While it's been about a 19 months since we started building the site here at digitalsignage.com, we finally are celebrating our first birthday. The last year has been an interesting one. While the first several months or so saw me playing a very passive role as a closet blogger at Helius digital signage, the last several weeks have plopped me right in the driver's seat of this website--along with its ups and downs.
As times change, so will our site--just as it has in the past. While our initial intention was to create an unbiased news source for the industry, plans changed as unfulfilled leads for digital signage software and hardware products kept pouring in on a daily basis. We found, of necessity, the need to change our business model from advertiser to provider--partly because bridges had been already burnt and companies had a lack of trust for yet another "industry news source selling off industry leads."
As a consequence, and as part of our adaptation, you will continue to see new pages and new features added to the website regularly. I will certainly not stop blogging anytime soon. Blogging is a chore, but luckily I enjoy writing and find a good release in putting down thoughts I have as I speak with vendors and customers worldwide.
Going Forward
As we move on ideas, partnerships, and development, you will see some fun and interesting changes as 2010 moves us along. If you have questions, want to shoot the breeze, or have ideas as to how we can improve the user experience, please let me know by contacting us. 2010 is going to be a great year.
Here we go, tooting our own horns again--which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is the second time we have seen a published insert placed in USA Today. The second insert went out today. It has some great content which generally an attempt to push industry-awareness to a broader audience. I could quote industry veterans, but I'll let you simply read it for yourself.
Some of the advertising in the insert were similar to the last version. Personally, this version seemed more industry-focused than the last. The VUKUNET advertisements are huge. NEC is certainly making a push there. And, rightfully so, VUKUNET could stand as a very real player in connected advertising with industry networks.
I originally picked this stuff up on the BOALT Blog. Whether you are a real "gear head" or a wannabe "gear head" like myself, gestural technologies are expanding and need to be understood in context of digital signage, especially as this industry continues to gain traction. Before I talk about it, you need to watch the video.
The organizations website gives a bit more detail:
The SixthSense prototype is comprised of a pocket projector, a mirror and a camera. The hardware components are coupled in a pendant like mobile wearable device. Both the projector and the camera are connected to the mobile computing device in the user’s pocket. The projector projects visual information enabling surfaces, walls and physical objects around us to be used as interfaces; while the camera recognizes and tracks user's hand gestures and physical objects using computer-vision based techniques. The software program processes the video stream data captured by the camera and tracks the locations of the colored markers (visual tracking fiducials) at the tip of the user’s fingers using simple computer-vision techniques. The movements and arrangements of these fiducials are interpreted into gestures that act as interaction instructions for the projected application interfaces. The maximum number of tracked fingers is only constrained by the number of unique fiducials, thus SixthSense also supports multi-touch and multi-user interaction.
Hand gestures allow you to control digital information on nearly any surface you can imagine. The SixthSense device will allow you to interact in the physical universe with a virtual camera and simple hand gestures. The hand gestures control what the camera is able to do. You can take a picture, scan a product code, do a web search, and even make a phone call without ever taking anything out of your pocket. The device has a projector that can even allow for simple photograph editing by projecting the image onto any surface.
Do you want to watch a movie or play a video game? The device mimics, in may respects smartphones like the iPhone and the Droid with multi-touch and gestural combined into one. The software is being released as open source and the hardware will cost about $300. They want to be able to take this technology to the masses of humanity around the globe. Eventually individuals will be able to determine and create their own digital out-of-home experience and not have to rely on signage networks to do it for them.
I have made connections to digital signage and other industries in the past with posts on home automation and search engine optimization. This post will be similar in that it will go into how digital signage is a bit like investing in real estate--only in our case, the estate is digital. I have come up with six ways in which digital signage is similar to investing in hard land and rental asset properties.
Real Estate is a Limited Resource
Just as the Earth which we occupy is limited, so are the retail, hospitality, government, and manufacturing facilities which digital signs can be installed. The digital "land grab"--as it has been so poignently referred to--is an accurate description of our industry. Many of us have been seen firsthand the networks that have either folded completely or have been sold for a "song." While this ordeal is a very natural occurrence for a market in distress, it goes to show that the haves can have more if they simply wait for those who have not used their "limited resource" wisely.
Ad nets and private nets alike will eventually become dependent on the digital signage that will infiltrate nearly everything we do. And, while space is limited, the market is still in a state of pirated disarray. It's like the story of the Oklahoma Sooners: get it before someone else does, shoot or be shot. Sad really, but in the words of Walter Cronkite, "and that's the way it is."
Upfront Capital Investment is Necessary
I always find it interesting when people want something for nothing. They want to get someone else to give them everything below cost, or worse, for free. This does not play out well in the real world. While the adage, "it takes money to make money" may not be true for every scenario, it certainly applies if you want value. This applies in estates both digital and real. I remember a case study I performed several years back on Second Life, the virtual Internet world. The study opened my eyes to how many people spend their time. It was also interesting to see how companies like Dell and Apple were setting up virtual stores in the game and how because the Second Life world's land was limited--people were snatching it up as well. But that's a bit off topic.
To make it short and sweet. Capital is needed for investing in a digital signage network. Plain and simple. Step one, get a plan. Step two, present that plan to investors and banks. Step three (assuming steps one and two go to plan), work the plan. Plan the work, work the plan. Real estate is no different. Weighing the numbers of whether a rental property will have a sustained ROI is all investors want--really. The same goes for pitching your digital media business.
Recurring Revenue Stream Possible
Much like a rental property can bring in a recurring revenue stream, so can digital signs. There are many levels in which this is possible: ad revenue, sales lift, content creation, hardware sales and even SaaS fees. Simply put, digital media hosting and ad-on products and services can be a source of revenue for business veterans and those entering the realms of the industry for the very first time.
Speculation is Present
Speculators will always be present when potential and foreseen opportunities abound. I know we have seen them. I wish I could tell you about all the advertising networks who want to start up, or about all the requests to be added to our directory. With speculation comes all the ugliness of "claim jumping" and "turf wars." Encroaching on someone's territory is the best way to set yourself up for something similar.
And, digital signage--despite its recent growth curve--has been the recipient of the trends of the general market as well: tightened lending and decreased advertising expenditures. While some companies have the desire to operate a digital sign business, they may not have been able to muscle it out with the recent credit crunch. I was a eyewitness to similar circumstances that gripped the housing markets in late 2007 and into 2008 while living in Las Vegas. A fellow employee daily worried about her adjustable rate mortgage as she saw it steadily climb.
One this is for certain: nothing is for certain. But for those who are smart to weather the storm, the speculation can be worth the risk, especially if you are able to get and hold your real estate through the crisis. In that case, pulling out in the long run means a stronger and sustained future.
Asset Depreciation
Like any asset, there is depreciation. Purchasing signage hardware and software means that it will soon be outdated. Computer hardware is especially bad. I could probably do an entire post on how computer hardware is like a new Corvette: once you drive it off the lot, it depreciates up to 20%. Does that mean you don't go for the Cadillac of hardware and software? Not necessarily, but regardless of what model you do decide upon, keep in mind it will lose value the moment it arrives and even more after you've installed it and it's been running a few months.
While homes depreciate, land rarely does not increase in value. As the market for digital media becomes more and more flooded, the value of digital real-estate will continue to climb--even if the "asset" housed on that estate is worth scraps.
We've been awfully busy lately, as witnessed by the amount that I've been blogging, but we've also been working with our linguist, Luke to get our site translated into several languages. The first language we have chosen to target is the Spanish language speakers.
Señalización Digital will be the search term of choice that we will use, but whatever the digital signage market will bear, we will probably target other keywords as well for digital signage in multiple languages. We have worked very hard on doing the following for the site:
Digital Signage Directory in Spanish
This includes directory listings for the United States, Canada, and of course, the International Market. We have done our best to translate each piece of the directory, allowing those who speak Spanish as their native tongue. Please visit Directorio de Señalización Digital.
We hope this will also help in opening up more dialogue for those wishing to expand the digital sign market. And, because over 22 Million persons in the United States speak Spanish as their primary tongue, the opportunities within our own country are vast. While we have not had our linguist, who speaks four languages fluently, proofread the site to ensure accuracy and grammar, we certainly will. We're excited to get started on the market in Español. Que Bueno!
We get some interesting requests at times, which often force us to reach out to partners and resellers for help. An interesting request that came in recently had to do with the restaurant industry--more specifically digital menus. The gentleman was looking to do 50 digital menus for each of 150 restaurants he helped to manage. It was confusing at first. Who would need 50 digital menus per restaurant? It seemed silly to me, unless you wanted a Buffalo Wild Wings experience where you had an inundation of digital content. What he was asking for was a simple hand-held digital menu.
Generally, when you walk into a restaurant you are handed a laminated menu--a piece of paper card stock or a small booklet that has all the menu items with the specific pricing of the entrees. But, what if the owner wanted something more dynamic for his patrons? This is what the request was all about. Let me describe what he was asking in further detail. He wanted a device as simple as an Amazon Kindle that would allow him to place digital content on a tablet-like PC where the restaurant goer could simply scroll forward and back. Additionally, they wanted to intersperse the content with dynamic advertisements for all the restaurant had to offer as well as possibly showcase other local events and businesses that were nearby and/or partnered with their restaurant.
Another couple of requirements for the project were also of interest to me. The first had to do with the customer's ability to order and pay for their food directly from the menu. For instance, if the interface were created on a tablet type device with a limited access to only what the restaurant owner wanted seen, then a billing solution could be implemented into each digital menu. The ordering could be taken care of as well. Customer feedback, and tipping could be taken care of through the device as well. However, using Microsoft Surface for such a need would be much more efficient because the device would not be taken away before the meal began.
My question to our potential customer was, "where is your applicable return on investment?" If you are going to be dropping a significant amount of bread on a boat-load of handheld digital menus, you really should make sure they are going to have an ROI--that's my opinion. Unless of course they fulfill some superfluous return on objective--which is the all-too-often desire of many--it's not worth it. In this instance, we were looking at yet another case of the desire of advertising to support the technology.
When it comes to support via advertising, I am often more of a skeptical realist than a silver-lined optimist. Those wishing to work in the dimension of advertising need to know that supporting the hardware/software with ads requires an immense amount of effort and time. In my not-so-humble opinion, if you can justify the expense for "coolness" alone even if the advertising idea flops like a pancake, then your ROO can be met effectively without being troubled about whether or not you are making a return. An improvement in ambiance and experience often justifies such a purchase. In the case of the menus doing the ordering for the establishment, a company might well justify having less staff for fulfilling orders and have fewer individuals making sure the customer is happy once they receive their order. This could easily justify the move to digital. Another way to justify the move is through advances in technology, like the recent LG e-paper release could prove beneficial to this market potentiality.
In fact, it reminds me of CiCi's Pizza (or any number of company's who delved into the self-service kiosk arena). CiCi's eliminated an entire employee at each location by installing a $10,000 self-service kiosk. The return on that investment was justified because it could be met within 8 to 10 months. Handheld digital menus could have a similar effect. It really depends whether all the functionality I've been rambling about here would be legit.
As for this customer, we are now working with one of our partners who holds OEM relationships in China for manufacturing custom hardware for digital signage and other projects. This particular project, while it is quite unique, is among the many niche areas which in which digital sign technology can flourish. It's part of that long-tail that includes far more applications than a simple display screen.
I had a personal twitter account that I was running all of my digital signage tweets through. I changed it today to take out my name. Because our news feed is now managed by several people, I figured it only appropriate to change the Twitter account to reflect more of a generic term, rather than my personal name. I realize the followers that I had will continue to follow me, but I just thought everyone should be aware of the new status of the Twitter account.
While I find it unproductive to spend a gratuitous amount of time on Twitter, I do see it's importance in driving traffic and connecting with people who you otherwise could not have made connections with. Without Twitter's massive following, however, this would not be a reality. It reminds me a bit of the fax machine scenario. A fax machine is only worth anything when nearly everyone owns one. In our case, Twitter is really only worth anything when nearly everyone and their mother is using it. Lucky for me, my mom does not use it. Otherwise, I don't think she would be interested in reading all the tweets relating only to digital signage.
Prysm announced the release of the Laser Phosphor Display Technology this week. From the press release, Prysm speaks in simple terms how the technology operates: "LPD images are created by using a laser engine to excite a phosphor screen." Sounds simple enough, but what does that mean for digital signage networks? First, let's discuss the benefits of LPD technology over standard LCD or LED options.
1. In a world obsessed with "green," LPD is more ecofriendly.
That's right, laser phosphor displays are better for the environment. LP displays consume up to 75% less power than standard digital displays. Essentially this means two things: lower cost of management for the display and a smaller carbon footprint.
For network operators it could mean touting that you are even more Earth-conscious than the competition. It also means you will be saving on the cost of electricity. Eco-friendly can mean cost savings--if done correctly.
2. Laser phosphor displays come more custom than any other display.
Simply put, you can have the display in any shape and/or size your little heart desires. For out-of-home advertisers, this is a very, very big deal. Imagine creating a custom display with any form or form-factor you wish. It seems far out there, but for custom installs of any magnitude this is a big blessing. From Prysm:
The design of the Laser Engine has total flexibility without constraint in order to bring to market displays of any size, shape, curvature, brightness and resolution.
3. The quality is amazing.
Can you say zero motion blur? In addition, the displays provide high quality, high brightness, high resolution, high contrast and natural color screen content.
4. The product has the word "laser" in the title.
Does it not sound cool that the display has "laser" as part of the title? That has a much greater coolness factor than "liquid crystal."
With quality and efficiency, the only other factor in the mix is cost. I'm not quite sure what these babies are running yet, but I will know shortly. When companies are looking for a good display screen that will last a long time, be custom, and run on as little energy as possible (because they can sometimes be on 24x7), it is good to know there is something on the market that can answer with a resounding "yes" to all the aforementioned questions. Needless to say, I'm excited to see where this technology takes us in the future.
Google's recent rumors about patenting virtual billboards for Google Street View is another foot closer to Google's complete entrance into the world of digital out-of-home. The latest buzz about the eventual new advertising avenue for Google has many advertisers talking--including virtual ads in video games like those that could be used in consoles like Microsoft's XBOX and those placed in interactive widgets for IPTV applications. Google's patent application speaks of 3D mapping environments, allowing them to place ads in Steet View via a database of billboard style graphics and consumer bar codes.
The ability to use GPS to pinpoint your location prior to arriving and then seeing the locale in Google Street View while being fed specific out-of-home, billboard-style advertisements on a mobile device or desktop/laptop PC seems like a virtual outdoor digital signage application to me. Google's application will also allow participating advertisers to place signage within the "vitual" windows of their establishments with bar codes. These virtual ads could lead to additional information or special offers whose ROI can be measured immediately and tracked back to the Google ad without a hiccup. Their patent application says it all:
A user-selectable link is provided in relation to the region of interest. The link can be associated with a property owner, for example the property owner which owns the physical property portrayed. The link can alternatively be associated with an advertiser or a property owner which placed the highest bid on the image recognized within the region of interest (e.g., poster, billboard, banner, etc.). Any portion of the geographic display image in which the region of interest is located can be selectable (e.g., hot-linked). For example, the image of the coffee shop can be hot-linked to an advertisement for the coffee shop. In other examples, the coffee shop logo can be hot-linked to menu information, customer reviews, store hours, and/or other pertinent information. In some implementations, the property owner identifies a region of interest (e.g., the coffee shop sign and/or the coffee shop logo within the sign) for hot-linking ad information. In some implementations, user-selectable links are visually indicated. For example, a user-selectable region can be outlined, highlighted, or rendered in a brighter or shaded manner as compared to the remainder of the image. A user-selectable text link can be underlined, in bold, etc.
Google Street View ads can be a combination of local Internet search, digital signage, and mobile marketing. It's another one of Google's genius methods of giving away the 90% free and then feeding up advertisements as a way to ad to their billions in ad revenue. It's almost like Google is piloting digital signage virtually before they delve into the real possibility generally. Not a bad idea in my mind.
Chitter chatter, buzz, buzz, buzz. With their embedded small form factor PCs to be seen at every sign trade show, it was only a matter of time before their little logo would appear on some digital signage software package. Their latest press release spoke of NRF and the products to be showcased and/or released at the event. Among them were further software applications for digital signage. The press release stated the following:
Featuring dynamic and cost-efficient ways to enhance the shopping experience and improve the way retailers interact with customers in the store, demonstrations will highlight multi-touch self-service devices and the benefits of a flexible, secure and managed store systems platform. Microsoft Windows Embedded will also announce and showcase a validated digital signage platform for the retail and hospitality markets. The optimized platform equips original equipment manufacturers with Windows 7 tools and technologies to help them create the next generation of digital signage applications featuring rich, connected and immersive user experiences.
Seemingly the software giant has not--as yet--built a full-fledged platform, but I wouldn't put it past them. They've often been known to be a sneaky bunch of buggers. It looks as though they are giving existing software vendors more tools for creating more rich-user experiences using Windows 7 and other applications. Because the press released is geared toward Microsoft's involvement in the National Retail Federation show, it obviously reeks of utilizing their technologies for retail applications, which go beyond digital signage, but when it comes to even a little entrance, it may not be long before we see full-on entrance.
There is a endless stream of talk around content and content distribution. When it comes to digital signage content, we often forget the role of audio as a content tool in digital signage. Audio can often be an appropriate addition to a out-of-home display. However, if used incorrectly, audio can morph into a form of corporeal punishment for those within earshot of a digital display screen. If you do it correctly, sound can enhance the attention-grabbing ability of your display.
When Audio Adds to Ambiance
Muzak is one company that has done a great job over the years implementing sound into public spaces. Perhaps the key to Muzak's success has something to do with the subtlety of their infusing sound into public spaces. In Julian Treasure's sound blog, he writes:
While considering sound and time we may also reflect that the two are intrinsically linked in our hearing and our listening. Music, for example, has been called 'art in time'. Only in time can it exist. Hermann Hesse wrote: "Music is time made aesthetically perceptible." There is no auditory equivalent of a photograph; a sound in an instant is meaningless, so there's no way of compressing sound from four dimensions (three spatial plus one temporal) to two. Sound always requires time. This is true also of language, which further requires memory to have meaning. You understand my language by remembering what I just said and placing my words in that context. Vision, by comparison is inherently instant.
My favorite are the sounds in the retail isle or elevator car. Subtle sound is superb. In many cases, it greatly enhances what is displayed on a sign. And because sound is not as "inherently instant" as video, it often requires a more subtle approach--especially if your crowd is out-of-home.
When Audio Enigma Morphs to Audio Stigma
In quite a few cases, audio integration with digital signs is not Kosher. What is often referred to as "clerk burn" is further exacerbated by audio. Clerk burn is the annoyance and of employees by repeating digital display messages from a digital sign. This can happen very easily, especially in installations where the content loop is very short, targeting a moving audience. As an employee, if you had to hear the same thing repeated every five minutes for eight hours a day, you would want to destroy the display as well.
Another way in which audio can be a stigma for sign installations is when it is too loud. Finding the right volume for audio can be a struggle at times. Before I proceed, this reminds me of a very funny experience I had several weeks back. We had an inquiry come in for a couple screen deployment for a school for the blind. When I heard about it, I laughed out loud. Digital signage for the blind? Are you kidding me? Seems a bit ineffective as a wayfinding device. Of course, not all the visitors to this school were blind, hence the signage. Furthermore, the school intended on implementing specific audio messages into the signage for the students, hoping to use the signs as a means of directing the students where to go in emergencies. Hence, their audio needs for the installation of their signs were much more specific and necessary than a standard installation. It was, for most in the school, the only aspect of the message they would receive because they obviously could not rely on the visual aspects of the display. Of course, this is one anomaly that breaks away from 99.9% of the norm.
Back to the issue at hand. I see several issues with audio in an install:
When too loud, audio can detract from the message. It's similar to the principle of dressing nice at a tradeshow. You do not want the messenger to detract from the message. If not done correctly, audio can be a huge detractor. If the audio is not loud enough, its effect can also be greatly downgraded.
Audio itself can be obnoxious. In a nice quiet waiting room, sometimes viewers would rather read the magazines than listen to some sign spout off worthless information. This is dependent on the venue and the viewer. Of course, you'll never be able to please everyone, but audience consideration is important when choosing audio.
If the majority of the message is audio, you may have it wrong (unless of course your audience is blind). Because "signage" generally implies no sound at all, you may want to think about the medium. In most cases, your screens will be much more of a visual message than they will an auditory message.
Let the sign speak. When possible, let the sign do the talking. You can think of digital signage like a Fran Drescher: a pretty lady, but her voice can greatly detract (or attract depending on your preference) from her aura.
Much like Bluetooth applications, sound can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can add to the ambiance and spice of an install, while on the other it can be a major distraction from the message if done incorrectly. Some of the best audio implementations I have seen (or heard in this case) did not involve having audio that necessarily coincided with the video/graphics. The audio acts an enhancer, much like "elevator music." Perhaps the best key to use in determining whether audio works for your network is to ask yourself, "is this going to become a beast unto itself? Will it detract from my message?" If the answer to that question sounds good to you (pun intended), then you're well on your way to implementing sign audio as you ought.
