Bunn, 63
Lyle Bunn, founder and chair of the Center for Digital Experience (CDX) in Brighton, Ont., passed away on Oct. 9 from colon cancer. He was 63.
Bunn, a frequent contributor to Sign Media Canada, was a widely-recognized analyst, advisor, and educator in the dynamic place-based media industry. Over the past 15 years he has published more than 400 articles, white papers, and guides that have advanced the use of the medium. He also directly assisted hundreds of brands in various industries to plan, execute, and optimize digital experiences, as well as presented the message of media-enabled engagement to more than 10,000 professionals in live and webinar presentations.
In 2012, the Digital Signage Experts Group (DSEG) partnered with Bunn to make Speed II, the second version of his digital signage business training program, which would be available online for self-paced learning. To create this, he developed and updated a four-hour educational program to help both technology supplier and project team members focus on the specific elements needed to make digital signage successful.
When this partnership was announced, Alan Brawn, the chair of DSEG at the time, said the training program would illustrate the interrelationship of these elements in the highly informative and information-rich manner for which Bunn was already well-known. The business focus made it an excellent complement to DSEG’s training programs, which focused more on the technological aspects of digital signage. The program comprised nine ‘chapters,’ covering digital signage uses, objectives, content strategies, network design, financial considerations, analytics, metrics, advertising revenues, and return on investment (ROI).
Just last year, Bunn announced he was focusing fully on developing CDX, which supports businesses with webinars, case studies, how-to guides, and other educational resources, as he looked forward to contributing to a wider range of process and tools.
“Digital signage will continue to make significant contributions to these brands, but a strong planning framework should now be applied to broader digital experiences,” he said at the time.
“Over the years, I’ve gotten to know Lyle, both as a person and as a member of our industry. He was ubiquitous in our industry, insatiable in his desire to learn and teach, and genuine in his enthusiasm and gentle manner,” said Digital Signage Federation (DSF) chairman Richard Ventura. “He will be missed and he will be remembered.”
Services to celebrate Bunn’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20 at the Brighton Fellowship Christian Reform Church in Brighton, Ont. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be sent to the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) or to the American Cancer Society (ACS) in his name.
