Nearly half of all digital displays to leverage SMS by 2012

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The promise of interactivity between potential customers and display technology is only at its beginning; however, advertisers are looking to enable a higher level of engagement with digital signage audiences by enabling a backchannel. Due to the simplicity of SMS messaging and the ubiquity of wireless handsets, 40 percent of new networked digital display platform installations will leverage SMS for interactivity by 2012, according to MultiMedia Intelligence. This is up from approximately 5 percent in 2007.

SMS is not the only manner for providing interactivity. Other wireless methods such as RFID, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi will also find significant penetration in interactive digital signage platforms. In 2008, 169,000 newly installed digital displays had Bluetooth, RFID, Wi-Fi or SMS capabilities or some combination of these four protocols.

"Wireless is the operative word for how digital displays engage customers," said Rick Sizemore, chief strategist for MultiMedia Intelligence. "Implementing SMS interactivity is a path that opens new revenue streams and will bring back 1-to-1 marketing. MultiMedia Intelligence expects that no alternatives will find the potential success enjoyed by SMS."

 

MultiMedia Intelligence also found that:

• In 2008, 90 percent of all networking connections from the servers to the set top boxes or digital media adapters in digital signage networks were Ethernet.
• Cabling options to the display include Ethernet, 1394, HDMI, Wireless HDMI, and co-ax. HDMI promises to comprise 70 percent of connections to newly installed digital displays by 2012. Cabling and related electronics will account for U.S. $170 million in 2008 revenue for companies like Gefen and Belkin in digital signage.
• Europe is becoming more significant in the digital signage market. Germany is seeing a significant rise in deployments with 5,000 new digital signage display screens expected to be installed in 2008.

The research report, "Network Digital Signage: Infrastructure, Displays, Technology," examines and forecasts key market verticals in the networked digital signage market.

www.digitalsignagetoday.com

Sign of the times: In-store private networks open up to ads

Two of the networks run by Channel M, which produces the content for and manages several in-store TV networks, are opening up their programmning to allow third-party advertising.

The networks running in Ashley Furniture and ecko had been entirely store-focused, but will now allow 30-second spots, flash billboards, product integration and trailers that are targeted by geography.

Another Channel M network, Gym TV, had previously announced there would be advertising.

MediaWeek reports:

Primarily targeting women, The Ashley Furniture network includes more than 1,500 screens in 215 retail locations reaching more than 900,000 monthly store visitors. ecko, a younger-skewing male brand, has a network across 68 retail locations.

"By providing the ability for brands to connect with consumers who are actually out shopping and ready to make purchases, Channel M has created a more effective method for delivering branded messages that generate immediate sales results. We are pleased to support this evolution in advertising by opening up these retail networks to brands and advertisers," said Dennis Quinn, president of sales and marketing for Channel M.  

In relative terms there still aren't alll that many retailers who have in-store screen networks, but of those out there most have resisted the the third-party ad thing unless it is a third party that came in and both set up and ran the network, like PRN and countless c-store networks. But a very wobbly economy and worrying retail outlook would certainly prompt retailers to look at ways, like ad revenues, to at least offset the costs of their screen networks.

www.sixteen-nine.net

Comunicar a través de nuevos medios es más efectivo... y obtienes mejor retorno. Apuesta por la creatividad en nuevos medios.

Se publicó hace unos días la noticia de que se reducirán las inversiones en medios no convencionales ante la crisis... lejos de eso, los clientes deben aprovechar mejor sus recursos, y eso conlleva desarrollar estrategias más creativas, que nos acerquen más y mejor a nuestro consumidor. Para ello debemos estar donde él está. Se trata de medios mucho más efectivos, ante un consumidor más receptivo y en mejor disposición para la compra. Conceptos que hemos leido y escuchado muchas veces, y demasiado importantes para que las agencias los sigan pasando por alto... Las herramientas de medición ya existen (por ejemplo en el digital signage) y los resultados son alentadores, sigamos trabajando para desarrollar análisis y estudios que nos permitan mejorar y actualizar estos medios, mucho más dinámicos que los tradicionales.
Es compresible que desde las agencias y centrales de medios convencionales se lancen mensajes de ese tipo, para intentar asegurar spots de televisión o grandes campañas publicitarias... pero en realidad deberían luchar de nuevo por la creatividad, que la creatividad también está en el medio. Lo importante es que al cliente le sirva y venda más.

Un ejemplo reciente de inversión en nuevos medios: Burger King utiliza un nuevo soporte de exterior: agarraderas de autobús

An Updated Budget for Digital Signage Hardware and Software... in USA

As we can read in Wirespring, blog post by Bill Gerba, the budget for a digital signage network is manageable to many retailers... were is the content? were is creativity? next chapter? You have the news here:

What's the cost of a typical 100-screen digital signage installation?
Enough with the introduction and disclaimers. You want to see the numbers, right? Well, here they are:

Cost of a digital sign for 3 years
40" LCD screen	$1,000
Player hardware	$1,100
Display mount	$200
Player software	$450
Management software & tech support	$1,500
Installation	$1,100
Initial project management	$300
Total	$5,650

How have things changed
since our last pricing study?

Before we get started with the analysis, all of the usual caveats from past years apply. Namely, this is an aggregate budget, so it's not meant to reflect any one company's products. It also doesn't distinguish between traditional software licensing versus software-as-a-service (SaaS) products. Installation assumes a two-man team arriving at a venue that has existing power lines (so no high-voltage work required). That said, the cost of installing a 100-screen network has dropped about 16% in the past year. The biggest savings came from dramatic price reductions on large LCD screens, which now run about $1,000 for a 40" screen with a three-year warranty (which is a good idea in general, and may be a requirement if you're leasing your equipment).

Citizens Bank Digitizes Greensense Ads

Citizens Bank is stepping up enrollment in its Green$ense program—which rewards customers with a dime for every electronic transaction they make—with interactive window displays in two major U.S. cities.

Motion-triggered ads touting the bank's Green$ense eco-friendly initiative debuted in Boston's South Station and Philadelphia's Market East Station earlier this month. The work is one of many interactive projects to come out of Arnold Worldwide's R&D lab, which opened its doors last spring.

Green$ense allows customers to earn up to $120 annually for each electronic transaction they make, including debit transactions, online bill payments and recurring payments. Citizens Bank launched a campaign to promote the program last month with the tagline: "The Environment is like a bank account. Every little bit helps."

Similar to the TV ads, the interactive screens feature a bird dropping coins into consumers' hands. Consumers can engage with the screens through a camera device that reacts to movement. Depending on the range of motion, viewers can help grow trees and flowers or make birds fly. Street teams stationed at the Boston and Philadelphia branches will help direct foot traffic to the display.

Citizens Bank, which spent $10 million in U.S. measured media last year and $8 million through August (not incuding online initiatives), per Nielsen Monitor-Plus, is hoping the effort will turn into enrollment for its Green$ense program.

"[Green$ense] offers customers real value—cash back—for every payment without paper," said Mark Fabbro, Arnold's svp/group account director. "At the same time, this program offers customers an easy and tangible way to help the environment and do something good. So, in essence, it's the best of both worlds."
www.brandweek.com