, in different locations, in different ways, at different times of the day, delivering some of the most target-specific visual marketing yet. For example, signage content at an athletic retailer might run footage and/or related product advertising in the footwear section of the store, while the exercise equipment section highlights an instructional video on a specific piece of equipment. According to industry research, in-store messaging drives a 40-percent uptick in sales. It does this because it has the ability to be personal and connect with a consumer on a different level.

Digital signage increases traffic, which in turn increases the capacity to capture the consumer. Gaining a shopper’s attention by placing that consumer into the messaging is a key factor in increasing brand awareness and sales. For instance, a person who is passionate about surfing may see themselves as the focal point of a sign on display at their local surf shop. They connect with the image and are therefore drawn to that store, creating a more loyal following.

They’re all ears

Much like digital signage has the ability to draw a shopper’s attention through visual elements, music attracts consumers through emotion and sound. Customized playlists that put brand to music have the ability to focus on specific demographics, catering to a certain genre and style while staying true to your brand essence. And with choices ranging from commercial satellite subscriptions and pre-arranged "mixes" to regularly updated fully custom programming, there is an option to fit every environment and budget.

In-store music is another area that has benefitted from technology. While many retailers still opt for their programming to be delivered via CD, more and more are choosing to have their tunes delivered over the Internet. Internet delivery has a number of advantages, including ease-of-use and fewer requirements of the on-site store employees. More sophisticated systems/services even allow for track selection and message insertion right from a Web browser.

In selecting a music provider, it is vital to make sure their service enables a level of customization that will fit your current and future needs. Things like day-parting — arranging music for different vibes to coincide for different times of the day — and a true understanding of how to convey your brand via music can make or break the in-store experience. Finally, make sure your chosen provider is current with their licensing agreements. In-store music is "public performance", and leading providers can handle all licensing so you know you’re legal.

Brand on the run

It is more important than ever that retailers implement strategies to take the in-store experience to consumers, wherever they are, to extend brand engagement beyond the lease line. This "anywhere concept" truly extends the lease line of a retailer by allowing consumers to be exposed to branded entertainment media at any moment, whether its an hour or a week after the consumer has left the store.

Mobile, Web radio, branded podcasts, artist promotions and compilation CDs are powerful vehicles for reaching consumers. They provide the means to remain engaged with consumers across multiple touch points, while delivering personalized content that extends brand visibility and affinity. Whether cooking dinner in their kitchen, out for a jog, or sitting in their cubicle at work, an entertainment media campaign keeps your brand in front of consumers on their terms, making sure you stay top-of-mind.

Retailers that can target consumers with multiple touch points at various points of the day and week, in various locations and regions, with branded content and messaging are the retailers who become most successful. These retailers have learned that, for consumers, the shopping experience is not just about selling products — it’s about creating a shopping experience which is fun and exciting, and establishes a true brand connection.

Craig Hubbell is executive vice president of media services for PlayNetwork Inc., where he is responsible for all media services, including music services, video display, and advertising and entertainment services.

It seems that the number of digital signage press releases on the wire is constantly increasing. So why is so much of it so bad?

The industry executives I speak with almost uniformly admit they know they could and should do better, but don’t have the time or resources. Coming from technology, ad sales and retail backgrounds, they also haven’t the insight or experience to recognize the good from the bad.

In the interest of helping better shape the message, here are a few tips:  

Figure out what makes your company unique, and go hard with it

For whatever reason this is a “me, too” business, with most vendors marketing themselves on the same general range of features and capabilities that their competitors are also trumpeting.  It’s hard to stand out from the pack if all you have to half-heartedly report is the written equivalent of, “Yeah, ummm, we do that stuff, too.”

There will be something your firm has developed, or work your team has done with a client, that is at least uncommon and worthy of a little marketing noise. Maybe your company had to figure out a solution that involved GPS and mass transit? That experience and capability is far more intriguing than telling the world your platform does all that stuff everybody else does, too.

Get to the point

Anyone who has been involved in this sector for a while knows how important it is to have good programming that quickly captures the attention of viewers. The same thing applies with a company’s written communications. Between emails, RSS feeds, tweets and texts, people are carpet-bombed all day with marketing messages. That means your message better make its point quickly, or it will be passed by.

Empty phrases that clutter the opening lines of announcements need to be dropped.  The point of your communication can’t be buried somewhere in the third paragraph of your e-mailer. You can’t write something that people need to read twice just to figure out, because they won’t .

Put your key messages in context

When you are banging out your key features and benefits messages, and announcements about new gadgets and gizmos, make sure you do the extra work to explain what that means for your prospective customers.

When your company celebrates the release of a new energy efficient combination of PC and display panel in an all-in-one package, don’t stop there. It’s better described as a technology combination capable of dropping energy consumption for a signage deployment by as much as 25%.

Adding 250 more screens and locations doesn’t mean your ad network is now in 600 locations in five states.  The message for prospective advertisers, the ones you’re after, is that the addition of 250 sites means your highly-targeted digital out of home media network is now reaching 200,000 affluent consumers every week.

Think through the whole communications chain

How many times have you read a press release, or the news story that spilled out of it, that was effective enough to send you to the company Website to find out more, only to find there was no “more” to be found?

Marketing and media communications have to be carried through the whole chain. If there’s an announcement, it needs to already be up on the Website and easy to find. The sales people need to be briefed on what it is about so that they can respond knowledgeably and not feel like doofuses. They also need material, ready to go, they can send out as follow-ups to calls, and it shouldn’t be just the same thing the prospects just read.

Meanwhile, existing clients need and expect to get early word of new goodies from their vendor, and to first learn of it on some blog.
   
Choose your words with care

There are powerful phrases, and there are empty phrases. Good writers choose their words carefully, and think about things like the rhythm and emotion of the message. Most of the people writing copy for Websites, email updates and press releases are doing so not because they like writing, but because they have to ... so even if takes forever to prepare, those people spend little time actually thinking about the message.

That’s how the industry has ended up with a vast sea of empty phrases and buzzwords about leading, turnkey solutions and revolutionary, state of the art development.  If someone only has to write copy every now and then, there’s a natural tendency to look around and borrow on what other companies are doing. They read three press releases starting off with “leading provider” and figure they better get that in there, too. They see Websites that talk “turnkey” and figure that needs to get in there. The result, every day and everywhere, is yet more of the same blabber.

Whether it’s Website copy, email blasts or press releases, whoever gets charged with doing the writing should ignore what else is out there, forget they ever read phrases like “best of breed” and “taken to the next level”, and think through the messages that would actually resonate with prospective customers and partners.

It’s an after-thought for a lot of companies, but developing the right message that helps drive product awareness, build credibility and boost sales needs the same attention to detail as product and market development. You can have a kickass product, a fabulous network footprint, or do amazing creative, but if you do a bad job of getting the word out, few people will know.

Several years ago, there was not a term for LCD and plasma screens that provided information in public spaces. But as time passed, the term “digital signage” rose to the top of industry nomenclature and became the standard.

We seem to be faced a similar situation again. The rise of installations and interest in advertising on digital signage networks has spawned a new term: digital out-of-home, also known as DOOH. But is this really what the industry wants it to be called? Ad agencies can confuse DOOH with traditional out-of-home (OOH). Others think it sounds too “Homer Simpson.”

DigitalSignageToday.com gathered experts in the digital signage and digital out-of-home industries to discuss their opinions on the definition of DOOH.

Keith Kelsen, MediaTile:

Today digital signage is commonly replaced with digital out-of-home, referring to it in the context of the digital signage medium. Digital out-of-home is anything that is digitally shown on any display. Mobile falls into this category, as does digital signage, but all are related to ad-based networks. I predict that over time digital signage will be replaced by DOOH in relationship to ad-based networks, whereas corporate communication and in-store networks will continue to refer to the industry as digital signage.

Mike DiFranza, Captivate Network:

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) is a very broad term that I believe is often misunderstood. DOOH is really made up of at least two distinct categories: Digital signage (which includes electronic billboards) and digital place-based content networks.

The first category is found on roadsides,and we think of them as “glance media” opportunities for advertisers targeting mass audiences.

The second category, of which we consider Captivate Network to be a part, targets niche audiences in a particular venue and provides customized content and promotions for that channel. For example, Captivate Network might run ads on local weekend getaways because our research shows that the vast majority of office professionals do their vacation planning while at work.

DOOH content is “digital," in that it is typically distributed through a digital infrastructure and is therefore more targetable and interactive than more traditional media. We believe this explains the comparatively higher viewer engagement and ad effectiveness scores of DOOH versus other media channels.

Doug Scott, Reach Media Group:

From my standpoint, I would draw a distinction between the “umbrella” category: Digital out-of-home and sub-categories such as digital billboards, digital location-based media, etc.
So, I would define digital out-of-home as “digital signage displaying content and/or advertising in places away from the home.”

I would define digital location-based media as “digital networks of screens displaying contextually relevant content and/or advertising in locations away from home with extended dwell times.”

I would define digital billboards as “digital screens away from home displaying generally static advertising to consumers in environments with limited or no dwell time.”

Stephen Randall, LocaModa:

Digital out-of-home refers to dynamic media distributed across placed-based networks in venues including but not limited to cafes, bars, restaurants, health clubs, colleges, arenas and public spaces. DOOH networks typically feature independently addressable screens, kiosks, jukeboxes and/or jumbotrons. DOOH media benefits location owners and advertisers alike in being able to engage customers and/or audiences and extend the reach and effectiveness of marketing messages.

Ashley Flaska, NEC Display Solutions:

DOOH is any signage that is running content and/or advertising in a public space. This could be four-inch shelf talkers in a grocery store all the way to massive LED billboards on the side of the road and everything digital in between. The differentiation is the word “digital.” Regular “outdoor” equals static signage — static billboards, static signage on the sides of buses or buildings, static signs at bus stops or in airports, static taxi toppers, just to name a few. Displays in the DOOH space have to be powered by a media player or PC in order to accept “digital assets.”

Lyle Bunn, BUNN Co.:

A myriad of descriptors are still being used, though the term digital out-of-home (DOOH) has gained broad acceptance in use to describe networks that are primarily supported by advertising revenues, since advertising has typically been assigned from the “out-of-home” budget. Such networks operate on a for-profit basis and are typically owned by the location provider or investors. The Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) membership accounts for more than 400,000 dynamic, location-based video displays, which are available to present messages paid for by advertisers. The term “in-store TV” has been used to help tap into TV budget allocations and “the outernet” also has been used to help DOOH networks access online ad spending. The term digital signage serves as an umbrella term or is applied to networks that are typically funded by internal communications or operational budgets for patron, visitor, staff, student or community communications.

Janice L. Litvinoff, Cisco:

The DOOH market consists of any digital display outside of the home, used for the sale of advertising “spots” or “impressions.” DOOH is a unique intersection between advertising, digital signage and traditional out-of-home. For the advertising market, DOOH is just another digital-advertising medium and is more targeted than television and print. For digital signage, DOOH is an ad-based business model, different from other models such as sales/marketing, corporate communications, and sports/entertainment, to name a few. For the traditional out-of-home market, DOOH is simply the digital form of media used on billboards or other street furniture.

Bill Collins, DecisionPoint Media Insights:

For the purpose of this definition, the terms “digital signage” networks and “digital out-of-home” networks can be used interchangeably, but with one exception. The exception: when screen networks are deployed inside corporate buildings largely for human-resource and corporate-communication purposes, this is digital signage, but it cannot be accurately referred to as digital out-of-home.

Digital signage is comprised of networked electronic displays (such as LCD, LED, plasma or projection technology) that show information, advertising and other messages that are relevant to the specific venue or geographic location where the displays are visible to viewers. Digital signage can be found in public and private environments — both indoors and outdoors — alongside roadsides and at other venues such as retail stores, hotels, hospitals, shopping malls, motion-picture theaters and inside corporate buildings. Messages on digital signage networks always include visual images (sometimes moving images, sometimes a succession of static images). These messages may also include audio. Although most digital signage networks are connected across distances via the Internet or satellite communication and are controlled technically from one central network operations center, for the purposes of this definition of digital signage, we also will include the so-called “sneaker-net” networks. For these “sneaker nets,” the operator of the digital signage network drives the content to the screens from DVDs, memory chips or other memory devices that are physically connected to the electronic displays on-site.

When talking about digital signage, the conversation usually turns quickly to advertising-based networks. Digital signage is an advertiser’s dream. It targets an ad displayed based on the audience who will view it by using an endless number of variables, including time of day, location of the ad, weather, sales system data and even the characteristics of the person standing in front of the screen.

As any good marketer knows, the more targeted the message, the better chance of compelling the desired response. But with traditional media, it has been too expensive to be that targeted.  Digital signage changes the game with a level of targeting that is unmatched by any other medium. Plus, it can be used to increase revenue in other ways than advertising. It can lengthen customer visits, improve customer experiences and increase brand awareness, all of which can increase revenue.

Despite the costs associated with hardware, software and services for digital signage, it can actually save customers money. Traditional signage incurs a large expense for printing and shipping to various locations. And, unfortunately, a lot of that printed signage is never displayed or is displayed improperly. Digital signage eliminates the need for any action by anyone at the location of the signage, giving companies 100-percent compliance with provided signage.

Here is an example. Rikstoto, a horse race betting agency in Norway, was printing thousands of flyers daily and shipping them to convenience stores throughout Norway. Once Riksoto implemented a digital signage network, it decreased its costs dramatically and increased its revenue far more than expected.

Other companies have saved money by using digital signage to communicate with employees not typically connected to e-mail, provide remote training, provide self-service kiosks and more.

So, the question isn’t if digital signage will go mainstream, it’s when. Companies ranging in size from the very tiny such as the diner where you eat breakfast on the weekends to multi-billion dollar international giants like IKEA, Burger King and Rabobank are running digital signage networks today. They are the smart ones. They get to make money with digital signage and save money with digital signage. Plus they get the added benefit of being on the cutting edge of this technology, whereas companies who wait five to ten years to start digital signage networks will be playing catch-up with these forward-thinking enterprises.

Those who closely follow the digital signage industry and run the tradeshow circuit know that the expo floor is just one of the eventful places at a tradeshow. Most of the real value in these tradeshows is found outside of the expo hall in the breakout conferences.

For the most part, digital signage tradeshows over the past several years have realized this and expanded their conference sessions greatly. There are even conferences that focus exclusively on only sessions and panel discussions.

Over the past several years, I have spoken at several of these conferences and tradeshows and attended many more. Recently I was asked to speak during both days of a digital signage event, followed by presentations from a number of vendors exhibiting there.

I’m not saying that my presentation was better than anyone else’s, but what I can tell you is that during my presentation, I spent about 20 seconds talking about my company and another 20 minutes talking about the state of the DOOH industry. This is one reason I think my session was better attended than most others during the event.

(View the presentation on SlideShare here.)

Many of the presenters who followed gave some information about their area of expertise, but spent a majority of the time basically giving us masked sales pitches on their products or services. I will not use any specific names in this column, but I can say I have seen this at every major conference.

This is not an isolated incident – I have seen this at just about every conference I have attended since I started covering this industry in 2007.

These presentations are intended to give industry experts a platform to share their expertise and provide thought leadership in the industry. They are designed to be an incredible value-add to the tradeshow, and people are paying premium prices to attend them. I believe that value is being diminished each time we are “bait and switched” into listening to five minutes of “insight” and then 15 minutes of the company’s sales presentation.
 
To the speakers: Understand that your message will go much further if you provide attendees interesting, relevant and insightful information from your field of expertise. In the end, it will position you as an expert and provide more value than trying to get the audience to buy your product. Sell on the tradeshow floor, tell in the conference room.

To the show organizers: The pre-show screening process for PowerPoints needs to be more rigorous. In the end, it is up to the conference organizers to ensure attendees are getting the most bang for their buck when it comes to these sessions. Especially now, as travel budgets are being cut, this is more important than ever.

I think many of the shows realize this, and are doing a good job of enhancing the conference portions of their tradeshows going into 2010. I’m encouraged by some of the speakers and session titles being announced in news releases. Let’s just make sure we get what we came for.

It isn’t often that we truly can compare apples to apples when it comes to kiosks. There are many reasons: The applications on the kiosks are different (retail versus financial services, for example). The hardware and software manufacturers are not the same. The placements within the businesses are so different that a real comparison would be unfair.

Recently, however, we did have the rare opportunity to compare two kiosks in two deployments that presented a level playing field. Both kiosks belong to the retail self-checkout vertical market, and both use the same hardware and software from NCR. Furthermore, they are located in the checkout lanes in large big box retailers—Ikea and Lowe’s—and both use the kiosks as an integral part of their customer experience strategy. The difference is that one provides a positive experience while the other leaves the customer frustrated.

Although the exterior appearance of the kiosks is slightly different to allow each retailer to leverage its brand—logos, colors, fonts—the kiosks essentially look the same and operate in the same manner. The usage process is identical: Customers scan the barcode on their items, or key them in, and move the product down to the end for bagging. When all the items have been successfully scanned, customers pay for their purchases, collect their receipt and proceed to the exit.

The kiosk at Ikea was frustrating to use. The built-in scanner did not work, despite repeated attempts, so I tried to use the hand held scanner. That attempt was not initially successful, either, until an employee came by and said I needed to hold the scanner about six inches from the barcode. I asked her "How was I supposed to know that? There is nothing on the screen to indicate that this is how the thing works." She shot me an angry look and walked away. I was serious. The secret to self-service—any kind of self service, including candy vending machines—is don’t make me think. As I looked around at other customers at nearby kiosks, I saw that several were equally thwarted in their attempts to check out. They were looking for another kiosk to use. But once I learned how to use the scanner, I was able to complete the check-out process without incident.

Why was one experience so much better than the other, given that the hardware and user interface were the same? We believe it is because the kiosks at Lowe’s are better maintained and all seemed to work without any difficulty or hiccup. Statistics from our recently published flagship report, the seventh edition of "Kiosks and Interactive Technology," show that the overwhelming majority of kiosk deployers say they maintain their kiosks either directly (using store personnel) or through third-party providers. But having a maintenance contract and actually having preventive or routine maintenance performed on a regular basis are two entirely different things.

What can we conclude? Lowe’s seems to apply more resources to keeping its kiosks fully operational. As far as I could tell, the kiosks all worked flawlessly. The Ikea units were problematic; several customers (in addition to myself) began looking for another kiosk the moment we encountered repeated difficulties. The store, even on a Tuesday morning, was quite busy, and all the other kiosks were in use, so we had to make do. Customers are not given the luxury of finding a human to check them out—it is use the kiosk or leave empty-handed. In a number of cases over the years, we have seen people give up and leave the store, or find a human-assisted checkout line.

Negative experiences can have a significant impact on the likelihood a customer will return to shop another day. But while Lowe’s customers always have the choice of visiting a Home Depot or smaller hardware stores, Ikea customers are less fortunate. The chain simply has no real competition. The choices are too vast, the designs are too appealing and, most importantly, the prices are too low, for their customers to take their business elsewhere. They will return, grumbling about their less-than-happy experience at the checkout counter, but they will be back. It would be nice to know that in the future, they will find kiosks that are as easy to use as those at Lowe’s.

Francie Mendelsohn is president of Summit Research Associates

An estimated 1,080,000 unique advertising spots play on Digital Out-of-Home displays across North America during 2009, based on calculations using conservative parameters.

The Digital Signage /Digital Out-of-Home (DS/DOOH) industry in North America has emerging rapidly (25-50 percent CAGR) over the past six years in particular and despite reductions of an estimated three percent in overall ad spending, ad spending on DOOH continues to grow from its 2008 level of $1.4 billion (according to PQ Media) by nine percent annually. DOOH has found itself in the “communications continuum” with other credible advertising medium such as TV, radio, Internet, print, billboard, etc. and is positioning as a “trigger device” to motivate engagement through a handheld and mobile interactivity.

The Digital Out-of-Home area of the industry, which is based on third party advertising revenues is comprised of almost 200 networks, which allow advertisers to reach targeted audiences based on demographic profile, Designated Market Area (DMA), geography and even the activity in which they are involved (shopping, transit, café, workout, attending a game, etc.) in presenting messages at points of purchase, transit and gathering.

The following provides sample characteristics of networks while indicating total industry ad volume. The estimates used are generally conservative.

DOOH advertising is sold by a wide range of organizations including:

• Most Digital Out-of-Home networks have an internal ad sales capability.
• Many network operators are members of the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (www.OVAB.org) or the Canadian Out-of-Home Digital Association (CODACAN www.oohdigital.ca). These associations increase the profile of DOOH to accelerate overall ad sales success.
• Adcentricity (per www.Adcentricity.com) represents over 80 network partners with over 140,000 place-based and retail screens covering 16 main venue categories and over 70 sub-categories.
• SeeSaw Networks, (per www.SeeSawNetworks.com) “reaches more people in more places than any other digital video network. Combining over 50 digital signage networks across 30 different types of locations, SeeSaw is the most extensive national digital video network currently in 26,000 venues nationally and growing. SeeSaw delivers over 50 million weekly gross impressions – more than primetime TV spots at a fraction of the cost”.
• rVue (www.rVue.com) acts as a sales agent for about 20 networks.
• Ad display on DOOH are often included in campaign proposals blended with TV, cable, radio or static billboard ads by ABC, CBS, NBC, ClearChannel and others.
• As existing media providers (i.e. cable, print, etc) deploy DOOH networks, ad display opportunities will be bundled with “core business” ad proposals.
• Personnel responsible for sponsorship, patron programs, merchandising and co-op programs typically add Digital Signage to their proposals when display capability is added to their facilities.
• Other ad sales capability could be expected as media organizations seek to leverage their ad sales capabilities and infrastructure.

Given the proven results in sales lift, message recall and awareness, reduced perceived waiting times and improvement to the location experience that result from the proper use of Digital Out-of-Home, as well as the continuing growth in the number of displays, advertisers and ad sales representation, the future continues to be positive for Digital Signage/Digital Out-of-Home – “the sharpest instrument in an advertiser’s tool chest.”

Lyle Bunn is a consultant, commentator and educator in North America’s Digital Signage / Digital Out-of-Home industry.

Digital signage and digital out-of-home is not in itself a technological breakthrough, but rather the ongoing incremental improvement of technology integration that exploits "digital" in a supply chain that includes digital content creation, management, connectivity, playout, display and measurement.

This incrementalism, which continues its rapid acceleration, means that neither ad revenue achievement or "infrastructure" come first, but are concomitant — both effected by, and effecting each other simultaneously. The presence of either of these elements supports and triggers the other.



It was never an option for a single DOOH firm to "cross the chasm" with others rapidly following as is characteristic in technology breakthroughs. Instead, a critical mass and momentum by a larger number of firms has had to be achieved almost simultaneously over the past several years, which in itself has fueled growth.
Digital signage is a vortex, accelerated by the internal forces of enabling technologies, better technology integration and scalable operations along with the external forces of the increasing pressure for communications and marketing cost effectiveness.
 
The growing numbers of networks and displays reflect the broadening at the top of the vortex, while the vortex seeks to gather up and integrate technology elements and processes with integration into other systems for better message targeting, impact measurement and other points of operational optimization and cost savings.

The growth in the number and locations of displays motivates increased advertising which enables greater infrastructure investment, resulting in an upward spiral, rather than a "chasm crossing."

The great benefit is that all end users, location providers, technology providers, system integrators and operators, and content providers "win" through participating in this upward spiral.

The genesis of DOOH has not triggered an exodus from TV or other advertising devices, but enabled the revelation that media more optimally applied means more effective communications spending. Digital signage has found its place, incrementally, into the communications continuum and is on its path in wealth creation, in the same way that every other high-value application of managing light has found its economic success since the beginning of time. DOOH allows demographic targeting at points of purchase, long dwell times and high traffic.

The expanding infrastructure of digital displays proliferates message presentation in the "digisphere," the global environment of digital addressability and connectivity where media and messaging serve people, organizations and society.

People live on the lithosphere of earth, as part of its biosphere in its atmosphere while looking up into its troposphere, stratosphere and mesosphere. The digisphere enables human success through connectivity in all these areas.

Within the digisphere, communications can be increasingly granular — in the case of digital signage and digital out-of-home, improving the message targeting to audiences and individuals by location, interest, demographic and intended action to improve the level of relevance and engagement leading to the outcome intended by the communicator.

Lyle Bunn is a highly regarded independent advisor and educator in North America’s digital signage/digital out-of-home sector.

Product packaging is a powerful and effective means of communicating a product’s potential, promise and desirability to consumers. There’s no argument about that. However, product packaging is a little overworked these days — a package must clearly list ingredients, nutrition facts, instructions for use, safety information, consumer hotlines, and make room for a bar code. And all of this is before the important stuff! It must also do a stellar job of displaying its brand, attract consumers and make them desire the product — and do this better than every other product package within view.

Until recently, product packaging has been pretty much up to the task of delivering all that is asked of it. But, with bigger stores carrying ever-larger assortments, packages need to shout louder to be heard over the competition. Compounding this problem is the admirable drive to reduce packaging, which finds manufacturers with less package ‘real estate’ to use for messaging. In some cases, there is no package to use for messaging (think bicycles or car tires) — just a tiny shelf tag to tell the story. And if your product package can’t tell its story, your product won’t make it into the cart. Consider that a recent Miller Zell study shows that 60 percent of purchase decisions are made right there in the aisle.

Interactive media systems bring products to life. Video games locked in display cases are replaced with on-demand trailers, searchable extended inventory and instant pre-ordering.

It’s no surprise then that we’re seeing an increasing number of retailers and brands using in-store interactive media systems to help their overworked product packaging. Interactive touchscreens offer near-infinite real estate in a compact space, which makes it possible to provide in-depth technical information, to show product demonstration videos or simply tell a product’s story. The feel-good origins of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream or the quest for innovation that led to Dyson vacuum cleaners make for compelling "aisle theatre," and are sometimes just the things that cement purchase decisions.

Another retail trend I see is the inclusion of extended inventories — products which are merchandized in the store, but only available online or via ship-to-store delivery for later pickup. This trend brings the best of web shopping to the brick-and-mortar store, but often comes without all the great sorting and filtering tools the web provides to make sense of all this choice.

Think of digital cameras, or other technical products that require some consideration like golf clubs, laptop computers or even baby carriers. Without a knowledgeable sales associate and only a shelf tag to do the talking, retailers are increasingly turning to in-store interactive screens. These assistive shopping systems guide consumers through the selection process and provide independent user ratings, product reviews, and even price comparisons. The trend toward these systems is growing, as it is preferable to maintain a single, accurate product decision tree, than to train thousands of store associates on the intricacies of a dozen or more high-touch product lines.

Looking to the future of in-store interactive systems, it’s clear the gel has not set — retailers are still discovering new ways of mixing packaging and interactive technology to connect with consumers. Decades from now when computing is truly ubiquitous, and packages are literally alive with moving images, every container could be in itself an interactive experience. Until that future arrives, in-store interactive systems may be the best way to think outside the package.

It's been more than a week since federal authorities captured the man behind the United States' largest financial data-security hack, the Heartland Payments breach. As the week unfolded, more details emerged.

The breach has been a slap in the face for the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, since Heartland had been given the seal of PCI certification before the cyber attack. The breach has also marred the reputations of Visa and MasterCard, and left consumers once again questioning the security of retail ATMs.

Court records revealed a direct link between the cyber breach and the Citi ATM compromise at 7-Eleven, which came to light several months ago.

More than 130 million debit and credit cards were reportedly compromised, and the 28-year-old mastermind, Albert Gonzales, behind the scheme is accused of also playing roles in the TJX Cos. and Hannaford Brothers Co. compromises.

The former Secret Service informant allegedly was able to break into networks at retailers and major financial institutions to steal card numbers and PINs.

Mainstream news reports hit with force last week, with financial advice coming from all angles and directions. Among the top precautions consumers were advised to take: Avoid retail ATMs all together, since they are incorrectly labeled as being less secure than bank-owned ATMs; don't use debit; and avoid online purchases.

In reality, the payments industry is actually very safe, and consumers are often given poor advice. But the ATM industry has done little to put itself out in front in a way that gets the truth out to the public.

The ATM Industry Association has spearheaded a few initiatives through its best practices, but much of the onus falls on the banks and credit unions, since they have direct relationships with their customers and members. ISOs also could do more positive PR.

ISOs should educate the merchants they place ATMs with, telling them to talk with their customers about the safety of retail ATMs. And getting the word out to the mainstream media is critical. It can be challenging, but the industry needs to do a better job of putting itself out in front of the cameras and having its voice heard.

ATMIA could be a great organization to lead the PR pack.

"The ATM industry as a whole is very secure," says Mike Lee, chief executive of ATMIA. "Following the mass migration to Windows XP ATMs, we have been working on new ATM software security best practices due out in mid-September. Crime will migrate increasingly to cyber space because the prize — breaking into data storage systems containing sensitive customer data — brings a big pay-off and the risks of detection may be lower than in other crimes and in other operating environments."

But most consumers don't know or care about XP ATMs and the difference between an ATM-skimming attack and a cyber hack. Most also don't understand that retail ATMs, in many ways, are more secure than their FI counterparts, since FI ATMs are unattended after-hours and get higher transaction volumes — thus making them prime targets for skimmers.

"The percentage of transactions at ATMs that are fraudulent is miniscule relative to fraudulent transactions to credit cards," says Sam Ditzion, chief executive of Tremont Capital Group, a strategic planning and acquisition advisory firm that specializes in the ATM industry.

And what about the notions that debit is less secure than credit and online transactions are bad? Neither claim is founded.

Yes. Debit is vulnerable, but the consumer never pays the price, unless the suspicious charge or withdrawal is not reported to the FI. Even then, the vast majority of suspicious transactions and breaches are captured by the bank or credit union before the customer or member even notices. And the FI always absorbs the cost.

The same is true of online transactions. Advising consumers to stop buying goods online is ridiculous. More, not fewer, transactions will occur online over the coming months and years. Online purchases are convenient and secure. And if a card is compromised, again, the FI bears the loss.

"I have never heard of an example in which a victim of skimming fraud did not get a complete refund from their bank very quickly," Ditzion said. "So sure, consumers need to be vigilant and review their statements, but if you see that your account got compromised, your bank will credit your account."

Lee told me last week that this breach may be the nudge the United States needs to make a move toward EMV (the Europay, MasterCard, Visa standard) — which could be a good thing.

"We have seen a fraud migration toward non-EMV compliant markets," Lee said. "There is no bullet-proof vest that prevents all attacks by criminals on our things of value, whether cash, cards or online payments."

There has been a great deal of talk over recent years that the digital signage industry is finally “crossing the chasm” of early adopters and pioneers into the mainstream. We believe that this process is now underway and that the growth in the industry that has often been predicted is materializing.

There has been a great deal of talk over recent years that the digital signage industry is finally “crossing the chasm” of early adopters and pioneers into the mainstream. We believe that this process is now underway and that the growth in the industry that has often been predicted is materializing.
 
We believe that this is based around five key factors:
 
a) Clearer understanding of the benefits of digital signage by sector.
 
When any new medium arises, it tends to use paradigms from old media to launch the new medium. For example, television borrowed from theatre and the Internet borrowed from magazines. This continues for a while until the new medium begins to create its own vocabulary and changes things in line with the way consumers use the new medium.
 
Similarly the DOOH space initially used the paradigms of billboards and television when it first launched. While these paradigms may be appropriate in certain situations, it is only now beginning to re-invent itself as its own medium meeting the specific needs of consumers in a place-based way.
 
There is now a much clearer focus on understanding the role and objectives of the network it is an advertising, merchandising and information network with clearer metrics on measuring the ROI.
 
This also spills through into understanding how the signage network will work in different environments and how the customer should be addressed. Advertising has classically gone through four phases: interruption, entertainment, engagement and dialogue. In the first phase, the ad interrupts what the consumer is doing and often forces them to watch the ad. This was the classical television advertising model of the seventies where consumers had no choice but to view the ad.
 
The eighties marked the start of entertaining advertising where the consumer wanted to see the ad and received a payoff from it. The Internet moved things along in the nineties towards an engagement model where the consumer focused on ads that interested them and they became more engaged with the products. Finally in the last few years brands have realized that advertising is about a dialogue with the consumer. Mobile and social networking technologies facilitate this ongoing dialogue.
 
Digital signage can also use these models effectively in different environments. For instance, in environments with a fast moving audience (outdoor, transport hubs, malls), the interrupt model still dominates the out of home space. In areas with a higher dwell time (cinemas, beauty salons), you start seeing more of an entertainment and engagement model while in other specific areas of healthcare, some retail environments and food services you can now move towards an engagement and dialogue model.
 
The dialogue model is being used effectively by some digital signage providers. For example, EnQii partner with Ping Mobile, who link the digital signage software to their mobile marketing infrastructure. This allows viewers of digital signage ads to respond and interact using their cellular or mobile handheld technology.
 
This type of strategic analysis of the networks allows the operator to ensure the best content is delivered in the most appropriate fashion to get the desired result.
 
b) Maturing of the technology and content
 
Another area that is driving the industry forward is the maturing technology. Historically, the industry has moved from unconnected DVD based networks to simple connected networks to more complex networks with sophisticated advertising scheduling.
 
Going forward, it will be important that the network owner has technology that utilizes the basics – it needs to be scalable, reliable and secure. But it also needs to be an open platform that allows third party and internally developed applications to link to it to provide cost and revenue benefits. EnQii, for example, has always been a believer in open API’s (Application Program Interfaces), which allows customers to create front ends that link to the software so that they can link into their own workflows. This also allows linkages to “best of breed” systems such as ordering systems for digital menu boards, wayfinding, ePOS and queuing systems on an as needed basis.
 
Finally, the technology needs to be easy to use, but complex enough to perform all the key tasks needed. This is no mean feat, as the software has to be used by marketing professionals as well as systems administrators. The wrong design fill frustrates both types of users, whereas the right design will ensure neither of them notice the complexity.
 
The content has also matured. Initially networks often put up TV or stills that they had available. However, current networks such as Footlocker, Care Media, Harley Davidson, and the WHEN network are realizing that ultimately what matters is that what is seen on the screen and a deep understanding of customer behavior will allow the networks to get the best results.
 
c) ‘Serious’ companies beginning to invest in signage networks
 
As is typical for companies “crossing the chasm”, network operators have gone from an entrepreneur with a dream and some family funding to large multinational companies beginning to invest as well as financial companies putting serious investment behind networks.
 
This is important because a lot of early failures in the industry’s experimental years have been from entrepreneurs who secured a good estate and some financing, but they made the mistake of assuming that they could build advertising revenues as they rolled their network out. Typically ad revenues come in on a stepped basis over time. Ideally, networks need a certain critical mass which is dependent on the advertising strategy (national, regional, local) and the desirability of the demographic before receiving any revenues. Hence, there is a need for adequate funding to bridge the gap to that critical mass as opposed to assuming ad revenues will flow as soon as just a few locations are installed.
 
In the last six months we have seen companies like McDonald’s and well-financed companies like Care Media and Zoom all invest in the space. These rollouts bode well for the industry, especially in recessionary times. The food services sector, healthcare, hair salons and a few others continue to do well in a soft economy as the network operators realize the importance of staying close to the consumer and influencing their purchases when dollars are tight.
 
Finally, the ad agencies have also started to set up dedicated divisions for digital out of home with Kinetic and Posterscope taking the lead in this area.
 
d) ‘Serious’ suppliers providing a full service
 
The flip side of serious network owners is that of serious suppliers. Historically the digital signage industry was a bit of a cottage industry. Over recent years this has changed and EnQii was set up specifically to create a leadership position in the space. The focus moved from hardware to communications – having a deep understanding of what signage works and what does not and how to get the best return. Operating as a global player and being well funded became the focus in order to be able to invest in the best technology for the customers. It became about creating the best partnerships and offering a full service solution to large networks. The idea is to let the networks do what they do best – monetizing their customer by offering the best service and content while allowing the service provider to do the rest and minimize the risk of the venture.
 
e) The view from China
 
Finally, the growth of DOOH in the Chinese market has proved that there is a real business there. Focus Media is generating close to $400m a year in revenues and has bypassed many of the agencies to go directly to advertisers for a large portion of this money. AirMedia had revenues of $119m and Vision had revenues of over $100m. While some dynamics in China are different – for instance, there is a higher propensity for out of home consumption – it proves that there is real money to be made in these businesses.
 
In summary, optimism remains about the growth of the DOOH sector and the belief that it will continue to accelerate as all involved learn more about the medium and how the consumer interacts with it.

Although the credit card processing industry is extremely complicated, most people believe that they are experts in credit card use. After all, we all use credit cards to buy presents for our spouse and to pay for dinner at restaurants. Additionally, we all use ATM debit cards to withdraw money from our bank accounts. However, the credit card processing industry is far more complicated than it seems and in order to maximize self-service equipment profitability, it is necessary to understand how the credit card industry actually works.

The credit card processing industry consists of two primary aspects. One aspect is credit card issuance, which consists of providing credit cards, and the resulting credit, to card users. The other aspect is merchant acquisition. Merchant acquisition consists of signing up merchants to process their credit card transactions through a specific member bank.

Prior to suggesting methods to increase credit card revenue for self-service equipment operators, I should explain the manner in which credit card processing activity is compensated. In order to process credit card transactions, the Card Associations (Visa, MasterCard, and the like) contract with various banks (known as member banks) to provide processing services to merchants. Each member bank contracts with various Independent Sales Organizations ("ISO") to solicit merchants to contract with that member bank. Each ISO contracts with smaller ISOs and has its own agents for such solicitation. In turn, the smaller ISOs have their own agents and may also have their own ISOs. Larger ISOs are often sponsored by the member bank to also become Card Association members. The rights of the various merchant solicitation entities differ based upon their contractual arrangements and their position in the merchant acquisition hierarchy.

When a merchant agrees to process through a member bank and during the life of the resulting processing relationship, the contracting merchant may be charged various fees. Additionally, each time the merchant processes a credit card transaction, the merchant is charged a fee for the transaction. Finally, when a new merchant is enrolled, the merchant may be sold or given a POS terminal and other equipment to enable processing. These charges to the merchant constitute the revenue which is divided among the various players in the merchant acquisition process.

However, each payment stream is divided differently. Generally, the various fees are divided among the various ISOs and agents involved in enrolling the merchant and sometimes the member bank also shares in such revenue. Such fees are generally implemented by the ISO or agent and may be waived at their discretion. The credit card processing fees (transaction charges) are divided among the relevant Card Association, the member bank, and each ISO and agent in the acquisition chain of the individual merchant. The amount received by each participant is determined by the contractual relationship between the parties. For example, assume that a merchant processes a transaction which generates processing fees and that the merchant was enrolled by an agent of a second tier ISO. A portion of the fee is paid to the Card Association. The remainder of the fee is retained by the member bank.

The member bank retains its portion of the fee and transfers the balance of the fee to the primary ISO on a monthly basis. The primary ISO retains its portion of the fee and transfers the balance to the secondary ISO which solicited the merchant on a monthly basis. The secondary ISO retains its portion of the fee and pays the balance to the agent who actually enrolled the merchant. Although each fee consists of only pennies, the volume of transactions can make the business very profitable.

Furthermore, once a merchant is enrolled, the payment of processing fees (known as residuals) continues through the life of the merchant-member bank relationship. During this period, except for the member bank and sometimes the primary ISO, very little is required to be done by the other entities in the merchant acquisition chain to receive their residual payment.

Finally, since most self-service equipment has the credit card processing capabilities built in, the issue of the sale or distribution of processing equipment rarely comes into play. However, where the ISO provides free equipment to obtain the account, the absence of the need for such equipment is a saving to the ISO.

The foregoing is an extremely simplified version of the manner in which the merchant acquisition process is compensated. However, an understanding of the process suggests various methods to maximize a self-service equipment operator's or provider's profitability from the use of credit cards. Some of the available methods are as follows:

1. Negotiate. Processing rates and fees vary substantially throughout the industry. There are many different ISOs and agents who are attempting to obtain your credit card processing business. After all, signing up a merchant can generate a long term profit stream with little additional work. Therefore, you should be aware of competitive rates in the industry and the type of fees being charged. Although every salesperson you meet will tell you that his rates and fees are the best available, only one of them can be telling you the truth. For example, some programs charge set-up fees and annual fees and some do not. It is important to obtain a full understanding of what you will be expected to pay in writing. If there are fees being requested, there are alternate processors that may not charge such fees. Just because you are contacted directly by a salesperson does not mean that he will offer you the best terms. Also, you should be careful to limit your contractual commitment to the location for which you are requesting processing services. However, please understand that you are entering into a contractual commitment for a fixed amount of time. If you breach your commitment and the processing volume is significant enough, the processor will file suit to enforce the agreement. Washor and Associates has filed such suits on behalf of various ISOs.

2. Understand. Often there are provisions in the merchant agreement which may have an unexpected adverse effect upon your business. Therefore, you need to read and understand the merchant agreement before you sign it. If the term is too long, you may be stuck with an unsatisfactory processing arrangement for a long time. If the terms relating to chargeback are unreasonable, you may have your ability to perform credit card processing severely restricted.

We recently had a small incubator client who had been quite successful with various platform based businesses. The client opened up a new business which was less successful. It stopped soliciting new customers and continued to service existing customers only. However, the percentage of chargebacks increased because no new clients were being signed up to offset the number of chargeback transactions. Its ISO refused to process for his new business and ceased processing for his old businesses despite their generating close to $500,000 in monthly business with minimal chargebacks. Furthermore, the ISO TMF'd (put on industry list of merchants who were terminated by their processors) the client which made it virtually impossible for him to obtain an American processing for his businesses. In order to obtain an American processing relationship for his businesses, Washor and Associates had to contact the individual in charge of merchant acquisition for a large member bank. The client obtained the processing relationship but at increased rates. This could have been avoided if the client had understood the terms of his merchant agreement and he had spoken to the ISO before launching his new product .

Likewise, many ISOs charge merchants for permitting the merchants to monitor their own account activity. This should be discussed with the salesperson and the liabilities and cost imposed from such activity fully understood.

Finally, almost every member bank and many large ISOs have their own merchant agreements. Each agreement is different and although they appear to be boilerplate, they should be carefully reviewed before being executed and any problem provision should be discussed.

3. Join the Party. Assuming that your processing volume is large enough, there is no reason that you can not become an ISO or an agent.

If you are an operator of sufficient self-service equipment, many ISOs would be willing to enroll you as a secondary ISO or an agent. If your volume is large enough, there are some member banks that would do so as well. As an ISO or agent, you would be reimbursed the portion of your processing fees which would go to the ISO or agent which enrolls you. Since it is generally the ISO or agent which sets the various fees charged to merchants, you should be able to avoid the bulk of these fees and obtain a lower processing rate by enrolling yourself. In this regard, you should be aware that there is no special knowledge, education, training, or license required. Although if you desire to become an ISO, you will need to satisfy the Association requirements for being designated as an ISO. Of course, the value of this tactic will depend upon your actual processing volume and the type of business in which you engage.

If you are a seller or a lessor of self-service equipment, it might prove profitable for you to become an ISO and contractually to require the merchants purchasing or leasing your equipment to process credit card transactions through you. Of course, the profitability of this tactic would depend upon the number of units which you sell or lease and the type of business for which the equipment is used. This strategy is more complicated than the other strategies suggested in this article and requires marketing skill in addition to legal documentation. However, this strategy should enable you to give the purchasers or lessors of your equipment better processing rates than they would be able to obtain on their own and if properly structured, could be extremely profitable for you.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that I have presented a complicated industry in a very simplistic fashion and that implementing the foregoing strategies requires time, effort, and a thorough understanding of the process. In other words, some of the foregoing strategies are easier to suggest than they are to carry out. Nonetheless, every self-service equipment operator using credit card processing can engage in comparative shopping and negotiate to obtain better transaction pricing and fewer fees. There is no reason to pay more than necessary for credit card processing.

Lawrence Washor is an attorney at Washor and Associates, a firm that specializes in the self-service, ATM, and credit card-processing industries.

We live in incredibly complex times – and that’s a good thing.

Complexity suffers from bad press. A New York Times story on restructuring General Motors observes that GM “is a very, very complicated company,” and it’s not meant as a compliment. Advocates for tax reform pin an encyclopedia of ills on today’s “unbelievably complicated” code. An IT firm selling “autonomic policy management” software regards “complex business systems” as something to be “cured.”

Simplicity, on the other hand, is overrated – and sometimes unattainable, as digital signage system strategists well know. There is a big difference between helping users navigate complex spaces or buying decisions via a simple, no-learning-curve interface – and oversimplifying a complex challenge. The first is a design triumph, the second dishonest. People in our business like to tell each other, “keep it simple,” but simplicity is often just a code word for narrower choice.

And consumers like choice. They vote in favor of more diverse options all the time. Highly complex systems and processes, from Amazon.com to airline yield management to, yes, the build-to-order methodology at GM, evolve in response to consumer demand. They deliver vast customer and shareholder value: diversity of choice, degrees of customization and fulfillment speed unimaginable until recently. Very few consumers campaign for Baskin-Robbins to knock its 31 flavors down to vanilla and chocolate, or for Cover Girl to reduce its lipstick catalog to a straightforward red or pink. The virtues of business complexity far outweigh the drawbacks.

As product specifications, consumer buying decisions, financial transactions, and personalized, profile-based pricing offers grow more complex, chaos is a natural risk. Chaos is complexity’s evil twin, and it repels customers as surely as the products of complex systems lure them.

There is too much chaos in business environments today – customization processes run amok. But gross simplification is usually the wrong impulse. An oversimplified screen-based buying process may omit lucrative up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, for example. An oversimplified content management solution may not permit addressable, real-time pricing changes, leaving store screens out of sync with direct mail campaigns or online offers.

Besides, customers gravitate to providers that deliver personalized, responsive results on express timetables. Taking refuge in simplistic solutions is not only unrealistic, it’s bad business. (Credit Amazon and FedEx for conditioning us all to expect we can order nearly any product under the sun for delivery tomorrow morning; in that case, as in so many others, complex systems – albeit mostly masked from public view – are the consumer’s best friend.) In this marketplace, paring back customization options is not a winning strategy.

Excellence lies with masking complexity, not murdering it. The key competency that sets experience designers apart in this complex era is the degree to which they can identify, assess and mitigate chaos without compromising the desirable complexities of a business that satisfies customers and makes money.

This happens partly through elegant interface design. But even more important is a strategic sense of the client’s business; it’s difficult, we feel, for a solution provider to excel without complementing design and technology expertise with strategy.

This is a fantastic time to be working in this sector of the communications business. The best self-service process designers and visual information architects are developing new forms of literacy – entirely new languages to inform, entertain and sell to consumers. The words “complex” and “complicated” aren’t slights; when describing productive businesses with satisfied customers, they’re high compliments. Self-service and signage solutions that harness digital systems to deliver complex products and services via apparently simple and rapidly gratifying processes – that’s what best-in-class means today.

Tom Farmer and partner Jodi Swanson run Solid State Information Design (www.solidstateid.com), a research and consulting firm that helps connect digital signage providers with clients and end users. Erik Knutson is president of Design Laboratory, Inc., a leading professional services firm and Solid State client.

When it comes to sales, tried and true rules have been tested and proven. Below is a list of the top five mistakes I see salespeople across industries and professions commonly make. By addressing these issues with your sales force, you can dramatically improve your sales, in ATMs and anything else.

No. 1: Not listening

Salespeople often talk themselves right out of a sale because they are talking and not listening. Salespeople should spend a short amount of time talking about themselves, your company and the solution that your product provides. In fact, a salesperson should talk no more than 40 percent of the time when working with a prospect. The prospect, on the other hand, should talk more than 60 percent of the time about his business, his customers and his challenges.

The salesperson must ask questions that demonstrate she really cares about the potential client's specific needs. If your salesperson is actively engaged in listening, she will have a much higher understanding of the prospect and the prospect's needs.

To be actively listening, your salesperson has to listen to the words, as well as the physical gestures, the voice tone and context. Salespeople with excellent listening skills are able to easily identify a client's real needs and the solutions to fill those needs. The best salespeople are great listeners. When we think of a terrible salesperson, we often think of the stereotypical used-car salesman, who just can't stop talking. So, suggest to your salespeople that they stop talking and start listening.

No. 2: Failing to prospect for new customers

Many salespeople underestimate the importance of prospecting. They need to know that constant prospecting will produce a consistent flow of customers to your business. Even when business is great, salespeople need to prospect for new customers. Inconsistent prospecting is one of the most common mistakes salespeople make. Salespeople must devote a certain percentage of their work week to prospecting for new, qualified customers.

The best way to find new customers is by scheduling a specific portion of your calendar to prospecting only. If done right, the pipeline will be full of new prospects, and thus reduce the common peaks and valleys that occur in sales.

No. 3: Not asking for the order

People want to work with people (and businesses) who genuinely want their business. The easiest way to demonstrate that your company wants the prospect's business is to just ask for it.

A salesperson's presentation should be designed to get a commitment from the client. After investing time, qualifying the customer, explaining and demonstrating how your company's product or service will solve the prospect's problem, it's time to ask the prospect to make a purchase. The salesperson's job is not done until he has confidently asked for, and earned, the order.

I'm surprised at how often a salesperson will do everything well in her presentation and then sheepishly ask for the order. And some salespeople never ask for the order at all.

An "ask" can be the nudge your customer or potential customer needs to make the final positive buying decision. Your salesperson has an obligation to ask for business. The salesperson does not have to be pushy, but should respectfully and with great confidence ask for an order.

Not asking for a buy shows some lack of confidence. The customer won't know if the salesperson is apprehensive about the price, the product, the service or her company. Your salesperson has to ask for the order at the end of his presentation to earn the client's confidence.

No. 4: Failing to follow up

Just because a prospect decides not to buy today does not mean he won't be a buyer in the future. If the prospect is an interested, qualified, potential customer, then someone will sell that prospect, eventually. Your salesperson has done the work, so it should be your salesperson that earns the business, when it comes.

Your company and salesperson have to be the supplier this customer thinks of when he's ready to invest. The way you earn this business is to have a consistent and persistent follow-up program. Most salespeople don't consistently follow up. But following up is a critical step in the selling process.

Your salesperson already has a relationship with this potential customer; build on that relationship. Only the salesperson can convert this missed opportunity into a future sale. Following up should be an integral part of all of our corporate-sales strategies. Customers and prospects are already interested, why would we let them go? The chances of closing a warmed-up lead is much higher than chasing down a new or cold lead. Timely follow up will lead to more sales with fewer leads.

No. 5: Wasting time

Salespeople often waste time in three ways. First, they often chase down non-producing prospects. Some prospects will never buy or invest. To earn any money, some prospects will dissect every one of your profit centers and drain whatever profit you deserve and keep the profit as their own. These "profit parasites," as I call them, need to be encouraged to take their business to your competitor. These non-productive prospects will be happy to take your profit and waste your time.

The second time waster: Not walking away from the "wrong" client. Some potential clients are the extremely high maintenance with very low profit potential. Sales professionals know the "wrong clients" will add a lot of stress on support staff and co-workers. This added stress from these clients can have a negative effect on future sales. The "wrong clients" tie up phone lines, fill up mailboxes and slow down progress.

The third time waster is ineffective time management. A salesperson's main asset is time. When salespeople measure every minute as a profit or a loss, they will see new opportunities. We need to stop spending our time on non-profit-producing activities. The wildly successful and the poorest salespeople have exactly the same amount of time; obviously only one is using her time effectively.

Have your salespeople invest in one of the many time-management programs and use it properly. When salespeople really see how much of their work time is needlessly spent on non-profit-driven activities, they can adjust their schedules and sell much more.

In conclusion, we can teach our salespeople time management and listening skills. Our sales team members also can learn to look out for and steer clear of "profit parasites" and the "wrong customers." Salespeople who can't or won't confidently ask for the order may need to be retrained, remotivated or removed.

Profitable customers think they buy logically, but most of them actually buy emotionally, and a sale is a transfer of emotion. Your salespeople need confidence to seamlessly transfer that emotion to customers so customers can confidently buy products.

Damien Fitzgerald owns DTD Marketing, a marketing and consulting firm that focuses on the ATM field.

Our industry has been showing some serious signs of maturity lately. Breathless press releases touting 20 location deals have been supplanted by news of consolidations on the network side, thinning of the ranks on the vendor side, and even initial attacks from privacy advocates that signal acceptance of the technology just as much as fear of its reach. Business activity during a deep global recession has been surprisingly brisk. If there is one missing piece from the puzzle that would transform the industry in a permanent and significant way, it would be the meaningful acceptance of digital signage by media planners and buyers.

To be sure, there have been signs of movement and nice tests from very big brands, perhaps most notably Schering-Plough. And make no mistake, some networks are consistently selling advertising, although there is no doubt each would benefit from higher CPMs that increased demand might lead to for them. But one does not get the sense (yet) that digital signage as a media is a part of the plan for most media buyers and brands. Anyone who navigates through the web will intuitively know that the major automobile companies have internet advertising as a budgeted part of their media plan. There are certain sites that are more or less permanent parts of their Internet buy, probably signaling measurable ROI. And it is clear that buyers will test new and ostensibly attractive sites in hope of finding a winner. In any case, there is little doubt that Chevrolet, for example, has a certain number of millions earmarked for web-based advertising. That same clear evidence of an earmarked budget for digital signage has just not become obvious. It is fair to say that certain networks have developed relationships with some brands that are mutually beneficial, but there is a long way to go. When we get there, the better networks will realize higher rates, and the developing networks will get more chances to prove their value.

There are many signs that it is not just wishful thinking to imagine digital signage having a visible slice of the pie chart at the quarterly budget meetings. Inside our industry, more and more ad-selling businesses are popping up to compete with the leading DS aggregators, Adcentricity and SeeSaw. While their models and value propositions may differ, the emergence of offerings like rVue and Entourage certainly indicate that investors and entrepreneurs see opportunity, and there will be others. Alliances of networks in related businesses have also cropped up, in an effort to cross sell advertising and to gain expanded reach. These will work, where the quality of the networks working together is uniformly high. We have already seen alliances of the nearly dead that will not fool anyone.

Externally, there also appear to be signs that there is more than hope. In an excellent, must-read blog post, MediaPost editor-at-large Diane Mermigas examines the apparent movement from traditional TV upfront buying to a strategy of “scatter” buying. Indeed TV ad buying seems to be moving to a just-in-time mentality, even if spot costs in the scatter market are higher than upfront costs. The logic would appear to be that buying the right spots as needed (with the luxury of determining need dynamically) is worth a premium. The fragmentation of TV audiences, universally referenced in digital signage pitches, is finally resonating as well. Mermigas observes:

“The ever-dwindling ratings and audience shares continue to be a drag on advertiser enthusiasm. More advertisers are feeling comfortable with more targeted, quantifiable ad placement online and a collective multimedia strategy that includes TV.”

Hmmmm. That sure is music to my ears, coming from someone who lives in traditional media. Ms. Mermigas quotes OMD’s CEO Alan Cohen from an interview in AdAge this week, "This situation has made us look at some alternatives that will give clients the ability to reach broad audiences in a different way." Somebody buy that man a drink! This is a tidal movement. While digital signage may be hidden behind words like “alternatives” and “multimedia”, we appear to be on the radar where it matters.

TV advertising has absorbed billions of dollars annually for decades. That industry is clearly undergoing fundamental changes, driven by advertisers’ desire and ability to target ever more efficiently. You can bet the TV networks will respond with better deals upfront, and probably punitive rates for high demand scatter spots. But the die seems to be cast, and advertisers and their media buyers are looking our way. Mermigas ends her post by saying, “…advertisers, agencies and media companies are embracing alternatives that will hold long after the recovery is underway.”

As digital signage networks position themselves to receive that embrace with quality offerings, standard metrics and tangible results, the last piece of the maturity puzzle will fall into place. When it does, things just won’t be the same, in a very good way.

Deployment agreements define the legal relationship between a supplier of self-service equipment and the owner of the site where the equipment is deployed. Deployment agreements are deceptively simple. After all, most people believe that it cannot be difficult to prepare an agreement to place a machine in a specific location. Furthermore, every equipment supplier uses some version of a deployment agreement and most suppliers have never had a problem with their agreement. However, on those occasions where a problem arises, the terms of the deployment agreement will define the legal responsibilities of the participants and problems arise more frequently than most people would believe.

Every deployment agreement should cover four basic areas. They are: (1) the business relationship between the parties; (2) the obligations, if any, of the supplier subsequent to deployment; (3) the presence of electronic transaction processing; and (4) the allocation of risk between the supplier and the owner of the site.

Initially, the deployment agreement should detail the business relationship between the parties. The agreement must spell out whether the equipment is being purchased, leased, or merely deployed at the site and the payment arrangements. Obviously, it is the financial terms that make the arrangement profitable for the parties. Of course, in cash purchase situations, the payment terms are fairly straight forward. However, in installment purchase, lease, and simple deployment situations, the financial terms are not always as carefully spelled out. Furthermore, in the case of small entity site owners, the identity of the entity's principals is determined and if possible, the principals provide suitable guarantees. There is nothing worse than trying to collect monies from an insolvent deployment site owner. If there is to be a division of revenue between the supplier and the site owner, the terms of such division must be carefully spelled out. This is especially true where the deployed equipment is owned by a third party who is paying the site owner to deploy the equipment at the site.

In a non-purchase situation, the term of the agreement must also be clearly thought out. I recently saw an agreement in which the term was "forever." Apparently, millions of years from now, the ATM machine will still be deployed at the site. The type of merchandise being dispensed, the nature of the area in which the machine is to be located, and the ownership of the site should contribute to the determination of the deployment term. There also should be consideration to circumstances under which deployed equipment can be moved before the end of the term. Occasionally, disputes arise when a site is closed for remodeling or the business being run at the site is changed (such as a drug store to a pool hall). This also is important where the neighborhood changes such as when the Lakers stopped playing at the forum in Inglewood.

Furthermore, many deployment agreements do not contain certain "boilerplate" provisions which are contained in most contracts. These include: (1) a choice of law provision which sets forth the state whose law will govern the interpretation of the agreement. The law of every state is not the same and many states have specific provisions applicable to deployment agreements. Also, in certain circumstances, the Uniform Commercial Code may apply and as adopted, the Code varies from state to state; (2) an entirety provision which states that the entire agreement between the parties is contained in the written agreement. This provision is designed to prevent one party from claiming that oral promises were made which are not contained in the agreement. Several years ago, a dispute arose relating to a CAT Scan Machine where the entirety provision was not included in the agreement. Its absence led to six years of litigation over claims that oral commitments had been made relating to the payment of the lease; (3) a choice of venue provision which sets forth the state in which any dispute between the parties under the agreement is to be resolved. An equipment supplier should pick a convenient state and county forum in order to avoid having potentially to defend suits in many different forums, including small forums where the supplier may be home-towned. Several years ago, I served as an expert in a dispute where a large merchant filed suit in his hometown in rural Colorado. At the trial, the judge admittedly ignored Colorado law in order to help the local resident merchant. Likewise, a decision should be made as to whether the prevailing party should be allowed to recover its attorney's fees in any such dispute. This should be determined based upon the relative economic strengths of the parties and who is likely to commence suit; and (4) a provision stating that the waiver of one breach shall not constitute a waiver of subsequent breaches.

Likewise, the agreement should set forth any specific requirements for the deployed equipment such as telephone or electrical requirements, any exclusivity requirement in connection with the deployed equipment, the times and hours that the access to the equipment should be available (in non-purchase situations), and the like.

Second, any post-deployment obligations of the supplier should be carefully spelled out. This relates to maintenance and repair of the equipment, stocking machine with cash or merchandise, and removing cash or merchandise. If such obligations exist, the responsibility of the site owner to cooperate with the supplier should also be spelled out. Finally, if the site owner is to pay for such services, the site owner's payment obligation must also be carefully spelled out.

Third, many self-service machines (including ATM machines) provide electronic transaction processing (credit card) services. Unfortunately, the deployment agreements generally do not deal with this issue. Electronic transaction processing is big business which generates substantial revenue in residuals to those involved. Generally, deployment agreements fail to spell out who is entitled to receive residual revenue, responsibility for chargebacks, processing rates, and the like. Processing is done by many different banks and different independent sales organizations. The level of customer service, processing rates, add-on fees, and the like varies from processor to processor. Many sites already have credit card processing relationships and they continue with that relationship for the site. Significant revenue can be earned by specifying an appropriate processing relationship in those situations where the deployed equipment is not owned directly by the merchant. Furthermore, if the obligations of the supplier to the site include maintenance or risk management, it is especially important that the processing relationship contains online monitoring capabilities. Also, the owner of the site must make certain that the processing relationship proceeds smoothly since any significant failure or chargeback history could cause the owner of the site to lose its own ability to process credit cards.

Fourth, risk allocation should be a significant issue in any deployment agreement, as follows:

1. Limitations on liability. Most agreements contain a disclaimer limiting the types of damages that can be collected in the event the equipment malfunctions or the equipment is not properly maintained. Such disclaimers normally limit damages to direct losses incurred and exclude lost profits, indirect damages, consequential damages, and the like. Such clauses also normally state that there are no warranties which are not included in the actual agreement. Such provisions can also operate to prevent litigation by limiting the amount and type of imaginative damages that a lawyer can concoct.

2. Damage to equipment and operating losses. The agreement should spell out who is responsible for damage to the equipment. This is especially relevant where the equipment is damaged by a site customer, by a fire or similar natural disaster, or abuse. Likewise, responsibility for operating losses due to vandals or other causes should be defined. Some years ago, an armored car company lost in excess of $70,000 collected on its rounds, including funds for stocking ATM machines. The agreement did not specify responsibility for the loss between the site which owned the machine and the supplier which performed maintenance services. When the funds could not be recovered from the armored car company, the machine supplier had to absorb the loss.

3. Products liability and injury claims. The ingenuity of the human race knows no bounds. No matter how carefully designed equipment, users will manage to catch their hand in the machine, cut themselves on the machine, have the item dispensed drop on them causing injury, or suffer some other misfortune. The deployment agreement should allocate responsibility for such claimed injuries. (See insurance below.)

Also, depending upon the item being dispensed, such items may cause injury to a purchaser. Such injuries run the gamut of a child cutting himself on a plush toy to a adult eating a bad piece of beef jerky. Under most state laws, both the site owner and the equipment supplier are deemed to be in the chain of distribution except in an outright purchase agreement. This means that both may be held responsible under the theory of strict liability. Depending on the products being dispensed, the agreement should specify who has primary responsibility for any such injury and make arrangements for appropriate insurance coverage.

4. Insurance. Relatively inexpensive insurance can be obtained to cover personal injury and products liability. Generally, personal injury claims are covered by existing insurance carried by the site owner. Adding the supplier to the insurance as an additional insured should be relatively simple. Likewise, where the equipment supplier provides post-deployment services, the supplier should have insurance covering same. Obviously, it is in the suppliers interest to makes its own coverage secondary to that of the site owner. As to products claims, the costs of such insurance will vary depending upon the product being dispensed. As with the insurance for personal injury, existing insurance may cover any such claims. This should be explored and resolved as part of the deployment agreement.

Danoo announced last week that it acquired IdeaCast, a provider of advertising in the rapidly expanding captive television category. As part of the deal, National CineMedia, LLC (NCM), operator of the largest digital cinema network in North America for cinema advertising, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), a venture capital firm, will each hold a minority interest in the new company.

This deal breaks new ground because, to date, National CineMedia has been the most profitable large-scale innovator in the U.S. Digital out-of-home (Digital OOH) sector. With this deal, NCM has found in Danoo a smaller, well-funded and innovative partner that can help the cinema-advertising giant expand outside of its very strong base inside movie multiplexes.

NCM has scale, growing revenues, a big market cap, and a strong sales force with six to seven years of experience successfully selling Digital OOH advertising in the U.S. market. According to the terms of the sale, both NCM and Danoo’s leading investor, the Silicon Valley-based venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), will hold minority interests in the new combined company. Both the venture capital (VC) firm and Denver-based NCM will have seats on the merged company’s board of directors.  Mediaweek’s Katy Bachman reports that  “Conveniently, Danoo’s new New York City office will be across the hall from NCM.”  Danoo’s corporate office is located in San Francisco. IdeaCast is based in Chicago.

National CineMedia: Bringing cinema ads into mainstream advertising

During the last 6-7 years, NCM has leveraged digital-projection technology, satellite communications and the Internet to completely transform and rationalize the cinema advertising business in the USA. Prior to this digital transformation, cinema advertising was a stepchild in the U.S. advertising family. Now cinema advertising is growing rapidly, delivering a highly desirable leisure-time demographic to advertisers much more easily than was done with old-style movie-house advertising which was comprised of slide advertising and 60-second Coca-Cola ads on scratchy, 35mm reel-to-reel prints.
 
By leveraging these new digital technologies, NCM created a Digital out-of-home network that counts annual advertising revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

For example, in its most recent quarter, NCM reported quarterly advertising revenue of $60.1 million, compared to $53.7 million in revenue for the comparable 1st quarter of 2008. NCM's national theater network includes approximately 16,800 screens in more than 1,325 theatres in 46 of the 50 states, reaching more than 660 million moviegoers in 2008. A publicly held company (NASDAQ), NCM has a market capitalization of $543 million. This market heft dwarfs the size of any other U.S. Digital OOH network.

For the overall U.S. digital-cinema industry (which includes NCM’s chief competitor, Screenvision) total advertising revenue reached more than $571 million during 2008, according to the Cinema Advertising Council (CAC). The CAC reported last month that total revenues from U.S. cinema advertising has grown an average of 21.5 percent per year since 2002, with 2008 revenues reaching a level that is almost triple that of 2002.

This means that in 2008, this $571 million in U.S. cinema-based advertising revenue was greater than the total ad revenue generated by all of the other U.S. screen-media networks at retail and out-of-home which operate outside the multiplexes.

Although for many years NCM has been seen by many industry observers as part of the emerging Digital OOH sector, up to now it has largely defined itself as a cinema-advertising firm. For example, although NCM was a founding member of the CAC in 2003, it has thus far declined to join the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB), the leading U.S. industry body which promotes Digital OOH as an advertising medium.  [Danoo is a member of OVAB.]
With NCM’s minority investment in the Danoo/IdeaCast merger, and its green light to cross-sell ads on both its network and the Danoo/IdeaCast networks, NCM is clearly stepping up its involvement with the larger Digital out-of-home or advertising-based “Digital Signage” media sector. This shift started two years ago, in June 2007 when NCM invested a few million dollars in IdeaCast. In May of this year, NCM announced in its Q1 2009 conference call that it had acquired 100 percent of IdeaCast’s secured debt.
 
During that May 12 call with investors and analyst, NCM’s chairman and president, CEO Kurt C. Hall, explained how the company hopes to leverage the larger Digital out-of-home industry into what he called a “new growth engine for NCM in the future.” In an interview with Mediaweek’s Katy Bachman published July 6, Hall added, “Cinema is ahead in the Digital OOH space, but clearly two to four years down the road, we’ll be looking to add growth. We see [NCM’s interest in merged Danoo/IdeaCast enterprise] as an incubation platform for NCM.”
 
National CineMedia grew out of Regal CineMedia, which was founded in 2002 as a subsidiary of Regal Entertainment Group, part of Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz’s vast holdings. Anschutz, with an estimated net worth of $8 billion, ranked 36th on Fortune Magazine’s 2008 list of the richest people in the USA.
 
Danoo CEO: “We’re getting to real scale.”

In the Mediaweek article cited above, it reports, “Aileen Lee, a partner with Kleiner Perkins [Danoo’s VC investor] who has served as CEO of Danoo for two years, will head up the combined company until a new CEO is named. Jason Brown, president of sales and marketing for IdeaCast, will manage sales for the combined company. ‘It’s an amazingly complementary fit,’” Mediaweek quotes Lee as saying. 
The article says that Danoo began discussions with NCM about one year ago. ‘We’re getting to real scale,’ Lee said.
 
That “scale,” as the Danoo CEO describes it, would include the following:

    * IdeaCast’s Health Club TV network which is installed in approximately1,000 health clubs across more than 100 local markets, 
    * IdeaCast’s Airline TV network, which in-flight airline passengers travelling on JetBlue, Frontier and Continental airlines can view on 7,800 seatbacks,
    * Danoo’s City Network, which is currently located in about 850 coffeehouses in Boston, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area, and
    * Danoo’s new Traveler network, which it is currently rolling out to newsstands and gift shops at about 25 major U.S. airports such as Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
    * Danoo will have what the company calls “synergies with NCM’s network in terms of technical infrastructure, operational support and sales staff.

NCM scale + Danoo innovation + VC cash + smartphone interactivity = a game changer

To understand how and why this deal is a watershed, it first must be pointed out that Danoo, with less than 1,000 screens prior to this deal, still is not a particularly large network. Currently many Digital OOH networks in the USA and around the world beam content to audiences that are much bigger than Danoo’s reach.

However, when one takes a closer look at Danoo – its innovative use of user-contributed and interactive content, its 30-person team (both technical and creative) based in China, along with its very deep pockets and management expertise from its Silicon Valley-based VC firm – it’s clear that the Danoo/NCM collaboration is an emerging game-changer for the U.S. Digital out-of-home media sector. Consider the following about National CineMedia and Danoo:

Last year National CineMedia (NCM) created a new consumer website, www.ncm.com, which engages movie-goers about the movies shown in theaters where NCM offers its “First Look” content block of programming and advertising that is shown before the start of the feature films.  This new website includes a list of movie show times, a chance to view special interviews and features about current movie releases, and a social-media component a la Facebook.com that allows movie fans to interact and socialize.

On July 3, NCM launched an interactive polling promotion called “r8 it” where movie-goers are invited to use their mobile phones to rate some aspect of the movie that they just viewed. This invitation to “r8 it” is issued during NCM’s First Look pre-feature programming, on digital screens in the lobbies and also via print handouts which movie-goers receive at the box office when they buy their movie tickets. The results of the “r8 it” ratings are posted on the new NCM website and on a new “r8 it” smart-phone application. Winners receive free movie tickets for one year.

More than any other Digital out-of-home network operator, NCM has developed significant expertise in simulcasting concerts and entertainment events, as well as in event management and sampling. As Digital OOH networks start to take more seriously the notion of “enhancing the customer experience,” these extra competencies that NCM brings to the table should play a more important role in the Digital OOH medium.
 
Although many Digital out-of-home media companies talk a good game about creating localized content, Danoo actually employs local editors who are based in the cities where the network is deployed (San Francisco/Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago, NYC and Boston). According to Danoo CEO Aileen Lee, these editors “curate” local news, events and culture, harvesting local information to publish on the Danoo screens. Lee said that these local editors compile this information from user-generated content and via direct data feeds from local published sources which are cited on the Danoo screens.
 
Danoo leads the Digital OOH sector in attracting user-generated content.  This content, which Lee calls “user-contributed content,” is now ubiquitous on the web but still rare in Digital OOH. Danoo recruits these contributions by inviting its local audiences to post photos, videos and information about local events via the www.danoo.com/participate tab on the Danoo home page. According to the Danoo web site, contributions to its “Photo Gallery” are published in five-photo sets. User-contributed videos which “work without sound” are limited to no more than two minutes in length. Danoo says that up to 25 percent of its on-screen content in what it calls “relevant categories” is user-contributed.

Danoo – perhaps more than any other Digital OOH network serving U.S. audiences – is leveraging talent outside the USA. This talent based in Beijing, China – both technical and creative – is helping Danoo control costs and produce quality content with the localization and in the volume that the medium requires. Danoo employs 30 staff people in Beijing. According to Aileen Lee, five of those people are full-time creative people, working largely with 2D, FLASH and motion graphics. Three people in Beijing are program managers, with the remaining staff doing software development work (Danoo’s network is controlled by its own home-grown software). In order to facilitate communication between the Beijing-based staff and the San Francisco-based staff, the Danoo CEO said that at least three people from Danoo’s technical/creative team on both sides of the Pacific are bilingual and have experience living in both cultures. Lee herself is an Asian American who spent time at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Danoo’s venture-capital backer, Kleiner Perkins, has a very strong track record in bankrolling successful companies going back more than 35 years. According to Lee, the VC firm vetted many investment proposals submitted by advertising-based Digital out-of-home networks before it decided to give its imprimatur to Danoo. Since its founding in 1972, Kleiner Perkins has provided early-stage financing and management assistance for well-known firms such as Amazon.com, AOL, Compaq, Drugstore.com, Genentech, Google, Lotus Development, Macromedia, Sun Microsystems Verifone and Zagat. 

Today, Kleiner Perkins (KPCB) is leading the financial sector in the funding of Apple iPhone-related technologies which potentially could speed the development of interactive features to enhance Digital out-of-home networks.  This year Danoo announced some significant initiatives -- which Aileen Lee said are producing “great results” – to encourage Danoo viewers to use their smartphones to interact with and download content from the Danoo screens. Recently KCPB created the “KPCB iFund,” which the VC firm calls “a $100M investment initiative that will fund market-changing ideas and products that extend the revolutionary new iPhone and iPod touch platform.” According to the venture-capital firm, the new $100M investment fund will target “location-based services, social networking, mCommerce (including advertising and payments), communication, and entertainment,” which sounds like a snug fit for Danoo.

Danoo does not express much interest in developing networks where the viewing experience is more ambient (for example inside clothing stores). According to Aileen Lee, Danoo likes venues such as airports, coffee shops, movie theaters, and other places because viewers are clearly captive, and thus “have the ability to engage” with screen networks. Danoo, Lee said, prefers to serve what it calls a “consistent and high-quality audience” which targets “hard-to-reach mobile, urban professionals and frequent fliers.”

For any corporate merger, the devil often emerges in the difficult details of corporate governance, geography and cultural differences. This new merger, too, will struggle with those issues. It could fail like many other mergers that we’ve seen in the media business (think AOL and Time Warner). However, because of the money, talent and experience that Danoo and National CineMedia bring to the table, this deal among Danoo, IdeaCast and NCM should be one of the best seen to date in the U.S. Digital out-of-home media sector. This new collaboration may spur the entire Digital OOH sector to innovate and serve its audiences and advertisers in some very exciting new ways.
 

Bill Collins is principal of DecisionPoint Media Insights (www.decisionpointmedia.com). DecisionPoint produces custom audience research for Digital Signage networks. It also provides B2B go-to-market strategy consulting for companies that market B2B products and  services to the Digital Signage industry. Bill Collins can be reached at .

Danoo announced last week that it acquired IdeaCast, a provider of advertising in the rapidly expanding captive television category. As part of the deal, National CineMedia, LLC (NCM), operator of the largest digital cinema network in North America for cinema advertising, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), a venture capital firm, will each hold a minority interest in the new company.

This deal breaks new ground because, to date, National CineMedia has been the most profitable large-scale innovator in the U.S. Digital out-of-home (Digital OOH) sector. With this deal, NCM has found in Danoo a smaller, well-funded and innovative partner that can help the cinema-advertising giant expand outside of its very strong base inside movie multiplexes.

NCM has scale, growing revenues, a big market cap, and a strong sales force with six to seven years of experience successfully selling Digital OOH advertising in the U.S. market. According to the terms of the sale, both NCM and Danoo’s leading investor, the Silicon Valley-based venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), will hold minority interests in the new combined company. Both the venture capital (VC) firm and Denver-based NCM will have seats on the merged company’s board of directors.  Mediaweek’s Katy Bachman reports that  “Conveniently, Danoo’s new New York City office will be across the hall from NCM.”  Danoo’s corporate office is located in San Francisco. IdeaCast is based in Chicago.

National CineMedia: Bringing cinema ads into mainstream advertising

For example, in its most recent quarter, NCM reported quarterly advertising revenue of $60.1 million, compared to $53.7 million in revenue for the comparable 1st quarter of 2008. NCM's national theater network includes approximately 16,800 screens in more than 1,325 theatres in 46 of the 50 states, reaching more than 660 million moviegoers in 2008. A publicly held company (NASDAQ), NCM has a market capitalization of $543 million. This market heft dwarfs the size of any other U.S. Digital OOH network.

For the overall U.S. digital-cinema industry (which includes NCM’s chief competitor, Screenvision) total advertising revenue reached more than $571 million during 2008, according to the Cinema Advertising Council (CAC). The CAC reported last month that total revenues from U.S. cinema advertising has grown an average of 21.5 percent per year since 2002, with 2008 revenues reaching a level that is almost triple that of 2002.

This means that in 2008, this $571 million in U.S. cinema-based advertising revenue was greater than the total ad revenue generated by all of the other U.S. screen-media networks at retail and out-of-home which operate outside the multiplexes.

Although for many years NCM has been seen by many industry observers as part of the emerging Digital OOH sector, up to now it has largely defined itself as a cinema-advertising firm. For example, although NCM was a founding member of the CAC in 2003, it has thus far declined to join the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB), the leading U.S. industry body which promotes Digital OOH as an advertising medium.  [Danoo is a member of OVAB.]

In the Mediaweek article cited above, it reports, “Aileen Lee, a partner with Kleiner Perkins [Danoo’s VC investor] who has served as CEO of Danoo for two years, will head up the combined company until a new CEO is named. Jason Brown, president of sales and marketing for IdeaCast, will manage sales for the combined company. ‘It’s an amazingly complementary fit,’” Mediaweek quotes Lee as saying.  

• IdeaCast’s Health Club TV network which is installed in approximately1,000 health clubs across more than 100 local markets,  
• IdeaCast’s Airline TV network, which in-flight airline passengers travelling on JetBlue, Frontier and Continental airlines can view on 7,800 seatbacks,
• Danoo’s City Network, which is currently located in about 850 coffeehouses in Boston, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area, and
• Danoo’s new Traveler network, which it is currently rolling out to newsstands and gift shops at about 25 major U.S. airports such as Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco. 
• Danoo will have what the company calls “synergies with NCM’s network in terms of technical infrastructure, operational support and sales staff.

To understand how and why this deal is a watershed, it first must be pointed out that Danoo, with less than 1,000 screens prior to this deal, still is not a particularly large network. Currently many Digital OOH networks in the USA and around the world beam content to audiences that are much bigger than Danoo’s reach.

However, when one takes a closer look at Danoo – its innovative use of user-contributed and interactive content, its 30-person team (both technical and creative) based in China, along with its very deep pockets and management expertise from its Silicon Valley-based VC firm – it’s clear that the Danoo/NCM collaboration is an emerging game-changer for the U.S. Digital out-of-home media sector. Consider the following about National CineMedia and Danoo:

Last year National CineMedia (NCM) created a new consumer website, www.ncm.com, which engages movie-goers about the movies shown in theaters where NCM offers its “First Look” content block of programming and advertising that is shown before the start of the feature films.  This new website includes a list of movie show times, a chance to view special interviews and features about current movie releases, and a social-media component a la Facebook.com that allows movie fans to interact and socialize.

On July 3, NCM launched an interactive polling promotion called “r8 it” where movie-goers are invited to use their mobile phones to rate some aspect of the movie that they just viewed. This invitation to “r8 it” is issued during NCM’s First Look pre-feature programming, on digital screens in the lobbies and also via print handouts which movie-goers receive at the box office when they buy their movie tickets. The results of the “r8 it” ratings are posted on the new NCM website and on a new “r8 it” smart-phone application. Winners receive free movie tickets for one year.

More than any other Digital out-of-home network operator, NCM has developed significant expertise in simulcasting concerts and entertainment events, as well as in event management and sampling. As Digital OOH networks start to take more seriously the notion of “enhancing the customer experience,” these extra competencies that NCM brings to the table should play a more important role in the Digital OOH medium.

Although many Digital out-of-home media companies talk a good game about creating localized content, Danoo actually employs local editors who are based in the cities where the network is deployed (San Francisco/Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago, NYC and Boston). According to Danoo CEO Aileen Lee, these editors “curate” local news, events and culture, harvesting local information to publish on the Danoo screens. Lee said that these local editors compile this information from user-generated content and via direct data feeds from local published sources which are cited on the Danoo screens.

Danoo leads the Digital OOH sector in attracting user-generated content.  This content, which Lee calls “user-contributed content,” is now ubiquitous on the web but still rare in Digital OOH. Danoo recruits these contributions by inviting its local audiences to post photos, videos and information about local events via the www.danoo.com/participate tab on the Danoo home page. According to the Danoo web site, contributions to its “Photo Gallery” are published in five-photo sets. User-contributed videos which “work without sound” are limited to no more than two minutes in length. Danoo says that up to 25 percent of its on-screen content in what it calls “relevant categories” is user-contributed.

Danoo – perhaps more than any other Digital OOH network serving U.S. audiences – is leveraging talent outside the USA. This talent based in Beijing, China – both technical and creative – is helping Danoo control costs and produce quality content with the localization and in the volume that the medium requires. Danoo employs 30 staff people in Beijing. According to Aileen Lee, five of those people are full-time creative people, working largely with 2D, FLASH and motion graphics. Three people in Beijing are program managers, with the remaining staff doing software development work (Danoo’s network is controlled by its own home-grown software). In order to facilitate communication between the Beijing-based staff and the San Francisco-based staff, the Danoo CEO said that at least three people from Danoo’s technical/creative team on both sides of the Pacific are bilingual and have experience living in both cultures. Lee herself is an Asian American who spent time at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Danoo’s venture-capital backer, Kleiner Perkins, has a very strong track record in bankrolling successful companies going back more than 35 years. According to Lee, the VC firm vetted many investment proposals submitted by advertising-based Digital out-of-home networks before it decided to give its imprimatur to Danoo. Since its founding in 1972, Kleiner Perkins has provided early-stage financing and management assistance for well-known firms such as Amazon.com, AOL, Compaq, Drugstore.com, Genentech, Google, Lotus Development, Macromedia, Sun Microsystems Verifone and Zagat.  

Today, Kleiner Perkins (KPCB) is leading the financial sector in the funding of Apple iPhone-related technologies which potentially could speed the development of interactive features to enhance Digital out-of-home networks.  This year Danoo announced some significant initiatives -- which Aileen Lee said are producing “great results” – to encourage Danoo viewers to use their smartphones to interact with and download content from the Danoo screens. Recently KCPB created the “KPCB iFund,” which the VC firm calls “a $100M investment initiative that will fund market-changing ideas and products that extend the revolutionary new iPhone and iPod touch platform.” According to the venture-capital firm, the new $100M investment fund will target “location-based services, social networking, mCommerce (including advertising and payments), communication, and entertainment,” which sounds like a snug fit for Danoo.

Danoo does not express much interest in developing networks where the viewing experience is more ambient (for example inside clothing stores). According to Aileen Lee, Danoo likes venues such as airports, coffee shops, movie theaters, and other places because viewers are clearly captive, and thus “have the ability to engage” with screen networks. Danoo, Lee said, prefers to serve what it calls a “consistent and high-quality audience” which targets “hard-to-reach mobile, urban professionals and frequent fliers.”

Bill Collins is principal of DecisionPoint Media Insights of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The company produces custom research and consulting on digital media networks that are deployed at retail and out of home.

A major strength of place-based digital networks has always been their highly localized footprint. However, this strength is also a challenge when it comes to creating high-impact national advertising campaigns. With new networks springing up across the country in dozens of different categories, what has been missing is a way to tie these different networks together and create a single national media platform.

At SeeSaw Networks, we aggregate these disparate place-based digital networks to create a single, viable, national advertising platform. In 2009, we have grown to over 50 networks, reaching a scale that has changed the way advertisers view place-based digital video advertising. We also added new technology to facilitate very efficient and effective campaign targeting, planning and execution. Today, when companies plan their national media campaigns, it’s not uncommon for broadcast-oriented media planners and advertisers to look at what SeeSaw has to offer and say, “I can plan and buy this media like television.” Similarly, digital media planners and buyers say, “This fits perfectly with my web and mobile strategies.”

The three keys to the evolution of the SeeSaw place-based digital video advertising solution – national scale, precision targeting tools, and technology and processes for planning and execution – also reveal key benefits of this media for advertisers.

How big is big enough?

Using third-party data from sources such as Nielsen and Arbitron, and OVAB’s recently released guidelines, SeeSaw’s aggregated network delivers more than 50 million weekly gross impressions across 200+ DMAs in over 30 different types of places like gas stations, coffee shops, grocery stores, health clubs, transit centers and hair salons, to name a few. This puts place-based digital advertising spots on a scale that is equivalent to a couple of TV spots on a blockbuster primetime show such as American Idol and well on our way toward reaching Super Bowl scale with 100 million gross impressions in 2010.
With this kind of national scale at their disposal, advertisers and media planners understand they can extend their reach by incorporating place-based digital video advertising into their advertising campaign. This allows advertisers to connect with on-the-go consumers in a new and more effective way while they are out and about in places where they work, shop, socialize and play.

Target practice makes perfect

But clearly, scale is not enough today. In this economic environment, advertisers and their agencies are under pressure to make their marketing spend as efficient and effective as possible. And agencies are obliged to make the most of available resources and work as efficiently as possible on their client’s behalf. SeeSaw’s Life Pattern Marketing methodology combined with the precision marketing capabilities of SeeSawAds.com enables advertisers to reach audiences far more effectively and streamlines the process for agencies to build truly national place-based digital advertising campaigns.

What’s exciting about the combination of a large-scale national platform and precision targeting is the way it enables brands to think strategically about their national campaigns while delivering a far more relevant message to individual consumers. For advertisers, it’s the ability to think nationally and locally at the same time, eliminating the inefficiencies and waste of ‘shotgun style’ national advertising campaigns.

For consumers it’s about personal relevance. A typical knock on advertising is that too much of it is disruptive. But it’s only disruptive when it isn’t relevant to the target audience. Consumers actually like to learn about the products and services that can improve the quality of their lives, especially if they encounter ads at the right time and place. With precisely targeted place-based digital advertising campaigns, advertisers can reach more of their target audience in contextually relevant settings, so the audience is more likely to be aware of and be receptive to the messages. Consider an agency developing a campaign to promote a manufacturer’s protein bar. After developing the core messaging and creative concept, the team is able to use copy splitting to refine the message for the different types of venues: “Stay Energized!” in health clubs, “Fuel Up!” in gas stations or “Energy On the Go!” for convenience stores, for example.

A plan for success

Another important step in the evolution of the place-based digital video advertising platform is the development of new SeeSaw planning and execution services, that provides one plan, one proof-of-delivery, and one invoice that until now would have required consolidating information from potentially over 30 different networks. The SeeSaw campaign process helps agencies easily and quickly work through the following steps:

Ideation – Because place-based digital video advertising helps advertisers reach a specific audience segment in many types of places, it is critical for media planners to have the greatest flexibility in how they solve their clients’ communication challenges. SeeSaw’s Life Pattern Marketing methodology reveals where target consumers go and what they do throughout their busy week, allowing media planners to target only the most appropriate networks and venues. SeeSaw’s technology then lets media planners easily review detailed information on every affiliate network and create different scenarios for achieving their objectives. Based on this knowledge, companies can be very precise in setting priorities and establishing budgets based on geographic area, demographic profile and venue targets. This level of detailed planning has never before been possible with place-based digital media on a national scale.

Optimization – Each plan on SeeSawAds.com is optimized to meet the specific media objective for a particular campaign. Once an initial campaign plan is complete, SeeSaw’s technology also lets planners optimize it by creating “what-if” scenarios that show the impact various changes (in venues, campaign length, creative specs, frequency, etc.) will have on the cost, number of impressions, and reach. Planning can also include developing a campaign flighting schedule based on individual life patterns and an effective frequency for optimal message impact.

Buy – Once the optimal media plan is finalized, it can be purchased with a single insertion order across multiple networks. This single order can eliminate days or even weeks of calling each network and issuing separate insertion orders. It is also possible to set up schedule reminders and notifications for delivery of creative, creative quality management, format conversions, final content delivery, campaign launch and campaign end.

Go Live – Over the course of the campaign, the SeeSaw operations team works with the our affiliate networks to assure the campaign is executing to spec. Agencies can relax knowing everything from creative format conversions for the different networks, to pre-campaign checks, to ownership of ad-flighting and rotation is being managed on a day to day basis to assure a quality customer experience.

Completion – SeeSaw delivers a single, comprehensive proof-of-performance report, eliminating the need for the agency to rationalize thousands of plays across thousands of venues over several weeks or months. Instead, SeeSaw lets agencies focus on analyzing campaign results and creating the next opportunity for their clients.

For national advertisers that have challenged their media planning teams with finding new ways to more effectively and efficiently reach their consumers, place-based digital video advertising offers an effective way to grab the attention of people where they work, play and socialize. By using SeeSaw’s national network, Life Pattern Marketing methodology and precision targeting capabilities to create cost effective digital video campaigns with national reach, agencies can deliver one of the most powerful ways to connect with people in today’s media landscape.

Consumers could be forgiven for thinking that the ATM is the most archaic and least-invested in banking channel, particularly as financial institutions worldwide increasingly appear to be focusing on more modern points of customer interaction, such as Internet and mobile banking.
 
However, those within the ATM industry are only too aware of the costly renewal that the ATM channel has undergone due to the migration to the Windows-based operating system. The forced migration from IBM's OS/2 has resulted in Windows becoming the global ATM operating system of choice, almost by default. When the Windows migration was first implemented, a raft of services were highly anticipated. But banks, for the most part, have chosen to focus on upgrading the operating system and communications infrastructure rather than the software driving the functionality at the ATM.
 
Far from the stagnant channel that customers perceive the ATM to be, banks' IT departments have been working overtime in recent years to bring significant changes to back-office technology. In many countries, the cessation of support of IBM's OS/2 platform for ATMs was just one catalyst for the required investment. The mandated introduction of EMV smart cards in many countries also has resulted in widespread systems updates and expenditure on new software and hardware capable of the necessary encryption processing.
 
While implementing these required updates, there has been an obvious business case for banks to review their strategies, and most institutions have made moves toward adopting a multivendor approach to their ATM networks. In this regard, the migration towards a modern, open standards-based infrastructure has given ATM deployers more control over their networks and provides a good canvas to rethink their software strategies to unlock the value from their recent infrastructure investment.
 
The popularity of accessing cash at the ATM seems to have only increased due to the current economic climate. With consumers tightening their purse strings and the increased focus on budgeting, a U.K. survey conducted by Level Four in December 2008 found that the majority of consumers feel most in control of their budgets when relying on cash from ATMs.
 
With the popularity of the ATM showing few signs of waning and the investment to update legacy systems and modernize the ATM operating system in place, the question remains, isn't it time for banks to consider the benefits of new software architectures to reduce the functionality gap at the ATM?
 
The business case
 
In the current economic environment and with consumer confidence in the banking sector still shaky, banks are looking to increase customer service, ensure customer retention and maximize ROI. The ATM is a key platform through which banks can support these objectives.
 
Research suggests that by 2008, more than 60 percent of banks in the United States and Western Europe had migrated to the Windows operating system and this number is steadily increasing. Through the move to Windows and open standards, ATM deployers have already made the foundation investment required to support advanced ATM functionality. While technology investment is being reviewed across the financial sector, banks should capitalize on the previous investment in ATM infrastructures to bring the benefits of sophisticated high-bandwidth networks and high-specification hardware and software to the end-user through more advanced functionality.
 
Coupled with the technology drivers supporting the development of more advanced ATM services, banks across the world are currently facing a growing pressure to deliver faster, cheaper and more secure banking channels to their ever-demanding customers. Facing procurement pressure to adopt an open standards-based Windows operating system to reduce costs and increase vendor choice, as well as customer pressure to improve services, banks are rightly beginning to view software as the key differentiator in an increasingly competitive marketplace. With the challenge of customer retention a big focus for 2009 and beyond, ATM deployers are now considering the customer services benefits that a modern ATM network can bring — effectively a retrospective business case for the "forced" investment in hardware and communications infrastructure.
 
What are banks already developing?
 
As the number of channels a bank offers its customers continues to increase and diversify, ATM deployers are seeking ways to ensure the ATM doesn't lose its foothold in the market. One key way to do this is by supplementing the vital cash dispensing capabilities with additional value-added services. In order to recoup their recent investment in hardware and infrastructure, ATM deployers must harness the revenue potential of their upgraded ATM networks as an important route towards a multichannel banking strategy, fulfilling present and future consumer requirements.
 
A new technology that is being integrated into the functionality of the ATM in some countries is contactless payment top-up. As contactless technology gathers momentum, particularly in the transportation sector, there is an opportunity for ATM deployers to enhance the ATM to support this new functionality.
 
Cash machines are a natural choice for contactless card top-up and balance services, particularly in the countries where contactless adoption is becoming more widespread. Mass transit top-up functionality at the ATM is live in France and Spain, for example, and provides a revenue generating opportunity for the banks, as well as increased customer convenience through a wider range of terminals to top-up the cards. The ATM is an obvious channel to exploit owing to the established network of terminals already in place, which offer customers convenient, familiar and secure transactions.
 
ATM deployers worldwide that take advantage of contactless functionality will benefit by driving increased traffic to those cash machines that are fitted with contactless readers, making this a potential competitive differentiator for banks who wish to increase interchange revenues.
 
Cell phone top-up in the U.K. is another example of advanced ATM functionality already in practice that illustrates the value of improving ATM services to banks and customers. Making use of the national VocaLink network, a great majority of U.K. ATMs provide the facility to top-up cell phones that are on a pay-as-you-go model, directly debiting customers' accounts as they pay at the ATM terminal.
 
These examples reveal the potential of the ATM to become an enhanced self-service device, supporting the wider lifestyle needs of customers such as travel payment and cell phone billing.
 
Using the ATM beyond its central role as a cash machine leverages much of the core functionality already built in to the terminal. Indeed, the growing sophistication of deposit automation technology is close to making the "bank branch in a box" a reality. Enabling the movement of money between accounts, bill payments and person-to-person money transfers are all future opportunities for the ATM to better support the wider bank branch activities. Providing such services at the ATM would not only be cost effective to the bank, by reducing customer reliance on the branch, but also be beneficial to customers, enabling them to access services from multiple locations on a 24/7 basis.
 
The benefits that can be achieved through maximizing the increasingly sophisticated software platforms on the ATM are regionally diverse. While there are many examples of innovation at the ATM in North America and Western Europe, there is also a strong incentive for countries with less advanced economic infrastructures to utilize the ATM as an opportunity to better serve unbanked populations or enable international money transfers for migrant workers. In remote regions where access to branch banking is limited, the ATM becomes an even more powerful tool through which financial services can be delivered. Beyond the convenience and customer retention advantages sought by economically developed markets, in less advanced regions the ATM can be a financial lifeline.
 
Crystal ball gazing
 
Banks are currently deploying some of the aforementioned innovations in different locations around the world, made possible by the upgrades to ATM infrastructures that have already taken place largely due to the Windows migration and subsequent back-office renovations. As ATM software technology continues to develop and hardware manufacturers continue to innovate in deposit automation and contactless functionality, there is potential to integrate even more sophisticated additional services into the ATM.
 
The ATM of the future will focus on personalization. Using a modern software platform, banks will be able to offer a dynamic experience to cardholders based on who they are as individuals — for example, targeting promotional material at specific age ranges or offering loan agreements based on personal credit ratings. ATM deployers will benefit from the ability to exercise greater control over the services that are available to customers. For example, services will be tailored to customers depending on their location, the time of day that they are visiting the ATM and even their past ATM habits such as a certain cash withdrawal amount.
 
Banks will inevitably start to consider the ATM as a vital delivery channel to allow cardholders to download additional applications on their smart cards.  Banks' ATM networks provide a trusted and secure point of customer interaction through which multiple payment types, identity and loyalty applications can be downloaded onto smart cards as more banks roll out multi-application cards.  Banks have been trying for several years, through the introduction of such services as mobile phone top-up, to showcase the ATM as more than a simple "cash and dash" machine.  Providing a platform on which new applications can be quickly and conveniently added to existing smart cards will reinforce this message and help position the ATM as the cornerstone of a multi-channel banking strategy.
 
Cash is (still) king
 
Now that much infrastructure investment has been made in the ATM channel, banks need to consider how they can maximize ROI by implementing new and innovative services in order to bring revenue and customer benefits. Moving away from the legacy software applications in favor of software based on modern architectures and open standards provides banks with significant cost advantages and ATM deployers with a path to recoup the investment in infrastructure made over the last few years.
 
Despite the obvious benefits that modern ATM architecture brings to functionality, it is vital that banks do not neglect the main focus of the channel — dispensing cash. Banks must ensure that any additional services provided at the ATM are not rolled out to the detriment of efficient and reliable cash delivery. ATM deployers must consider the strategic placement of additional ATM services, for example, avoiding peak periods in busy trains stations, or particularly well-visited terminals. Consumers also should expect to see more kiosk-type devices, which offer a wide range of banking services, but potentially without the ability to dispense cash.
 
However, while the need to maintain the core cash capabilities of the ATM is clear, deployers must focus on exploiting existing investment in this channel. Few banks are currently taking advantage of the increasingly sophisticated infrastructure behind the ATM. With an increased need to provide exceptional customer service while maximizing ROI, banks should look to advanced ATM functionality as a key differentiator. Advanced ATM software can help unlock the value and potential of the network and provide an additional revenue stream through the banks most frequent customer touchpoint.
 
Martin Macmillan is the business development director of Level Four Software in the United Kingdom.