Digital Signage: InfoTrends Sees Significant Growth for Narrowcasting

A new report forecasts revenue from narrowcast digital signage and in-store TV networks will climb to $2.59 billion by 2011.

Market research and consulting firm InfoTrends last month forecast strong growth for digital signage in North America for narrowcasting applications between now and 2011.

The research firm expects compound annual growth rate in the number of narrowcast digital signage screens of nearly 12 percent between 2006 and 2011. It also forecasts strong compound annual revenue growth of 18.5 percent for the period, attaining total revenue of $2.59 billion by 2011. For the sake of comparison, the narrowcasting industry was valued at $1.1 billion at the end of 2006 with an installed base of 630,000 screens at 97,000 sites.

The findings are part of a new InfoTrends report, "Narrowcasting: The Opportunity for Digital Signage and In-Store TV Networks," the third major study the researchers have conducted on this market.

Questions regarding the efficacy of using narrowcasting to deliver targeted advertising appear to be evaporating. InfoTrends reports that respondents to this year's study were much less concerned about the lack of measurement of ad program effectiveness than they were in its 2004 study. The researcher attributes the growing body of data showing narrowcast systems to be effective as the reason.

Additionally, the report showed that of the 51 current users of networked digital displays or in-store TV systems who responded to a structured survey for the report, 80 percent plan to increase the use of their network over the next three years, and the remaining 20 percent expect to maintain usage at current levels.

What's this all point to? Digital signage networks for narrowcast advertising are becoming part of the mainstream -not some sort of fringe experimental medium reserved for the daring and avant-garde. Rather than being seen as a risk in the eyes of media buyers, they are becoming an essential communications avenue for marketers and advertisers wishing to influence consumer spending decisions at the point of purchase.

It isn't particularly surprising that narrowcast digital signage networks are entering the mainstream. Put yourself in the shoes of advertising buyers and marketers who are witnessing a radical transformation of an advertising mainstay: television. Once a medium they thoroughly knew and understood, TV is moving away from a controllable, definable advertising proposition to one that's putting viewers in greater control of what they watch and when -most notably for this discussion, commercials.

Consider an article this week from the Denver Post trumpeting the fact that venerable ratings agency Nielsen Media Research has enhanced its tracking of TV viewers for the digital age. According to the article, viewing for one particular show after three days on a DVR was 108 percent of the live views of the same show. Sounds pretty good so far.

However, the article quotes a executive from Group M, a New York ad agency, as saying that many ad agencies have analyzed how viewers watch in delayed mode (i.e. via a DVR) and have determined that 60 percent skip the commercials. Viewed in light of the fact 18 percent of TV households have DVRs and more are on the way, and it becomes apparent that as so-called "live views" give away to "delayed mode" viewing, the number of viewers watching commercials will slide precipitously.

Narrowcast networks with digital signage displays positioned at the physical location where consumers decide to make a purchase don't give people the option of fast-forwarding past the commercial. For that reason alone, it wouldn't be surprising to see InfoTrends' forecast for digital signage narrowcast revenue growth and growth in the number of screens in North America exceeded.

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 download our Why Digital Signage Works white paper; subscribe to our digital signage RSS feed that gives a diverse perspective on digital signage from experts around the world; join our weekly digital signage software Webinar; and sign up for our Keywest Update news brief.

Digital Signage: Apple's iPhone Touts Growing Touch Trend

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 download our Why Digital Signage Works white paper; subscribe to our digital signage RSS feed that gives a diverse perspective on digital signage from experts around the world; join our weekly digital signage software Webinar; and sign up for our Keywest Update news brief.

Digital Signage: Planning for Predictable Contingencies

Smart digital signage communicators should prepare playlists with the appropriate response information before an emergency situation, like a fire or tornado, develops.

As I sat down to write this week's column, I can't get a simple song I learned so many years ago at Boy Scout camp out of my mind: "Be, be, be prepared, the motto of the Boy Scouts; Be, be, be prepared, the motto of the Scouts...."

Professional communicators responsible for creating content for digital signage networks and private TV channels should take note of that admonition. Being prepared for predictable emergency contingencies could mean the difference between safety, injury or even death.

While some emergency scenarios are unforeseen, many contingencies can be planned for. Fires, floods, severe weather conditions, to name a few, require predictable responses. Consider a fire evacuation plan in a large corporate building, school or medical facility. At this very moment, it's highly likely that printed signs warning not to take elevators in the event of a fire and displaying simple maps to the nearest stairways hang by those very elevators.

Those maps can serve as the basis for emergency response messaging on a signage system. Since digital signage networks rely on displays positioned in known locations, creating emergency evacuation maps and messages for the sectors occupied by the digital signs is a logical first step. The same approach is appropriate for tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings that advise people, based on their location in proximity to a given display, of where they should take shelter.

A conversation with your company's safety officer to learn the recommended actions building occupants should take in the event of these sorts of predictable contingencies could help to save lives.

For operators of digital signage networks and private TV channels that make the effort to prepare, contingency playlists stored on a media server can be instructed to interrupt the currently running playlist instantly. It's even possible in certain situations to network an emergency management computer with a digital signage media server so the correct contingency playlist can be run automatically and unattended. In other words, the fire escape playlist runs if heat or smoke sensors detect a fire and signal the emergency management computer which in turn communicates with the media server, and the playlist with the recommended tornado-safe areas runs if instructed to do so by the correct EAS alert message.

Automatically running a pre-produced emergency message playlist for a given contingency doesn't preclude adding up-to-the-second advisory information, however. If circumstances allow you to delay your evacuation, or if you work in an area not threatened by the contingency, your media server should allow you to create text crawls to present the latest warning and information without interrupting the contingency playlist. Doing so can make your efforts to communicate vital information in times of emergency all the more valuable to your audience.

I no longer wear a khaki uniform and a neckerchief, but those words reminding every troop member of the Scout Motto ring louder in my ears today than they did all those years ago. There's no substitute for being prepared to communicate the right message over your digital signage network or private TV channel in the event of predictable emergency contingencies. The time you take today to prepare may turn out to be some of the most important time you spend in your life.

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 download our Why Digital Signage Works white paper; subscribe to our digital signage RSS feed that gives a diverse perspective on digital signage from experts around the world; join our weekly digital signage software Webinar; and sign up for our Keywest Update news brief.

Digital Signage: Adding EAS Support

Adding Amber Alerts, severe weather warnings and emergency announcements from civil authorities to private TV and digital signage networks is straightforward.

Last week, I discussed the ability of private TV channels and digital signage networks to disseminate emergency alert messaging when a threat is posed. I also pointed out that unlike Emergency Alert System messages transmitted by radio and TV stations or the wailing siren in the distance, the delivery of emergency messaging via private TV channels and digital signage networks can target specific warnings and instructions to a defined group of people, who may be facing a unique emergency, such as a fire in their office building.

This week, I'll focus on main points you need to know if you want to prepare your digital signage network or private TV channel to deliver Emergency Alert System messaging from the National Weather Service or governmental authorities, including those at the local, state and federal level.

EAS warnings
The Emergency Alert System stems from the desire of the president of the United States to communicate with the public in times of national emergencies. In the early 1960s, the chief executive began allowing local and state authorities to use the system to transmit localized warnings.

The system has been designed to deliver messages quickly and automatically in the event of an emergency. Among its most conspicuous features to the public may be the automatic interruption of broadcast programming that replaces program audio with an aural alert and superimposes a text crawl with warning information at the bottom of the TV screen.

EAS works automatically largely because of the efforts of the Federal Communications Commission http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/eas.html to standardize the system and the cooperation of the nation's broadcasters to participate in the program.

To add EAS capability a private TV or digital signage network requires:

• a special weather radio receiver tuned to receive emergency warnings, such as tornado warnings issued by the National Weather Service for a given geographic area; or
• an EAS ENDEC or encoder/decoder that can transmit and receive digitally coded emergency messages;
• a communication interface between the ENDEC and the media server used to drive the private TV or digital signage network;
• media server software that automatically recognizes incoming EAS information, generates the appropriate text crawl, and interrupts the ongoing playlist or adds the emergency crawl.

Using a weather radio would only provide partial EAS capacity requiring constant monitoring by someone who's responsible for the digital signage network and direct physical intervention with the system. Using an ENDEC provides for full EAS coverage -specifically weather and emergency messages for local, state and national authorities.

The ENDEC receives transmitted EAS data that includes information about who transmitted the alert, for instance civil authorities or the National Weather Service, the type of emergency, such as flash flooding, tornado or Amber Alert, the geographic area of the emergency, how long the emergency message is valid and the when it was issued.

Onward and upward
The FCC has been active in promulgating rules to update the EAS system to take advantage of the latest digital technologies and new means to reach the American public. In May, the commission moved to add support for a new technology known as CAP -or Common Alerting Protocol- to the EAS delivery system. CAP will usher in support of a variety of transmission formats including text, audio and video via broadcast, cable, satellite and other networks.

Most notably it promotes next generation EAS, which among other things may lead to automatic generation of aural warnings based on text crawls to assist those with hearing impairments as well as generation of warnings for non-English speakers.

While these moves by the FCC will take time to play out, it's encouraging to note that the nation's EAS system continues to develop. In the meantime, there's a clear path for those with private TV and digital signage networks to traverse to support today's EAS 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 download our Why Digital Signage Works white paper; subscribe to our digital signage RSS feed that gives a diverse perspective on digital signage from experts around the world; join our weekly digital signage software Webinar; and sign up for our Keywest Update news brief.