Digital signage

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Digital Signage in the Warner Village in Taipei

Digital signage is a form of out-of-home advertising in which content and messages displayed on an electronic screen, or digital sign, can be changed without modification to the physical sign, typically with the goal of delivering targeted messages to specific locations at specific times. Digital signage offers superior return on investment compared to traditional printed signs. Digital signs may be scrolling message boards, LCD or plasma display panels, electronic billboards, projection screens, or other emerging display types like Organic LED screens (OLEDs) that can be controlled electronically using a computer or other device, allowing individuals or groups to remotely change and control their content (usually via the Internet).

The content displayed on digital signage screens can range from simple text and still images to full-motion video, with or without audio. Some operators of digital signage networks, particularly in the retail industry, regard their networks as comparable to television channels, displaying entertaining and informational content interspersed with advertisements (see also Retail Media).

Digital signage is used for many different purposes:

1. Information – examples include flight information in airports and wait-times for the next train
2. Advertising Related to the Location to Uplift Sales – examples include in-store promotions in a retail establishment
3. Advertising by Third Parties – examples include restaurant-based digital signage networks that sell advertising to local merchants/service providers and national advertisers
4. Enhanced Customer Experience – examples include digital signage in restaurant waiting areas to reduce perceived wait-time and recipe demonstrations in food stores
5. Influencing Customer Behavior – examples include post office digital signage that directs patrons waiting in line to automated stamp machines and retail digital signage designed to direct customers to different areas of the store, increasing the time spent on the store premises (dwell time)
6. Brand Building – examples include Niketown stores where digital signage in video form is used as a part of the store décor to build a story around the brand

Content scheduling and playback can be controlled by a number of technologies ranging from simple, non-networked media players that can output basic loops of MPEG-2 video to complex, N-tier player networks that offer control over many displays in many venues from a single location. The former is ideal for small groups of displays that can be updated via sneaker net, while the latter allows Digital Signage Network Operators to either push content to many players at once or have each player pull content from a server as needed.

Rapidly-dropping prices for large plasma and LCD screens and wide availability of Internet connectivity have caused digital signage deployments to gain in popularity, and displays can now be found in such diverse locations as retail outlets, transit hubs (like airports or bus stations), doctor's offices, fast food restaurants and even gas stations.

While the term "digital signage" has taken hold throughout North America, in Europe the same technology is often referred to as Narrowcasting or Narrowcast networks, while some companies in the UK prefer ScreenMedia or "Digital Media Networks" or in some cases "Captive Audience Networks", or "CANs". The large number of terms that have emerged to describe the nascent industry led Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) to form a digital signage standards group in 2005. This group is currently tasked with assembling a list of standard terminology for describing digital signage technology and business models. It is expected to release a final list of its recommendations in 2006.

Issues

Digital signage in the broad sense has been in use for decades in the past in the form of LED ticker signs and LED video walls. However the industry has yet to become a major public media mainly due to the following factors:

1. Uncertain ROI – the cost of each digital sign can be high. For example the outdoor LED sign in front of the Las Vegas Wynn Resort costs $15 million. The cost of installing one screen per, say, McDonald's restaurant, can run in the millions of dollars. Any investment of this magnitude has to be justified by a clear ROI plan before receiving approval.
2. Unproven advertising effectiveness – similar to the Internet in the early 1990's, the digital signage media has yet been widely accepted as an effective advertising media over traditional means (TV, radio, Flyers, etc.)
3. Unstable and unproven software and hardware solutions that does not give 24/7 operation.

The issues are being addressed today in the following ways:

1. Positive ROI for fit applications – Some studies have shown digital signage to be effective in aiding customer recall and retention of displayed information large-scale merchandising applications (see the External links—Tools section of this article), especially taking into account the downward trend in LCD panel and playback device prices. Today a small-scale retail or restaurant digital signage installation can be implemented for just $4-6,000, whose ROI may be realized immediately.
2. Use of dedicated hardware solutions instead of home made solutions.
3. Outdoor advertising picking up momentum – advertising dollars have been consistently shifting from traditional media such as TV and radio into outdoor advertising, creating a double-digit-growth new advertising segment which includes digital signage. However ad agencies are still slow to explore the potential of out-of-home TV.

See also

• Advertising
• Out-of-home advertising

External links

Views and Opinions

• Artisan Live Digital Signage Simply Effective and home of the MAAP Program
• Smart Digital Signage Ideas - Blog about Digital Signage ROI, smart applications, and more.
• aka.tv - Independent news and analysis on the digital signage sector worldwide.
• The Digital Signage Forum - Public Digital Signage Community.
• Digital Signage Talk - Blog about Digital Signage content, hardware, software and trends.
• Digital signage research center at Self-Service World

Tools

• The Digital Signage ROI Calculator - Effective demonstration of how digital signage out-performs traditional signage.