In today’s economy, many communication mediums are experiencing slow growth, but the market for digital signage is on the rise. According to an InfoTrends study, the value of the industry is going to more than double from $1.1 billion in 2006 to over $2.5 billion by 2011. That’s because digital signage is about more than pretty pictures and a simple advertising slogan. It’s about delivering relevant, useful information to a targeted audience, when and where they need it.

Unlike other broadcast advertising and communication mediums, digital signage has the advantage when it comes to getting the attention of viewers. Why? Because most of us have learned to tune-out the barrage of irrelevant communication we see every day. We’ve all walked past something that spoke to us and stopped to watch it. Maybe it was a TV news story about your hometown. Maybe it was the headline about a recall on the brand of dog food you last purchased. The point is, when the information is relevant to you, you suddenly start paying attention.

Digital signage has the advantage because content can be dynamically changed to serve the interests of the viewer. A little data mining about the products, local availability and even the viewer in front of the screen allows content to be instantly updated using automated responses to conditions. Once you have some context about the viewer’s interests, the content can stop them in their tracks.

Moving Beyond Static to Dynamic
Sometimes the difficult part about adopting a new medium, and therefore reaping the benefits from it, is changing the way we think. Many people think of digital signs as an extension of static signs. It can be hard to change that mindset and take advantage of the full-motion, three-dimensional graphics, audio and live data feeds that digital signage can offer. In fact, if you look around at most digital signage, you can see examples of passive, static images looping through a playlist. Most content is directed at large audiences, rather than a smaller, targeted group of viewers. Not very many people have changed their fundamental approach to signage as technologies have evolved.

However, the people who are embracing digital signage technology – those who drive the market– have realized this is a highly capable and unique technology. They are learning to think about dynamic motion and narrowcasting messages to individual viewers. They are moving toward a one-to-one communication mentality. And it’s not all about marketing. There are a variety of interesting uses that are proving to have merit where business intelligence is concerned.

Context Driving Audience Action
In the world of digital signage, context comes from data. What do you know about the conditions where your sign is at this exact moment? Depending on your business, there may be data indicating:

• The probability that passengers arriving at Gate 86 speak Spanish as a first language.
• A production line change is required to adjust to market demand fluctuations or parts availability.
• Dads are more likely to be buying diapers on Friday nights.

How would knowing this change the content you should deliver? If your employees are compensated based on productivity, they’ll notice the sign that says, “There’s a production bottleneck,” and they’ll take corrective action sooner. Or maybe your diaper ad needs a NASCAR graphic. You get the idea.

Since the content for a digital sign is developed and managed using computers, the software can look at data about the environment and viewers and select content based on current conditions. Using context to determine and deliver appropriate content for a specific audience creates a meaningful message to the viewer.

Providing viewers with the specific information they need to make an informed decision, in a form they can easily understand and at the moment they require it is empowerment.

An excellent example is the new concept being rolled out by camera retailers. If a customer is shopping and picks up two cameras to see how they differ, the nearest digital display shows a comparison of the two products for the shopper. Differences can even be highlighted.

This information is beneficial for both the customer and retailer. It helps the retailer distinguish which products are of more interest than others, while it aids in planning promotions on particular products, and more. In many stores, digital signage provides the customer with the information they want to know, without any pressure to buy. As the consumer interacts with the signage, the system can obtain information about preferences and demands, helping the store better plan its promotions, inventory and services.

In corporate environments, digital signage arms employees with the information they need to be more effective in their jobs. Most businesses generate a list of key performance indicators (KPIs) that help measure operation efficiencies and often tie bonuses directly to these KPIs. This is a perfect application for digital signage; feedback is immediate and automatic with results that relate directly to your return on investment. It can also be good for morale and building a positive corporate culture.

How Data Drives Context
In order to create context, you need a software platform that is built around live data. This is where most content delivery systems are limited, but leading digital signage systems excel.

Start by thinking of digital signage as a visual communications medium and not as electronically updated advertisements. Define your audience, your message and then define where the information resides that facilitates a decision. This data changes as the audience changes, but that’s the point of it. Digital signage is a tool to assist people to make an informed decision. Using specific real-time data to trigger unique content makes the message relevant to the viewer and is the catalyst for a desired action.

Targeting information to a specific individual at a single location is relatively easy with digital signage. When you increase the scale of that model, it becomes clear that automating the collection, dissemination and targeting of data is the only practical solution. In the airport example, the solution seems straight forward at first glance. But when you consider the number of flights, connecting passengers in and out of a major international airport and potential for last minute gate changes, it becomes clear that the system needs to be smart enough to handle a high level of complexity. Fortunately, computers can be very good at helping to resolve this type of problem, but they require software to tell them what to do. Taking advantage of data-driven automation moves your organization from concentrating on making impressions toward impelling actions.

Scratching the Surface
The name digital signage implies that we have simply added motion and electronic delivery to static signage. That’s like buying a Ferrari because it looks good in your driveway. In contrast, a well conceived digital signage system connects people with the live information they need, precisely at the point when they need it.

There are a multitude of simple solutions out there that focus on a television-based, broadcasting model. There’s just not much value in such an approach. When you focus on enabling your customer, your employee or your visitors, you start to see the real potential of digital signage systems.

As we develop better systems to facilitate communications through mining and delivering targeted data,