IOH: Oh boy, another handle to add to the list!!!
Tue, Apr 28, 2009
Here is an insightful post on the direction and the terminology used in/for the digital signage industry. Some might find this petty, but an industry trying to make it needs to think about it’s own marketing and branding too…For the record, Digtial Signage Central news blog HATES the term(s) DOH, DOOH, and OOH – I repeat, HATE!
One of the guys who spoke last week at that industry forum in New York is the CEO of an interactive agency, and not all that suprisingly, he said the future of digital signage is all about interactivity … and therefore the better name to hang on this industry is Interactive Out-of-Home, or IOH.
Trevor Kaufman, of the agency Schematic, suggested one of the reasons NOT to go with DOH is it is too reminiscent of Homer Simpson’s DOH!!!, and DOOH is far worse for some reason.
Now while I heartily agree that interactive is a big part of the future of this space, it’s just a part. There are countless ways in which digital screen are going to be used that will have little or nothing to do with interactivity. They’re just going to be a more efficient means of getting information across, and I can’t even fathom the chaos of every screen in an environment beckoning to be touched or wireless devices constantly popping up invites to download coupons and more information, and on and on.
I recently read a separate suggestion that the term In Store Digital Marketing be used, or ISDM.
They’re both good, but they’re both just more words. The industry news portal AKA.TV was launched with that handle a few years ago because no one could land on the perfect name, so it was digital signage, Also Known As ….
My impression is that there are lots of things holding back this industry, like good content, sustainable success stories and better customer education, but I don’t think coming up with JUST the right name — that encompasses it all — is holding much back. Digital signage is well short of perfect. Same with Digital Out Of Home. But they’re out there and I don’t think confusion or derision abound.
And I have never heard anyone use DOH.
Tags: aka.tv, digital signage industry, In Store Digital Marketing, industry, Interactive Digital Signage, Interactive Out-of-Home, IOH, ISDM, market, News, nine, press, press release, sixteen
April 29th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I agree that the terms “digital out-of-home” or “DOOH” are somewhat stale and uninteresting, undermining the dynamic nature of the platform and “newness” of the industry itself. These terms take with it some mediocre connotations about the platform’s performance and the terms don’t quite resonate as dynamically as Web 2.0, Interactive Media, or Integrated Advertising.
This notion reveals something inherent in the current perception of the industry, as well as a shift in thinking from the thought leaders that decide what is valuable and efficient. These are the digital media providers, the advertisers and the agencies that represent them. Perhaps a shift in thinking means that we need to get rid of these terms completely, as the terms “out-of-home” advertising still carries with it implications of freeway billboards, coffee sleeves, and wallscapes. Not that these media vehicles are subordinate—it’s just that the digital age requires a new lexicon to guide a new and reinvigorated industry. There is indeed a new perspective, a new way to approach it, a new term altogether.
A new term I heard from Steve Roberts was very interesting-—Digital Destinations. A digital destination simply refers to anything with a pixel. The ideal network has the capability of being able to distribute content to any digital destination within any given network with an API. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a technology that can deliver content instantaneously to any digital platform?
This kind of capability would be a silver bullet and a new term is needed to encapsulate how to seamlessly reach digital endpoints at the touch of a button, and more importantly, the term needed to embody the implications for a revolutionized integrated solution, and a digitally-transformed industry.
The term was coined by Steve Roberts, whose company is intent on changing the way advertisers communicate to their audiences, the way brands plan and buy media, and the way marketers micro-target individuals. Can’t wait to see what they got up their sleeve.