It’s all going digital. Here’s my prediction: over the next 5 years, any static sign, billboard, menu or other piece of plastic with something to say will be on its way out. More and more LCD, plasma and LED screens will crop up as the digital signage trend grows. I’m not just writing this because I work in the industry. The increasing prevalence of digital displays around my neighborhood is surprising even to me: on an average day, everywhere I go there is some sort of digital signage.
Our local supermarket has it in every checkout lane. The gas station, the bank, and the coffee shops I frequent have screens pushing advertisements. Last night, Irene and I had dinner at a place down the street called Donohue’s, which has more than a dozen displays showing TV and Keno plus two separate digital signage networks on four dedicated screens. Their establishment consists of only two moderately-sized rooms. We were literally surrounded by broadcasts.
I don’t think it’s overkill (yet), but pretty soon it won’t be enough to slap a flat-screen TV on the wall to get people’s attention. Public spaces and businesses will need interesting content and applications to compete for patronage, so I suspect we’ll see some pretty cool out-of-home media broadcasts and new applications over the next few years.
Hopefully, the ratio of quality-over-quantity will stay high enough that we won’t feel too saturated with this technology. Advertisers have to remember that even though digital signage is novel, if you don’t pay attention to the quality of what’s on the screen, your audience won’t either.
{ 1 } Comments
I could not agree with you more. As someone who is also active within the digital signage industry, I am biased as to the power and benefits of the medium. It’s crucial for people deploying networks to understand the importance of the right content: Content that engages consumers and creates conversations.
The flexibility and targeting power of digital signage needs to be leveraged beyond people just putting up screens to garner eye balls. Digital signage offers so much more than that.
Through mobile phone, touch, and gesture interactivity, we can open up dialogues with people while they are outside of their homes. We can use insights into consumer behavior to provide people with messages that they want, and choose, to hear. A wll-thought content strategy that seeks to engage, entertain, and inform is necessary for a successful digital signage network.
Post a Comment