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Jun 1, 2005
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Digital signage gets your message to your audience
by Mark J. Pescatore
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What makes digital signage different than your average billboard is that it’s dynamic. No boring, static message here — you can create changing messages with full-motion video, graphics, even live information sources.
“The power of digital signage is to educate, influence, inform, and entertain,” said Brad Gleeson, president of ActiveLight. “And in government applications, education and information are really critical.”
But what qualifies as “digital signage?” Neal Weinstock from market research firm Weinstock Media Analysis doesn’t particularly like the term because it tends to imply advertising-supported systems. Plus, there are still analog systems out there, such as in-house information channels, that provide the same type of service.
Bil Trainor, president of Capital Networks, thinks a particularly good synonym for digital signage is “niche-casting,” because it provides the “perfect message to a pure audience at the right time.” And there are plenty of other terms out there, too — narrowcasting, digital media networks, electronic billboards, public information displays, video information systems, and more — that add even more confusion to the mix.
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| In Minneapolis, digital signage is part of a public art project on the light-rail system. |
Let’s try to keep it simple. In the context of government applications, digital signage systems include any centrally controlled, electronic, graphics-based messaging system using video displays to specifically target foot or vehicular traffic. And while they’re not technically digital signage applications, because their target audiences are sitting on the couch at home, cable TV community calendars are a close cousin and use some of the same content creation technologies.
Solving Problems
Whatever you call it, the digital signage market is hot, as manufacturers are providing improved video messaging systems and more reasonably priced displays and integration. According to Dick Trask, marketing director for Scala, “The interest in this technology is really starting to move,” he said.
An effective digital signage system allows you to create, schedule, distribute, and verify content as it goes out over a network. But according to Trask, the true power of digital signage is the ease of changing the message. “With digital signage you can literally change that message in seconds,” he said. Scala’s latest solution is InfoChannel 3, a suite of software tools that provide a production and playback system.
Determining the government’s ROI for a digital signage installation isn’t always about dollars. Gleeson said that the benefits come from a one-time investment that can do the same job over and over — and is flexible enough to be adjusted when necessary. “Digital signage is best at solving problems, not necessarily at boosting sales,” he added.
For government, digital signage comes down defining a communication need and seeing how technology can help the effectiveness and efficiency of that communication. The ROI comes from the consistency of a message that provides information to the general public or government personnel.
A good example of an effective government digital signage solution can be found at the security screening stations at airports. The TSA is using digital signage to communicate important messages to travelers regarding carry-on items. Gleeson said it’s a perfect application, because the monitors provide a consistent message for the public — and they eliminate the need for a TSA employee to spend the entire day yelling instructions at the front of the line.
Industry Snapshot
While Scala has identified a number of vertical markets — among them government, retail, transportation, and hospitality/entertainment — digital signage is a good fit generally in places where people gather for more than a minute or two.
Weinstock Media Analysis predicts 20 percent growth in the digital signage market every year for the next five years — and those numbers only apply to systems that include “server-based advertising over networked video displays,” not government in-house applications that don’t generate ad revenue. “I’m just amazed at how digital signage keeps growing,” said Weinstock.
Stacey Force, director of marketing for Philips Business Display Solutions, reported that the entire signage market in 2004 (including everything from printed billboards to digital signage) was just over $20 billion. Digital signage represented only about 5.5 percent of the market, but she sees tremendous opportunities for growth, especially beyond retail markets.
Why the growing interest in digital signage? Force said there’s increased fragmentation in traditional advertising outlets, as brands are “looking for new ways to reach customers.” Narrowcasting, or the idea of targeting specific customers with advertising messages, is “an idea that’s really come into its own.” Philips offers AdtraXion, a turnkey digital signage solution that includes displays and a suite of hardware and software tools for content management.
Government agencies are also beginning to see the ROI of digital signage, because it can represent long-term cost savings for people generating messages. After all, you only have to install a digital signage system once — then you can focus on the message, not tearing down the old signs and replacing them with new ones. Couple this with the falling prices of displays and you have a digital signage market that’s ready for exponential growth, Force said.
Making The Message
Digital signage involves more than visual messaging systems and displays — the market blends together a number of different areas, according to Neal Caminsky, senior marketing representative for Matrox. Some companies focus on providing live content, others offer graphics software, and still others provide the actual display technology, from the screens themselves to the hardware and networks that run them.
Matrox is now focused on the hardware. (In February, Its InfonetTV graphics card and software bundle was rebranded Audience.tv and is now distributed by Capital Networks.) QID, for example, the company’s signature digital signage graphics card, can drive up to four screens from a single card. Plus, up to four QID cards can be installed in a single computer, so up to 16 screens can be controlled by a single PC. This is a big cost savings over earlier digital signage solutions that required dedicated cards (and often dedicated PCs) for each display.
Caminsky said Matrox is targeting transportation as a key market. Subway stations, as well as the subways cars themselves, are ideal applications. Not only can the displays offer news and relevant transportation information for commuters, but advertising revenue can be generated as well.
Of course, digital signage doesn't have to just spread information. In Minneapolis, for example, commuters on the Hiawatha Line of a new light-rail system can access kiosks as part of a public art display that focuses on two Minnesota cliches: weather and courtesy. The project is called “Small Kindnesses, Weather Permitting” and features audio and video content from more than 100 Minnesotans.
Trask added that the college campus environment is an excellent market for digital signage. Displays across campus can disseminate information to students, faculty, and staff. Plus, interactive kiosks can be a valuable resource to new students and visitors. Other potential government markets include video voting booths, where voters can have one screen with pictures of the candidates and another screen for the actual voting.
While the digital signage market has matured, so have the visual messaging systems that help users create better on-screen messages. Today’s digital signage content creation solutions can help make your in-house information channel look as professional as CNN Headline News.
Inscriber, for example, offers InfoCaster, a multi-zone digital signage solution that allows you to display a number of different areas of information simultaneously. The system can link to external data sources, so your channel can provide live news or weather, plus it can control hundreds of players from a single location. Originally designed for community calendar applications, the system was quickly upgraded to address other areas of the digital signage marketplace.
“Shortly after the release of Inscriber InfoCaster in 2002, it became apparent that digital signage and narrowcasting were huge potential markets for this type of application,” said Douglas Grant from Inscriber, which is owned by Leitch Technology. “To follow the market demand, Inscriber promptly released a network manager and a player license model to offer a networked solution.”
The new Audience version 3.3 from Capital Networks was released at NAB2005 last month and features improved scheduling, screen changes, and zone refresh, among other enhancements. While the bells and whistles of today’s powerful software options are tempting, Trainor warned content creators to resist crowded screens and information overload.
“Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you always should. Put yourself in the position of the viewer,” he said. “You don’t need all your information displayed all the time. Make sure you’re communicating effectively.”
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