The applications for Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are vast. While most of us recognize GPS as a part of a global navigation satellite system used to aid in worldwide navigation, we sometimes fail to recognize some of the other, more specific, applications for GPS--which include digital sign integration. Part of our failure to recognize some of the extended applications of GPS is the result of ignoring how digital out of home is currently used in the transportation industry. In addition, the mobile marketing sector can also benefit by integrating with digital signage and GPS. Digital signage displays are often referred to as "place-based" media. This post will discuss how "space-based" GPS, implemented into place-based digital media, can enhance and increase your network's return-on-investment.

Digital Out-of-Home, GPS, and Transportation

When we think about transportation digital signage and the display of arrivals and departures, the venue that comes most readily to mind is the airport. While airports are great examples of providing timely information on arrivals and departures for weary travelers, they are somewhat apart from what I will be discussing here.

GPS is quickly becoming industry-standard in nearly every vehicle--especially when it comes to rentals. Those who have a deviated internal guidance system, can use the crutch of GPS to find their way in just about any environment, worldwide. For those who do an extended amount of business traveling, you may have been the recipient of a nice dooh ad while riding a bus, taxi, plane, or boat. And, due to the increased prevalence of GPS tracking devices, these vehicles often have GPS.

The most prominent company I am aware of in this space is YaMogu of Brazil. One of their specialties is working with integration in digital signage on a number of levels, including global positioning systems. The technology for vehicle tracking and targeted advertisement display is already available, but in many instances it has been developed and utilized for different applications and industries. For instance, companies like Omnibus integrate content delivery with GPS solutions. They are a company specializing in delivering,

"comprehensive master control, automation, playout and media content management solutions to broadcast, cable, satellite and telecom operators across the globe. The company's transmission, newsroom, content management and workflow solutions address every area of television, mobile TV and IPTV related operations."

Think about the opportunities to utilize GPS and digital signage together for advanced emergency alert systems. Displays could act as wayfinding tools, directing individuals away from potential danger and hazard. Such an application for a GPS device is certainly not limited to the transportation industry alone.

Integrating IPTV-type solutions with GPS is not something that is necessarily new, but it will eventually become an industry niche that will get legs. The next question that should be on your mind is, "how would something like this benefit me as someone selling content assets on place-based media?" The FULL answer to this question will require some more detailed discussion with mobile phones and how they play a role in the madness.

Mobile Marketing and GPS

I don't own an iPhone. I do own a smartphone though. Eventually I think I'll go with Google's Android. But, all that is beside the point. Smartphones will become the norm. And with smartphones come all the applications. Want GPS? There's an app for that. With GPS integrated into mobile technology, there are a whole slew of additional options there. For instance, do you need milk? Search for the grocer nearest to you. Get directions and drive there using your smartphone as the compass. I can't even begin to talk about how honed the product promotion could be in a situation like that.

In such a situation, promotional coupons could be sent to the phone. If enough information was in the database, you could find where to get the least expensive version of the product you were seeking in the area. I can let my imagination run further, but then I may start giving away trade secrets...

Now--can you begin to see how digital signage can be integrated into the whole pie? There are a number of companies already running advertising inside of taxi-cabs where the content is controlled by a GPS device. The GPS simply tells the sign player what content to display based on which city block the car is traveling. This means that if you are a local restaurant owner trying to cater to a crowd of travelers, you can advertise to them at the precise moment they pass your establishment. Integrate that with a mobile device and you just ensured a trifecta of digital media impact. And, on a more practical level, mobile devices could be also act as a key component to emergency alerts we previously touched on. Getting yourself out of a possible sticky situation becomes much more easy when you have a guide to help.

Shipping/Packing/Manufacturing Facilities

Now, let's completely switch gears and move to something a bit less interesting. While the digital out-of-homers love to tout the power of digital signs as the ultimate in advertising tools, I like to think of the technology includes industries which are generally more stable and not rely on the advertising to feed the fam. One such industry is the shipping industry. FedEx, UPS, and DHL (or any shipping/packing facility for that matter) can find a great benefit to using digital signage with GPS. The "hands on deck" can check digital displays as products arrive and are sent, creating for a more efficient supply chain.

Additionally, manufacturers can increase the efficiency of their supply chains as well by implementing GPS tracking reports onto LCD screens. While these concepts are not necessarily new, digital signage software providers can at least liven up the content on such displays.

Closing Thoughts

When the first mobile handsets were integrated with cellular providers like Nextel, Sprint, and Verizon that was just the beginning. 2006 marked the opeing up of APIs to any developer. This means that as smartphones become more prevalent, so will GPS. WIth GPS will come a slew of apps that we cannot, as yet, fathom. We have not even begun to jump into all the possible uses for GPS as it relates to digital media. Further creative development in GPS technology is certainly needed. As mobile phones begin to have GPS integrated en masse, we will certainly see a broad range of additional services for general and product information dissemination. Instead of thinking of these various forms of digital as competitors, it is best to look at them at close allies, ready to work for the welfare of one another. This symbiotic relationship between the retail space and outer space will be something to behold.

I've been hearing rave reviews about AVATAR over the past several weeks. Some friends and family have been raving about it over the holidays. So, naturally I had to go and see the crazy film. I have to admit, I was impressed. It certainly was the highest quality in 3D I have ever seen, including the old Michael Jackson 3D movie I saw. I believe it was Captain EO. Certainly the world of 3D is and will explode in, first in digital signage and finally in the consumer segment as well. But is all this expansion healthy?

After the movie I was speaking to a friend who referred me to the following sites. The first site is an introduction into what is called "Post-Avatar Depression." The video, put together by CNN, has some interesting thoughts from those who were so engrossed by the film, they could not stay in reality:

"When I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed ... gray. It was like my whole life, everything I've done and worked for, lost its meaning...It just seems so ... meaningless. I still don't really see any reason to keep ... doing things at all. I live in a dying world."

Similarly, Second Skin, a movie which delves into those caught in the "gamer" world, speaks of similar problems of people who cannot live a real life because they are so caught in a virtual "skin" while they play their games for hours on end.

While the digital signage blog regularly speaks of getting into more interactivity and technology in the realm of "cool," I do believe that in some respects we  may be getting a bit extreme in our expectations. While all this stuff is incredibly "cool" it certainly is not reality. We--myself included--need to be sure we're grasping reality and not seeking after some false world. In short, let's be happy in the skin we're in, take some time away from the computer and get out and see the world. That said, I'm going to stop blogging right now.

Have you ever been shopping at Amazon.com and had the friendly little widget tell you, "those who bought that also purchased these..." and then there is a list of additional items to choose from? While this type of technology is not new, its application is being expanded by a company called Cognitive Match. Recently the company obtained more than $2.5 million for real-time content matching. While this technology is somewhat specific to online shopping carts, it could certainly work for more interactive displays as digital signage makes more headway toward interactivity.

Cognitive Match combines commerce match, content match, and advertiser match for e-commerce websites. The company boasts of the ability to match specific people and demographics with specific content to increase sales and drive revenue upward. Here is a little ditty from the company website explaining how the technology works:

1. A visitor arrives at your site or page

2. A message is sent to our server.  We retrieve any existing details from an anonymous cookie ID.  We look at all the variables and data available, and use that data decide which content option to display

3. That decision is sent back to the page, the content is retrieved from your existing servers or infrastructure.  And the visitor sees the option we selected.

Our software has been built as a SaaS (Software as a Service) solution, meaning that we host the backend processing and data we need to make decisions.

In the location where we manage content, we place a JavaScript tag.  Our tags operate either just like your existing analytics tags (so our solution can pick up visitor trends), but where we manage content that tag becomes a two-way communication - allowing us to pass back a content decision.  The content is then picked up from your servers, meaning we do not manage or host any of your content.

These decisions happen while the page is loading - so that the visitor is not exposed to any delay.  In the case of delay or failover, we have a set of scaled responses so that at no time is the visitor left with a "hole" in the page.

While the applications are currently focused toward online retail, I can see a mushroom into other industries as well--especially as out-of-home advertising becomes more interactive and integrated with RFID technology. Think for a moment about a digital sign installation in a retail location. When someone picks up a particular product, the database could query and give suggestions based on previous purchases as to what other individuals had preference for. While the technology is not new it is certainly something to look for as an eventual application in the digital signage world.