Billboards are getting a makeover, and not just at the mall or your local bank: On university campuses from coast to coast, administrators are realizing there’s more to digital signage than just a pretty picture–it can enhance communication and maybe even help save lives.

Electronic digital signage (EDS) includes LED, OLED, LCD, CRT, plasma, digital, or e-link displays and digital projection devices.

Often, the technology uses a computer-routing system made up of hardware and software that channels content to the system’s director, who forwards the coded signals to the display.

From a central management distribution center, multimedia display systems are fed electronic messaging (created by image and graphics software) by either telephone or IP network lines or a wireless narrowcasting system to display changeable (animated, video, or still) messages from a real-time or prerecorded source.

Designers of digital signage projects look out for “dwell zones,” or those spots where people pause to watch a video display and are likely to be influenced by the message.

Dale Smith, director of business development for Peerless Industries, says today’s ad dollars are being shifted from “at home” content to content viewed away from the home. “Content providers must take into account specific viewing times, repeat trips, and the need to inform, educate, and influence,” he said.

In fact, spending on out-of-home video advertising in the United States reached $1.28 billion in 2007 and is projected to reach $3.22 billion by 2011. A study conducted last year by Online Testing Exchange said that digital signage catches the attention of more people than any other comparable advertising medium.

And that’s one reason a growing number of colleges, universities, and even K-12 schools are opting for digital signage.

According to Sanju Khatri, a principal analyst at iSuppli, the top three venues for digital signage use are retail, transportation, and indoor venues; however, many businesses and universities also are adopting the technology.

“More universities are looking at this technology,” agreed Ron Snaidauf, vice president of commercial products for LG Electronics USA, “especially as a means of security and safety for students and staff. Digital signage also has great possibilities for [giving directions], scheduling, class information, and more.”

John Holmes, marketing manager for public displays at Sony Electronics, says that while emergency warning capabilities make digital signage a smart choice for campuses, the signs also can help create school spirit. “There’s not one student out there who wouldn’t love to see rotating images from last night’s game, read news articles about [his or her] university’s achievements, or see ticketing schedules,” he said.

Another perk is the reduced need for printed advertisements on campus. “It can really help cut down on waste from posters and signs that are thrown in the trash, helping a campus to conserve paper and resources,” Snaidauf explained.

Touch-screen technology is at the
heart of many common technologies and is one of the key ingredients to hybrid,
interactive digital signage.
Unless
you live in a cave, you’ve probably noticed Apple has launched its much
ballyhooed iPhone this week. AT&T, the phone’s exclusive distributor for the
first six months it’s on the market, has already added thousands of employees
nationwide to handle consumer demand at retail centers. It reports anticipating
sidewalk campers waiting in line overnight for the new phone to go on sale.
Without a
doubt, Apple’s iPhone is shaping up to be the next, must-have for those who
want to be a part of the hottest, latest, hippest trend. What makes the iPhone
so sought-after? The answer is probably a little bit different for each
customer, but many of those responses likely center on its cool, quick, easy
touch-screen interface that will let users dial their way into the next
generation of telephony -among other things.
Touch-screen
technology is growing dramatically, according to market research firm iSuppli.
The researcher forecasts that revenue generated by leading touch-screen
technologies will grow to $4.4 billion by 2012, up from $2.4 billion in 2006.
While the iPhones will play a part in this growth, touch-screen proliferation
should also see a bump from the momentum building for hybrid, interactive
digital signage.
Think of
hybrid systems as part digital signage, part digital kiosk. When in digital
signage mode, they playback video, sound, graphics, text and animation in a
linear fashion. In other words, Segment A is followed by Segment B, etc. What
sets them apart is when a viewer interacts with these screens. Immediately,
they switch to an interactive mode, allowing the viewer to drill down to
sought-after information. More often than not, the interface facilitating that
interaction is a touch screen.
Touch-screen
interactivity tied to digital signage is beginning to attract the attention of
marketers nationwide because it not only draws digital signage viewers into
their advertising messages and lets them communicate on a personal, customized
level, but also because it gives them something other media can’t: quantifiable
response metrics.
Think
about the last time you heard an ad on the radio. There’s a good chance the
announcer said something like, “Be sure to tell ABC Company that Joe Announcer
from WXYZ Radio sent you.” How about your last magazine? Was it filled with
bound and blown-in response cards for special offers? What about newspaper
coupons? They’re the same thing -an effort in part to quantify the reaction of
the public to a commercial offer.
The
wonderful thing about hybrid, interactive digital signage -most often driven by
touch-screen interaction- is it can deliver up-to-the-minute metrics about what
viewers are interested in, and if set-up properly, who those consumers are.
Think
about the value of gathering information from a network of hybrid, interactive
digital signage systems installed at hundreds of fashion locations across the
country. All day long, signs play back the retailer’s linear marketing messages
-building ambience, creating a mood and attracting interest. Periodically,
customers approach the digital sign and touch it to access information about
specific merchandise. The choices viewers make about what to touch can be saved
and/or transmitted in real-time back to corporate headquarters.
Having
that level of information about what’s on the minds of customers is invaluable.
Beyond simply letting the marketing department tweak its digital signage
presentations, information like that can help merchandise buyers identify
what’s hot and what’s not. Comparing it to cash register receipts can take
analysis of marketing messages to a whole new level.
Members
of the public are demonstrating they want to interact with technology to
improve their lives. Why else would anyone consider camping out overnight on a
sidewalk for a phone?
Desire like that among the public in the very
least indicates people like having a tactile experience with technology. Best
of all for marketers, those experiences can be tied directly to greater,
quantifiable interaction with the public. That can mean nothing but good things
for marketers wishing to influence buying decisions with their digital signage
messaging.
About the author
David Little is a digital signage authority with 20 years of
experience helping professionals use technology to more effectively communicate
their unique marketing messages. He is the director of marketing for Keywest
Technology in Lenexa, KS, a software development company
specializing in systems for digital signage creation, scheduling, management
and playback. For further digital signage insight from Keywest Technology
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