Key advances accelerating deployment

by all | 21 November 2013 8:30 am

By José Avalos
Digital signage is everywhere. From retail stores to health-care facilities, from college campuses to transit stations, studies suggest more consumers see video on signs than on websites. This growth has surpassed expectations.

Estimates suggest the industry will continue to expand at a rapid pace to more than 22 million screens and 10 million media players around the world by 2015. According to ABI Research, combined spending on digital signage hardware and software is expected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2010 to $4.5 billion by 2016. PQ Media reports worldwide digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising revenues reached $2 billion in 2011 and Canadian industry analyst Lyle Bunn reports they are growing at a projected rate of 15 per cent annually.

Nevertheless, many digital signage suppliers and integrators face tremendous challenges trying to evaluate and compare various components and system options for a typical deployment. The process of acquiring hardware and software licences is time-consuming and costly—and this does not include the expense of creating and managing content.

Fortunately, the industry has seen new advances that are making it easier to evaluate options and deploy digital signage across various vertical market segments.

Remote management
The remote management of screens is one area where the industry continues to see progress and technological advances. It is becoming easier for digital signage operators to lower their total cost of ownership (TCO) by remotely diagnosing problems. And many report they can remotely fix those problems about 90 per cent of the time.

Remote management also boosts energy conservation and efficiency, as signs can be turned on and off remotely. This not only reduces energy costs, but also helps extend the hardware’s useful life.

Meanwhile, new software is providing simpler interfaces to allow the real-time creation and deployment of customized content, with control of each individual screen. The software is also being integrated with the media players.

Turnkey advances
Another trend has been the commodification of digital signage. Not only are the prices of liquid crystal display (LCD) dropping, but so too are the costs of entire systems.

Many aspects of a typical digital signage deployment are now available on a modular basis for easier integration into a variety of form factors, including traditionally mounted screens, interactive kiosks, whiteboards, digital endcap merchandising displays in stores or ‘intelligent’ vending machines.

Richer applications
Many rich-media applications that were not available to the broader market just a few years ago are commonplace today. Graphics chips’ processing capabilities continue to increase by 40 to 50 per cent each year and mainstream media players can mix and blend rich graphics and other content.

Digital signage can also be complemented by gesture-recognition technology, augmented reality (AR) applications, connectivity with mobile devices and/or social media networks.

What’s needed next
To ensure the long-term success of digital signage, particularly as an advertising medium, other challenges will still need to be overcome:

Standardizing the business model
Overall, most brands, retailers and other businesses deploying digital signage lack a consistent or standardized business model. Some efforts in this direction have occurred, but marketers are still unsure of what is a ‘fair’ price to pay to display their dynamic messages in a shopping mall, at an airport or in an individual store.

Revenue-sharing between the sign’s owner and the media agency is also very subjective. The question of who is the appropriate representative to arrange the buying and selling of on-screen content and how brokering should be handled is inconsistent. Every industry player has his/her own idea on these topics, but no consensus exists.

Defining metrics
Unlike TV advertising or traditional out-of-home (OOH) media like billboards, the DOOH sector has not yet reached consensus on standard metrics for determining the value of ad exposure to an audience. Without standardized ways to measure this value, many ad agencies are reluctant to invest in the medium.

A definition of metrics and corresponding value will be needed if the digital signage industry is to grow beyond the current slew of isolated networks.

Developing more standards
The early days of the digital signage sector have been likened to the wild, wild west, where a [3]severely fragmented industry produced an unwieldy variety of systems. Much of this fragmentation remains today, although the sector has begun to standardize with common hardware and operating systems (OSs). Open, standards-based platforms for application programming interfaces (APIs) and pluggable interfaces between display panels and embedded modules are allowing the industry to deploy digital signage networks that are interoperable with each other.

Other standards are still in the process of being developed. Content standards, for example, will help ensure various screens with different resolutions and aspect ratios can display the same content properly, enabling digital signage networks to become more ‘scalable.’

All of these initiatives will create greater efficiencies and lead to more investment in the digital signage sector.

The next generation
While it is appropriate to applaud the growth and success so far of digital signage as a compelling medium, it is equally important to continue working toward—and investing in—the future. As much as DOOH advertising has grown, it still represents a tiny fraction of overall ad spending, so there is much unrealized potential yet to be explored.

With the right investments in innovation, standards and a far-reaching vision, it is feasible to suggest the digital signage business model could one day become comparable to national TV networks, ‘broadcasting’ messages to select audiences across Canada, the U.S. and beyond.

José Avalos is the director of digital signage for Intel’s intelligent systems group. For more information, visit www.intel.com[4].

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/key-advances-accelerating-deployment-2/

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