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The Screen Forum this summer published a list of 12 steps it recommends those rolling out digital signage networks take to heart to minimize the environmental impact of their project.

It might not be easy being green if you happen to be the CEO of British Petroleum in light of the Gulf oil disaster, but if you’re responsible for a digital signage network being environmentally responsible has never been simpler thanks to the Screen Forum.

That’s because the Screen Forum, an independent working group focused on sharing best practices in the digital signage industry, released earlier this summer a list of one dozen steps aimed at ensuring digital signage networks deliver the maximum impact with the minimum affect on the environment.

The steps, available on the group’s website, are a well-reasoned list of proscriptions for minimizing the impact of digital signage networks on the environment. While the list is publicly available on the Web and self explanatory, I found one aspect of the Screen Forum’s steps fascinating and worthy of a bit of comment.

Achieving balance underpins much of the list –the balance between environmental impact and performance; the balance between achieving communications goals and doing so in a way that does not diminish, or is sympathetic to, nearby landmarks; and the balance between fulfilling its main purpose and giving back to the community by promoting environmental awareness.

Balancing performance and environmental impact touches many phases of digital signage network rollout and operations. The concept laid out in the steps seems to focus on the drawing a distinction between saturation and sufficiency. Many of the steps advocate doing no more than is necessary to accomplish the desired mission of communications. Limiting the number of computer components, the size of the network and number of displays therein as well as the power requirements of the network seeks to balance the task at hand with the environmental cost of accomplishing it.

Achieving equilibrium in terms of digital signage performance and placement vis-à-vis nearby landmarks gets at the most basic of environmental concerns, namely impacting the locale in which the sign hangs. Reading this step reminded me of the contrast between states that have outlawed, or legislated extremely strict restrictions, on the use and placement of billboards along highways and driving down the Las Vegas Strip. The Screen Forum’s admonition balances the legitimate desire to communicate important messages via digital signs with the need to appreciate the surroundings of the signs and minimize whenever and however possible the likelihood of the signs detracting from their local environment.

Acknowledging the opportunity to use the network –if even only on a periodic basis- to raise the awareness of the public about environmental concerns is particularly fascinating because it recognizes there’s far more to a digital signage network than hardware and software. In fact, the reason for being of any digital signage network is to communicate messages –often finely defined, narrowcast communications. Balancing that mission with the unrelated goal of communicating to the public about environmental concerns recognizes that there’s more to communicating successfully than a well-defined message. It’s almost as if the Screen Forum transplanted the concept of public service TV messages to the arena of digital signage, except digital signage networks have no government-mandated public service obligation to fulfill.

Certainly, there’s more to the Screen Forum’s 12 steps than balance, but the concept plays an important role in the thinking behind the recommendations. Anyone considering rolling out a digital signage network would be well served to check out the Screen Forum’s list and given it some serious consideration.

About the author:
David Little is a charter member of the Digital Screenmedia Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate their unique marketing messages. For many more helpful digital signage tips, examples and solutions, keep in touch with Keywest Technology:
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While the effect of digital signage on the environment may be less than traditional signs, minimizing its impact requires being aware of factors like power consumption, and the use of hazardous materials.

Digital signage offers certain advantages from the standpoint of environmental protection over traditional printed signs, but that’s not to say the digital medium isn’t without its own set of environmental concerns.

Among the most serious are power consumption and the associated carbon footprint of producing the electricity needed to drive the displays and computers that feed them; the use of hazardous materials in the production of digital signage displays and computers; and the impact of display and computer disposal as well as that of the packing materials needed to ship the devices to their locations safely.

Display power consumption: On the display side of the equation, the growth of LED technology for backlights presents an alternative to fluorescents and has made it possible for display manufacturers to employ new power savings strategies, unavailable with fluorescent backlights, in an increasing number of panels. One such strategy is the use of Pulse Width Modulation, which can be used to vary LED power consumption and brightness. A simple way to evaluate energy efficiency is to get familiar with the government’s ENERGY STAR program as relates to monitors. It’s also wise in many applications to turn off individual digital signs or all the signs on a network after hours to save energy.

Digital signage player power consumption: The other power draw in a digital signage system is the player –typically a computer running dedicated software. Here, a few alternatives are possible to minimize power consumption, depending upon the application. Embedding the computer in the actual digital signage display can produce power savings –simply by eliminating an entire computer monitor and other redundant pieces of hardware, such as a second video card. Even if using an embedded computer is not possible, certain things can be done to minimize power consumption of a standalone system, such as replacing spinning disks with solid-state disks. SSDs also require less cooling, which can translate into power savings.

Hazardous substances: A couple of years ago, an article in New Scientist magazine based on research by a University of California-Irvine professor set off alarm bells in the press about NF₃, a gas used in the production of LCD panels, solar panels and integrated circuits. According to the article, the gas has thousands of times the affect on the atmosphere as a comparable amount of carbon dioxide. But as a Columbia Journalism Review article said in August 2008, the media hyped the findings and distorted the impact of NF₃ on the environment –mostly because of the small quantity of the gas being released into the atmosphere. The article quoted Michael Prather, the professor responsible study, as say: “It’s not a big deal by itself,” Prather said in an interview. “We’re looking at less than half a percent [the impact] of CO2. Is it the most important thing? No. But it should be in the market basket. And it should be monitored.”

Regardless, hazardous substances used in digital signage players (computers) and fluorescent backlights are legitimate concerns with the former using components with lead and cadmium content and the latter containing mercury. On the positive side, however, the European Union has established its RoHS (Restrictions of Hazardous Substances) directive restricting the use of six hazardous materials, including lead and cadmium. Further, California has enacted its own restrictions on the use of certain hazardous materials in electronics manufacturing. Such efforts have and will continue to make digital signage greener.

Disposal and waste: One way to minimize the impact of disposing digital signage components is to extend their lives. Doing things like choosing longer-life backlighting options, such as LED technology, and limiting monitors use to the time of day when, for example, a store is open or an air terminal is actually in use, can lengthen life. Additionally, donating old displays to charity not only can benefit worthy organizations but also keep panels in use and out of landfills. In fact, many communities will not accept monitors and computers as waste.

Finally, the fragility of monitors and computers makes proper packing material essential for safe transport. Asking about the use of recycled packing material and recycling that material after delivery of panels and players are also important for those wishing to make their digital signage installation as environmentally friendly as possible.

As I noted in my previous column, we are all powerless to put an end to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. But we are in control of our own actions, and to the best of our ability we can make our digital signage implementations a greener experience by being mindful of the environment as we plan our use of the technology.

About the author:
David Little is a charter member of the Digital Screenmedia Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate their unique marketing messages. For many more helpful digital signage tips, examples and solutions, keep in touch with Keywest Technology:
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A head-to-head comparison of print versus digital signs tips the environmental impact scale in favor of the digital medium.

For more than two months when I've gone home from work, I'd flip on the evening news hoping to see the volcano of oil erupting from one mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico miraculously stilled, plugged somehow, staunching the incredible flow of oil and natural gas that is killing wildlife, devastating habitat and shutting down whole segments of Gulf-related businesses.

But rather than breathing a sigh of relief, night after night I'd sit mesmerized -a little queasy and apprehensive- watching the oil continuing to flow, creating what seems to be the greatest environmental calamity of my life -at least in this part of the world.

Like everyone else at home marveling at this spectacle revealed by BP's underwater camera, I am powerless to do anything to "just plug the damn hole," as our president reportedly said at a recent White House meeting. Fortunately, BP's latest attempt to cap the wellhead appears to be working, and there may be some end to this phase of the environmental disaster in sight.

But regardless of what happens a mile below the sea, it's important to recognize that I'm not powerless in my personal and professional life when it comes to helping to protect the environment. That's why along with my decision to drive a fuel-efficient vehicle, recycle paper, glass and plastic and teach my children respect the environment in their daily lives, I've decided to dedicate a couple of columns to digital signage as a "green" technology.

Often, when the environmental impact of digital signage is raised, some valid, but rather well-worn, assertions are made. First, when compared to printed signs, digital signage appears far greener. Digital signage messaging, which can be updated or changed entirely with a few strokes of the keyboard and some mouse clicks, eliminates the need to print new signs as messaging needs change. The fewer the signs that get printed, the fewer the trees that need to be cut, transported to mills, processed and made into paper, the logic goes. The need for the inks used to print the signs and the various chemical coatings applied to make them attractive is eliminated.

Another dimension, commonly cited, is waste disposal. Cutting out the need to replace printed signs eliminates the energy needed to dispose of or recycle the signs and -to the degree printed signs aren't recycled- the impact of adding tons more paper, ink, chemical coatings and paints to landfills.

A third often cited benefit is that the convenience of updating digital signage messaging over a computer network eliminates travel to the location of each sign, which is necessary to replace printed old signs with new printed versions. Eliminating the transportation component reduces carbon emissions and thus the impact of signage on the environment.

While each of these assertions argues in favor of the environmental benefit of using digital signage over traditional printed signs, that's not to say digital signs don't impact the environment and that a variety of actions can and should be taken when possible to reduce the effect of this digital medium on our planet.

In the second part of this column, I'll look at some of the leading environmental considerations regarding the use of digital signs and steps that can be taken to minimize their impact.

About the author:
David Little is a charter member of the Digital Screenmedia Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate their unique marketing messages. For many more helpful digital signage tips, examples and solutions, keep in touch with Keywest Technology:
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Syndicate David's articles

Syndicate David's articles

The rapid adoption of touch screens in multiple consumer devices demands attention in the digital signage realm.

If adding interactivity to your digital signage communications mix hasn't been top of mind, it's time to reevaluate and give serious consideration to tackling touch-screen technology.

To be sure, not all digital signage uses call for interactivity, but many signs employed today for simple wayfinding, retail promotion and other applications can leverage touch-screen interactivity to better serve the informational needs of viewers and in so doing better deliver a communications experience more in line with the goals of the enterprise.

Reconsidering the role of interactivity in digital signage messaging has taken on added urgency recently as consumers buy and fall in love with touch-screen gadgets like the Apple iPad and even touch-screen PCs.

Consider the latest statistics on touch screens from market research organization iSuppli. Shipments of touch screens for devices like Apple's iPad are expected to rise nearly 5,000 percent to 8.9 million this year, according to an iSuppli forecast. That's up from 176,000 in 2009. By 2013, the research company projects shipments to increase sevenfold to 63.9 million units.

The popularity of touch-screen interactivity isn't restricted to iPads and iPad competitors in the pipeline. According to iSuppli, the personal computer touch screen market is expected to grow 242 percent this year.

As consumers by the millions adopt PCs and tablet-type computers with touch screens, their expectations about technology are likely to evolve. Where once no one would give second thought to a wayfinding digital sign other than absorbing the directions being conveyed, it's entirely likely wayfinding viewers of the near future will wonder why they can't touch the screen, call up a more detailed map and touch highlights along their route to learn more about them.

The number of consumers looking for greater interactivity with retail digital signs also is likely to climb as the number of touch-screen tablet device owners grows. With touch screen interactivity becoming a growing habit, why wouldn't shoppers expect to do something as iPad-like as dragging a digital sweater from one interactive shelf and a pair of slacks from another onto a virtual mannequin to see whether or not they match?

Taking this type of interactivity to the next level, why shouldn't traditional digital signage offer touch-screen interactivity via the very tablet computers, like the iPad, that are driving the explosive growth in the touch-screen market? After all, iPads come with either 3G and/or WiFi connectivity built in. Giving an iPad permission to take temporary control of a digital sign in a retail store would let a customer benefit from the interface they know and love on their tablets and the 42- or 50-inch display that delivers larger, more impactful images that better emulate the real world.

Digital signage communicators who ignore the forecast of explosive growth in touch-screen enabled devices do so at their own peril. To be sure, not all digital signage applications are appropriate for interactivity, but the ubiquitous presence of consumer devices controlled via touch screens demands a serious reevaluation of digital signage communications strategies.

Now is the time to begin that reexamination because it may be too late to make a strategic shift once 64 million touch-screen devices are in the hands of consumers worldwide. Launching a review today will let digital signage communicators proactively plan to take advantage of this tidal wave in touch-screen familiarity rather than flat-footedly responding to this likely sea change in consumer expectations.

About the author:
David Little is a charter member of the Digital Screenmedia Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate their unique marketing messages. For many more helpful digital signage tips, examples and solutions, keep in touch with Keywest Technology:
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Traditional retailers can leverage hybrid, interactive digital signs to offer shoppers the convenience and selection of shopping online while still doing what they do best.

Imagine living in a rural area of the country and having to drive an hour or more to get to a department store to do some much-needed shopping, only to find out that the merchandise you wanted was out of stock.

Or, put yourself in the shoes of an urban dweller who stops by the mall to visit a particular store to buy a certain item of clothing --only to learn that the desired color or size won’t be arriving till later in the week.

No wonder over the past 15 years online sales of all types of merchandise have exploded. Convenience, selection and ease of use have contributed mightily to nudging many shoppers away from traditional, brick-and-mortar retail shops and into Internet shopping sites.

While Internet shopping offers many advantages, the one thing it can’t do is let you see, touch and inspect the actual merchandise you’re considering purchasing before you buy. In other words, how can you try on a pair of jeans online before you click the checkout button?

Some forward-thinking brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Kohl’s and J.C. Penney’s, have identified interactive, digital signage as a means of bringing the benefits of traditional retail shopping and the Internet together.

A recent article on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel website detailed how retailers are turning to self-serve kiosks to combine the power of digital signage to attract attention and the interactivity of touch screen technology and the Internet to let shoppers expand their in-store shopping excursions to the Web.

The article, “Brick-and-mortar retailers kick up sales with kiosks,” identifies several obvious and some not-so-obvious reasons traditional retailers are offering access to merchandise online in their stores.

Besides the more apparent motivations, such as growing comfort among consumers with online shopping and providing access to out-of-stock merchandise, the article identifies other reasons, such as offering greater selection without requiring more space, test marketing products without actually placing them in the store and even selling products retailers don’t actually carry to increase revenue or learn more about the tastes of their customers.

At the intersection of the real- and virtual-world shopping experience is interactive digital signage technology. As discussed in this space on other occasions, the hybrid approach, which brings together the interactive component of a self-service kiosk and the carnival barker component of traditional digital signage, is a powerful communications tool that not only can attract attention but draw shoppers into a personal experience with the display that lets them search and retrieve the information needed. Add online access to a retail website with transactional support, and the full power of this technology becomes crystal clear.

With the number of vacant retail spaces around the country seemingly multiplying overnight, the retailers who survive and even thrive during this period of high-unemployment and sluggish sales will be those who surpass the competition on a wide variety of fronts. When it comes to convenience, there may be no better way to enhance the experience of shoppers at brick-and-mortar stores than the addition of interactive digital signage in the form of self-serve kiosks.

About the author:
David Little is a charter member of the Digital Signage Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate their unique marketing messages. For many more helpful digital signage tips, examples and solutions, keep in touch with Keywest Technology:
-Digital Signage Blog
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Syndicate David's articles

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Nielsen's breakthrough report on location-based video network viewership can be used to enhance the credibility of digital signage networks among ad agencies even if those networks weren't covered in the initial report.

The release by The Nielsen Company of the "Fourth Screen Network Audience Report" in April may one day be seen as a turning point in the general acceptance and ultimate success of digital signage as an advertising medium.

The Nielsen report quantifies the number of people exposed to advertising on 10 location-based video networks from September through December 2009. Amazingly, the report shows 237 million people were exposed to advertising on the video networks measured, which covered a variety of venues including movie theaters, fitness clubs, restaurants and gas stations.

What makes the report significant for the future of digital signage ad networks is that it's the first step taken by a widely recognized authority to quantify and document audience size and ad exposure as relates to location-based video networks. With trusted information about the number of ad exposures, ad agencies will be far likelier to accept this new medium as legitimate and to include it in their planning.

To be sure, the report is important; however, it suffers from one significant limitation. It's not all inclusive. While a great first effort, Nielsen acknowledges that there are more location-based video networks to cover in future editions, which it intends to add.

Even with a focus on 10 specific location-based networks, those running digital signage networks not covered in the report should be encouraged by the findings. For those unwilling to wait for Nielsen to add their particular digital signage network into the universe counted, it may be possible to extrapolate from the initial measurements to ballpark ad exposure figures.

For example, one of 10 location-based video networks measured was Zoom Fitness in the health club venues category. Nielsen found monthly ad exposure at the fitness clubs stood at just about 29.4 million. A quick check of the Zoom Media website reveals the company has a presence in more than 1,250 fitness clubs, such as, California Fitness, Gold's Gym and Bally Total Fitness.

An entrepreneur setting up a similar network in fitness clubs or one with an established network in fitness clubs not covered by Nielsen might be able to extrapolate for the findings of the report and the information on Zoom Media's website to estimate ad exposures on their own networks.

So, 29.4 million ad exposures divided by 1250 fitness clubs divided by 30 days in a month means there would be about 775 ad exposures per day per club. Working with that information, those running a health club location-based video network could begin to extrapolate how many ad views their network generates. Granted, there's a lot more information that could be factored in to enhance the accuracy of the extrapolation. But even this rudimentary attempt shows it's possible to work with the existing data to help build the case for advertising pros that a given network should be considered for ad placement, even if it's not currently included in the Nielsen report.

With time, Nielsen's efforts will become more comprehensive, which may obviate the need for such extrapolations. But for the present, it should be clear to those with digital signage networks in fitness clubs -and the other segments covered by the report, including elevators, bars, restaurants, hotels and gas stations- that the Nielsen data can be used along with a bit of independent research and creativity to enhance the standing of location-based video networks not even tracked in the initial report.

About the author:
David Little is a charter member of the Digital Signage Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate their unique marketing messages. For many more helpful digital signage tips, examples and solutions, keep in touch with Keywest Technology:
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A new quarterly report from The Nielsen Company promises good things for location-based video network (a.k.a. DOOH) marketers and advertisers.

The Nielsen Company, the outfit probably best known for measuring TV audiences and compiling television ratings, last month published a report with important consequences for the digital signage industry and marketers alike.

Nielsen's "Fourth Screen Network Audience Report," released in mid-April provides what the company describes as the "first ever standardized audience data" that makes it possible to compare other non-traditional video screens, such as those used in out-of-home video ad networks, with traditional video-based media like TV.

Based on the measurement of people exposed to advertising on 10 location-based video networks -ranging from movie theaters to fitness clubs, restaurants to gas stations- the new report plainly illustrates the reach of non-traditional video networks.

According to the report, from September through December 2009, the monthly number of people exposed to advertising by the 10 location-based ad networks totaled more than 237 million. Of those exposed to the ads, 54 percent were male; the split by gender among those 18 to 34 years old was 50-50.

At first glance, the total monthly number of exposures is impressive from a quantitative perspective. In announcing the report, Nielsen issued a press release in which it compared the traditional primetime broadcast audience aged 18 and older for TV commercials in October 2009 with the number of exposures to ads on two movie theater networks.

The combined average exposure at the two theaters totaled 61.7 million. The average exposure to a primetime TV commercial was 3 million. In other words, a marketer would need to run 20 primetime TV commercials to equal the audience delivered by the two location-based video networks at the theaters.

The quality of exposure is equally impressive. Consider the proximity of the message displayed on a location-based video network to the point of sale. According to Nielsen, there were more than 61 million monthly ad exposures at bars and restaurants. How much more valuable are those exposures to someone with food or beverages to sell than exposures from non-location-based video media?

The real significance of Nielsen's report is that now marketers and advertisers have documented evidence from an organization with a long and well respected track record of gathering and compiling audience metrics about the reach and audience of location-based video networks. This measurement of out-of-home video network audiences is sure to add a much desired degree of legitimacy to this emerging category of media in the eyes of pros who make decisions on where to spend their clients' money in no small part based on verified circulation numbers and viewer ratings.

It is important to note that the Nielsen report is the first in what the company plans will be a quarterly publication of audience numbers for place-based video networks. In succeeding quarters, Nielsen says it plans to expand the number of location-based video networks it measures. With each subsequent report, location-based video networks are likely to grow in stature in the minds of marketers and advertisers.

That should bode well for established media companies and entrepreneurs who have needed a way to add credibility to the idea of advertising on private, location-based video networks in the minds of those controlling how marketing and advertising dollars get spent.

About the author:
David Little is a charter member of the Digital Signage Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate their unique marketing messages. For many more helpful digital signage tips, examples and solutions, keep in touch with Keywest Technology:
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Syndicate David's articles

Syndicate David's articles

Digital signage networks are powerful communications tools, but to get the most out of them requires proper monitoring, content management and control.

Digital signage networks are enticing to marketers, advertisers and large institutions because they offer exceptional reach and wrest control away from traditional gatekeepers, thus collapsing the distance between the communicator and the medium.

So much for the highfalutin talk; let's get practical and take a journey on the road to succeeding with digital signage networks. If digital signage networks are to achieve these lofty goals, they must offer certain fundamental capabilities, including making it simple to manage content, monitor playout, detect network faults, diagnose problems, control individual monitors and override playout schedules to issue emergency messages in times of distress, such as weather events, fires and other catastrophes.

The first stop on this journey is the content management server. The content management server provides a network operations center (NOC) with access to every, or targeted, digital signs along the network. Rather than manually communicating point-to-point, addressing one digital signage player after another sequentially from a central location to distribute media and playout schedules, the content management server pushes out new media and schedules to targeted players over a LAN, WAN or VPN as instructed by someone with administrative rights -often long after that person has left for the day and is snoozing away in bed.

Depending upon the application, it may also be necessary for the content management server to accommodate hyperlocal content playback on specific monitors, which, for example, may share the same general geography. Imagine a university with a digital signage network. A content management system could serve media files and playlists for all but a single onscreen area to ensure consistency of messaging across campus. However, in that reserved onscreen space hyperlocal content regarding individual schools, colleges and departments could playback messages tailored to their needs.

The next trailmarker to success is confidence monitoring of individual signs in the network. Think of the nightmarish task of continuously making sure every sign in a network is functioning if there were no IP network connectivity. You'd need some comfortable running shoes or lots of reliable people to watch the monitors locally and report problems as they arise. A far more practical approach is to ping each monitor via the IP network at a regular interval -maybe every 30 seconds- take a snapshot of what's on the screen and visually inspect each representation when alerted to a problem from a central location in the NOC.

This leads to the next two landmarks on our journey: fault detection and diagnostics. As individual digital signage players and monitors are pinged, a range of established conditions can be inspected, such as network connection integrity, chassis airflow and temperature. Fault detection and diagnostics not only equip technicians with knowledge of what problem to look for before they even arrive at a faulty player or monitor, but also alert network administrators to impending problems that can be corrected preemptively as conditions drift beyond certain thresholds.

The penultimate stop on this quest is individual monitor control. Imagine the energy and dollar savings to be realized by an institution or enterprise with dozens, hundreds or even thousands of LCD monitors on a digital signage network if only there were a way to turn the monitors off after hours and back on in the morning. A successful digital signage network implementation will provide for RS-232 or IP control over monitors to provide just that control.

The last marker on this path is emergency messaging override. In the event of a fire, a terror situation or severe weather, emergency messaging can mean the difference between life and death. Thus, it's extremely important that authorized personnel -such as upper management, a campus police chief, or emergency response coordinator- have the ability to simply override signage playout schedules on a universal or targeted basis, depending upon the circumstance. This should be done via an ordinary Internet connection via password protected access so there is no need to travel to the NOC and thus no unnecessary delay. Additionally, the emergency messaging system should provide access and remote control of all monitors in the event that an emergency situation develops after hours when monitors are shut down and only a handful of people or at the location. Having the ability to turn on the monitors remotely ensures 24-7 communications in case of an emergency.

Taking the time and effort to ensure these way markers are accounted for when setting up a digital signage network is worthwhile. Doing so will ensure your institution or enterprise has the maximum degree of control and flexibility and elevate your chances of successfully communicating important messages to people via your digital signage network.

About the author:
David Little is a charter member of the Digital Signage Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate their unique marketing messages. For many more helpful digital signage tips, examples and solutions, keep in touch with Keywest Technology:
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Syndicate David's articles

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From iPhones to ATMs and other self-service kiosks, consumers are demonstrating their love affair with touch and interactivity.

I recently was having lunch with a friend who excitedly told me he had signed up to be one of the first to buy an Apple iPad. While he liked the prospect of owning a full-color tablet to access and consume all of his favorite media, what he instinctively knew he would love about the gadget is its touch-screen interface.

Already an owner of an Apple iPhone, he was well familiar with navigating his device with a simple touch, scanning through menus with the flip of his fingertip against the screen and blowing up a picture to a larger size by touching the screen with the tips of his thumb and forefinger and pulling them apart. Navigating around his new iPad in the same fun way, undoubtedly will feel comfortably familiar.

My friend is one of the millions of people around the world who today enjoy the fast, friendly feeling of control made possible through touch and interactivity. Many of these touch-screen devotees were first exposed to the concept of interacting with technology in the form of a computer mouse used to point and click through an interface to complete a desired task. (Thank you Xerox PARC for the concept of a GUI and Stanford Research Institute for the mouse). After years of whetting their appetite for this sort of interactive control over technology, it's easy to see why consumers now have a deep love affair with interactive touch-screen control.

Just look around. Touch screens are everywhere. Think about it. You likely are not going to spend more than a day before you encounter touch screen interactivity in the form of an ATM, self service kiosk, MP3 player, GPS navigation device, cell phone or even on TV in CNN's Situation Room or in the movies like "Minority Report."

Research firm DisplaySearch has quantified the popularity of touch screens. It released a report in May '09 finding about 220 million touch screens were shipped for use in mobile phones in 2008 -or 16 percent of the mobile phone market. By 2015, the research firm forecasts the penetration rate of touch screens in mobile phones will grow to about 40 percent. And that's only one slice of the interactive, touch-screen pie.

I bring this up because I am a big proponent of identifying important trends and positioning oneself to benefit from where that trend is headed. So when it comes to digital signage, professional communicators would do well to consider the potential of digital signage panels to tap into the public's love affair with touch-screen interfaces and add interactivity to their digital signs when appropriate.

Consider a large casino or hotel lobby. How much easier and efficient is it for patrons to access and staff to convey way finding information or ballroom event schedules than via interactive digital signs? Simply by automatically tapping into the booking and management software used by the hotel or casino, a digital signage controller can extract the appropriate data and create the right digital signage page before it's required. Thus, when Aunt Martha wants to find out where the chrysanthemum contest is being held, the digital signage controller has already gathered that data from the facility management software, created the page and is ready to display "Ballroom C."

Best of all, when interactive control is not required, that same digital sign can mimic a traditional digital sign and playback scheduled media to promote shops, restaurants and other amenities offered by the facility until once again being called into interactive service.

Simply by recognizing the public's fascination with interactive touch control, those designing digital signage installations can add interactivity to make any given digital sign more useful to the public and more effective in the eyes of the marketers, advertisers and other professional communicators who intend to use the sign to achieve their goals.

About the author:
David Little is a charter member of the Digital Signage Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate their unique marketing messages. For many more helpful digital signage tips, examples and solutions, keep in touch with Keywest Technology:
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-LinkedIN
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