We just returned from the Digital Signage for Venues and Public Spaces conference in Washington DC. I attended with Justin Young, the Managing Director of Gottschalk+Ash, our sister company and one of the world's leading design firms in the area of branding and wayfinding for public spaces. A small but interesting and attentive group of attendees - pretty good turnout for the first digital signage conference held for this specific audience.
First - kudos to the Strategy Institute for putting together a good first effort for a conference to this audience. As is typical, some speakers offered considerably more value than others, but all-in-all we were satisfied with the content provided and the contacts made. The Strategy Institute has clearly staked out their leadership position in conferences for the digital signage industry.
As I attend more industry events and continue our extensive research into developments in the field, a few themes are becoming increasingly obvious. The first is below - the second I'll post separately tomorrow.
End users (retailers, venues and public spaces) are moving up the food chain for digital signage leadership.
Three years ago, in the prehistoric age of digital signage installations, end users turned to the names they knew for digital signage advice - typically the manufacturers of the screens/hardware. Sony. Sharp. Samsung. These companies had the financial resources and the brand credibility to put salespeople into the boardrooms of potential owners of digital signage installations. What quickly became clear was that plasma or LCD screens did not a signage network make. It was like going to Gateway Computers to have them install a global ERP solution.
Next were the software companies. These firms were able to explain to end users how content was going to reliably travel from a server in Atlanta to a 42" plasma screen in Mt. Vernon, Illinois - a major initial concern to retailers. Convergent. EK3. Scala. All firms grounded in software and engineering, and presenting themselves as 'turn key, full service' solution providers. But now, as digital signage software is commoditizing (most software now does an able job of delivering high resolution content to a screen anywhere in the world), end users are realizing that they have hundreds of screens and thousands of programming hours. Content for the networks has largely been an afterthought - "we'll fill it with advertising and stuff from vendors" has been the typical content strategy. It was kind of like the editor-in-chief of the New York Times being mostly concerned about the quality of newsprint and the colour of the trucks that dropped off the papers at the newsstands in the mornings.
Now, content providers are increasingly taking a leadership role. The technical ability to install appropriate hardware and distribute content via the internet are now basic requirements, and able to be fulfilled by any one or through a combination of many, many competent organizations. Content providers are adding value by focusing on the importance of what was on the screens instead of how it got there. Unfortunately, advise from content providers is still largely tactical in nature, and the final connection between business strategy and in-store consumer communication has net yet been consummated.
There is still one more stop on this journey. C-suite executives in major retailers and operators of public spaces are realizing that the power of digital signage to communicate with their customers or users while they are in their stores or venues is a strategic rather than a tactical asset, with benefits that reach far beyond incremental revenue opportunities from third party advertising. And the ability to fully integrate digital signage into strategic plans is starting to fall to consulting firms - firms with not only broad knowledge of the digital signage industry, but with real world expertise in assisting retailers and venue operators with driving customer and shareholder value through the strategic planning and implementation process.
Increasingly, thought leadership is trumping tactical executional expertise. It's time.
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