Advertising using digital signage is a form of out-of-home advertising in which content and messages are displayed on digital signs with a common goal of delivering targeted messages to specific locations at specific times. This is often called "digital out of home" or abbreviated as DOOH.
The benefits of digital signage over traditional static signs are that the content can be exchanged more easily, animations can be shown, and the signs can adapt to the context and audience, even interactively. Digital signage also offers superior return on investment compared to traditional printed signs
Market and applications:
While the term "digital signage" has taken hold throughout most of the world, some companies and organizations prefer to use the terms "narrowcasting", "screen media", "place-based media", "digital merchandising", "digital media networks", "digital out-of-home" or "captive audience networks"
China currently leads the world in the number of digital signage displays deployed and number of NASDAQ IPOs , with the country's biggest digital signage firm, Focus Media Holding , alone operating more than 120,000 screens. Total revenue from the digital signage equipment market in the United States – including hardware, software, installation, and maintenance—is expected to grow by about 33% in 2009.
Digital signage is used for many different purposes and there is no definitive list. However, below are some of the most common applications of digital signage:
- Public information – news, weather and local (location specific) information, such as fire exits and traveler information
- Internal information - corporate messages, health & safety, news, etc.
- Advertising – either related to the location the signage is in or just using the audience reach of the screens for general advertising
- Brand building – in-store digital signage to promote the brand and build a brand identity
- Influencing customer behavior – directing customers to different areas, increasing the dwell time on the store premises
- Enhancing customer experience – applications include the reduction of perceived wait time in restaurant waiting areas, bank queues, etc., as well as recipe demonstrations in food stores
- Enhancing the environment – with interactive screens (in the floor for example) or with dynamic wayfinding
Displays :
Digital signage displays may be LCD or plasma screens, LED boards, projection screens or other emerging display types like living surfaces or Organic LED screens ( OLEDs ). Other, less traditional technologies for digital signage exist, such as ' holographic displays , water screens and fog screens . However, these are typically used for smaller one-off installations rather than large networks.
Rapidly-dropping prices for large plasma and LCD screens have led to a growing increase in the number of digital signage installations. Another price-related benefit that is allowing a larger group of businesses to install digital signage is the increasing availability of newer LCD and plasma display brands in the market. Many locations have opted to forgo more expensive brand name displays for more affordable displays from less well-known companies.
A recent study shows that there is a statistically significant relationship between price and the display size. The same study also shows that there is a significant relationship between price and brand name. These two variables account for 77% of the price in displays
Network infrastructure : Unless the player server is located at the display, there is usually a network connecting the digital signage displays. The video (and possibly audio) is distributed to the displays through a series of wired network connections (such as Cat 5 cables ) or wireless connectivity through the use of wireless adapters. When distributing through anything other than a video/audio cable, the signal will need to be converted with transmitter and receiver baluns .
To manage a network, a management server is usually required. This can be located anywhere, so long as it is connected to the digital signage network. New content will be managed and organized here, while the actual content itself is stored and played on the player servers.
Digital signage networks can either be closed or open to the web, which will affect how the content on the screens is updated. For closed networks (without Internet access), updates need to be done locally through USB sticks, DVD drives or other 'onsite' updates. Open networks (with Internet access) can be updated remotely and stream data from other Internet sources (such as RSS feeds). The availability and type of Internet access (wireless, broadband, etc.) depends on the location and client.
Technologies such as IPTV allow digital signage to be used as a method of broadcasting. The content is played according to instructions provided by play lists controlled by the digital signage system content management server. Convergence between digital signage and broadcasting allows for real-time distribution of broadcast sources (TV) on a narrowcast network (digital signage).
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