Why are digital signage networks popping up on campuses across North America? Because they are one of the few media still being heeded by people 18 to 24 years of age.

While digital signage networks are novel enough to generate “oohs” and “aahs” among audiences of all ages, it is the university and college-aged crowd that is the most responsive. Conversant with technology from a very young age, they are highly receptive to messaging delivered via digital signs. And with the potential for interactivity, digital signage networks of the future hold even more promise as the ideal medium to engage students.

Why Digital Signs Have Such Strong Appeal

Retailers have discovered the value of digital signage networks for directing very specific advertising to a narrowly defined target audience. Hence the term “narrowcasting” which refers to messaging that reaches a particular audience in a particular place, as opposed to broadcasting which reaches a broad, widely-dispersed audience through traditional media like radio and TV.

Other sectors have begun using digital signage for more than advertising. Airports use it to provide information to passengers, banks use it to occupy waiting customers and hotels and conference centers use it to help visitors find their way.

All of these uses have met with positive response from their audiences. But the response at campuses has been even greater. As a recent guide from Digital Signage Today points out, digital signage networks are the “perfect marriage of ideal audience and ideal technology”. Today’s students welcome new technology and are keen to be the first adapters of new gadgets and gizmos. Knowing this, many university administrators have turned to digital signage networks to communicate with this iPod-wearing, Facebook-using, cellphone-and-Blackberry-addicted generation.

On-Campus Uses of Digital Signage Networks

How are digital signs being used in colleges and universities (and even some high schools)? Administrators use the signs to post important announcements and emergency information. Various departments use digital signs in their buildings to communicate messaging relevant to their students. Student councils, sports teams and clubs post information about upcoming events.

Digital signs have become virtual bulletin boards, placed at strategic locations -like libraries, student centers, bookstores and cafeterias - where they can reach the most students. Using RSS feeds, schools can provide up-to-the-minute, current and relevant information to their students much more quickly and efficiently than they could with the corkboards and paper messages of old.

Some universities sell advertising space on their digital signs to generate revenue. Knowing their media-savvy audience, most incorporate marketing and promotional material in small doses and are sure to display it alongside informational messaging so students do not come to view the signs as just another advertising platform.

The Future

What’s next for on-campus digital signage networks? Interactivity using wireless technologies like Bluetooth or SMS. In its guide on education and digital signage, Digital Signage Today discusses East Carolina University which is set to allow students to vote or respond to polls posted on digital signs using their cell phones. This is just one application of interactivity, but the potential for more is there.

Is this function useful? Maybe. Necessary? Probably not. Cool? Definitely. And it is this last trait that will keep students interested and engaged in digital signage networks while they are on campus and after they leave to join the workforce.

Nanyang Technological University Broadcasts Campus News with Channel NTU

Singapore (PRWEB) October 26, 2006 — The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) became one of the first educational institutions in Singapore to deploy its very own in-house network channel to serve as a dynamic visual communication platform for internal publicity and announcements within the campus.

Implemented in June 2005 and named Channel NTU, this flexible and efficient communications system is based on the Scala InfoChannel (http://www.scala.com) platform. The network is managed and maintained by a small team comprising 3-4 staff in the Center for Educational Development (CED). One staffer oversees the technical deployments, another staffer handles the design and content authoring while another manages the scheduling. A fourth member is expected to join the team to manage the content coordination.

The multimedia content for the channel is developed and managed using Scala InfoChannel Designer, with InfoChannel Network Manager scheduling the transmission that is currently broadcast to seven plasma screens around the campus. The CED team creates multimedia rich content that is channelled to the strategically positioned plasma screens located in high traffic areas in seven locations with three screens in the cafeterias, two in the administrative building and the rest are placed in the film school and café.

Channel NTU provides students, staff and visitors with informative and entertainment rich content that include prime time news and headlines extracted with the RSS feed technology (currently in the experimental stage). The integration with the NewTek Tricaster Pro provides additional feature for the solution for the broadcasts of live events such as graduation ceremonies and freshmen orientations.

Intranet streaming is made possible with the addition of the Windows media encoder that also provides live web casts of distinguished speakers or visitors, and internet video casts. Student publicity announcements and trailers like Singapore Idol are also played on Channel NTU. The channel also flourishes as a platform for NTU and students’ productions to be aired and viewed.

The remarkable infrastructure for this solution includes an audio compressor for audio normalization, an FM transmitter to manage noisy locations as well as remote software monitoring client to assess playback.

Channel NTU is controlled and centrally hosted from the Center for Educational Development using fiber networks that connect the plasma screens throughout the vast campus that spans about 200 hectares with more than 50 buildings. The channel operates for approximately 11 1/2 hours daily from Monday to Friday, all year round.

The deployment of the Channel NTU network was implemented with the help of Click Grafix, Scala Certified distributor and system integrator for the South East region.

The Scala InfoChannel solution became the tool-of-choice for NTU’s digital signage network in view of its powerful authoring capabilities and advantages. Mr. Goh Wee Sen, Instructional Design Manager of CED, compliments the solution particularly for its features that provide them the ability to accept many varied formats and the smoothness of playback.

“Click Grafix has been a good partner who is willing to help extend the solution to meet our needs,” says Mr. Goh. The NTU team is looking forward indeed more advantages with the new Scala InfoChannel 5.

About Click Grafix Sdn Bhd l http://www.clickgrafix.com
Established in 1995, Click Grafix has firmly established itself in the South East Asia and Middle Eastern market and industry as a premiere provider and system integrator for digital video, animation and multimedia hardware, software, solutions and services. The company is the appointed regional distributor for NewTek Inc. and also holds the distributorship for Scala multimedia and visual communication products, as well as Realviz, Anark, e frontier, Bauhaus Software and Qarbon products in Malaysia. Currently, Click Grafix is represented in Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and India.

About Scala, Inc. l http://www.scala.com
Scala, Inc. (www.scala.com) is the world’s leading provider of software for digital signage software used in retail, education, entertainment, government and other industries. The company’s cutting-edge multimedia software platform powers thousands of digital signs around the world including the digital signage networks of Tesco, Best Buy, T-Mobile, ShopRite, Virgin MegaStore, Bloomberg, Burger King, Kiwi, Azizia-Panda Supermarket, McKee Foods, Muvico, Santiago Airport, RaboBank and Warner Brothers Movie World. Since InfoChannel is proven, scalable, and easy to manage, it is the platform of choice for many digital display networks ranging in size from one screen to thousands of screens with uses including advertising displays, touch screens, retail TV, LED billboards, lobby signage, digital menu boards, interactive kiosks, and more. Scala, Inc. pioneered the industry of digital signage in 1987, and is today headquartered near Philadelphia, PA with operations in California, the UK, Norway, The Netherlands, France, China and Japan.

“Education and Digital Signage” is a new publication from Digital Signage Today offering tips for marketers on best practices for emergency messaging systems, interactive whiteboards and entertainment networks and other signage intended for college campuses.