Latest News from Dave Haynes

iPad on Ulitzer - How To Jump On the iPad Buzz

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:45:00 EST

There were two kinds of technology companies issuing press releases today. Goofball ones that were somehow oblivious to Apple's planned announcement, and thought it was just another day and their stuff would get the usual attention. And those who watched the announcement of the iPad and realized there was excitement to leverage, and put together their own announcement. Now just about anyone in digital signage making an announcement that somehow tied in to the iPad would be regarded with giggles, but Nanonation is one of only a few companies in the space that actually have some genuine Apple ties, history and chops, so to speak.

Sixteen Hundred or So Posts Later

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:30:00 EST

Something I read reminded me that this blog was coming on four years. According to my old WordPress and my current Joomla admin thingdoodles, I have done 1,600 or so posts to date, or about one a day, including weekends and holidays.

I don't really take advertising, except for the odd favor for friends or to drive my own businesses, so the sum total of my ad revenues via Google AdSense has been something like $118. If I do the math right -- big IF -- I think that works out to something like seven cents a post. A post takes me about 20 minutes on average, sometimes a lot longer, so I think that means I am doing about 21 cents an hour on this thing.

Clearly, I'm a brilliant businesman.

I've had a number of people asking about advertising on the site and maybe I will do it, maybe I won't. I have to weigh money against the optics and whatever obligations I may feel to then write about the advertiser or be nice. I do press releases for piles of people via pressDOOH and most never get on here because this isn't meant to be a news site. To the credit of all those clients, none have suggested they figured that was part of the deal.

ONE of these days I will cut over to WordPress and wave Joomla a not terribly fond farewell. Spare time is an issue, for me and my gracious hosts at ITES, who are also stinkin' busy.

I also haven't done it yet because I am sorting out in my head what to do with Sixteen:Nine. There are some really interesting Web applications emerging, and I would love to see how these could apply and make this corner of the DS world a lot more of a two-way thing, and also better use real time streams of information.

So ... thinking about that. All ideas welcomed.

Thanks to all those who've sent me notes or stopped me at a trade show and passed on kind words. I'm particularly gratified when I take companies to task for something and they get that it's not personal. There's been the odd time when I've met people and thought, "Ok, is he going to crush my typing fingers when we shake hands???" But people have been overwhelming cool and professional.

I have been writing in serious spurts lately, dropping off for a week, and then doing 12 posts in three days. Depends on if I am traveling. Depends on how crazy-busy I am (been seven days a week all month, but that's a good thing). And more than anything else, it depends on whether anything interesting is shaking.

Thanks for reading. There is waaaaaaaay more stuff out there now from business news sites and smart bloggers who aren't just peddling company wares. It was pretty much me and Gerba back in the Jurassic era of digital signage. I still think there's a need for looking ahead and around the corners, getting beyond the obvious, poking holes, and pointing out the great and the goofy.

PumpTop TV Tries A Little Basking In Reflected Glory

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:08:28 EST

IMAGE: ACCESS HOLLYWOOD

Ok, I honestly like what PumpTop TV is doing with its content. I'm not sure the mix is right, but I admire that they have thought beyond the ill-founded notion that news headlines and the weather are the Path to viewer recall glory on DOOH screens.

But the release I just got is just shark-jumping, oh-what-the-hell silly.

Oscar Contender Jeff Bridges Surprises PumpTop TV Viewers By Revealing His True Feelings About Winning For “Crazy Heart”

Irvine, CA – Hollywood antihero Jeff Bridges is not so sure that winning an Oscar is a good thing. He made that startling statement during an interview airing on PumpTop TV, the leading nationwide out-of-home digital media network, from Movie City News. Bridges talked about the possibility of getting the Best Actor Award for his role in “Crazy Heart” after four previous attempts before for other movies where he had a leading role “Crazy Heart” is a drama about a broken down, hard-living country music singer (Jeff Bridges) who finally finds salvation with the help of a journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who discovers the real man behind the musician. The film was adapted from the novel by Thomas Cobb.

Talk about attempting to bask in reflected glory ...

Now having giggled at the premise and BIG, tenuous reach of the release, the overall program is interesting and there is an angle the company is trying to work (specifically getting the studios' marketing spenders interested in the medium by going all Hollywood for the next few weeks).

The interview with Jeff Bridges is just one of a lineup of Red Carpet features PumpTop TV is showcasing this month. The Academy Awards nominations will be announced on February 2nd and the Ceremonies will take place on March 7th. The Independent Spirit Awards take place on March 5th.

The robust special Awards programming incorporates HD videos, stereo audio and high resolution banners for each of the award ceremonies, offering historical information and features on nominated films and actors.

The innovative content and its providers include:

* MakingOf (www.makingof.com), for behind-the-scenes interviews focused on the art and craft of filmmaking with award-nominated filmmakers and talent.

* IMDB (www.imdb.com), top movie site for current and historical pieces, featured in banners with associated video content from other providers.

* TheWrap (www.thewrap.com), leading movie blog and news site helmed by Sharon Waxman, former New York Times reporter, for news and information.

* MovieCityNews (www.moviecitynews.com), for video clips from blogger David Poland, known for his original and independent insight into the film business.

* Stylecaster (www.stylecaster.com), for clips about what the stars are expected to wear and what PumpTop TV viewers can wear to awards’ parties.

* Gary Vaynerchuk (garyvaynerchuk.com), for video clips about what to drink at awards’ parties.

* ExerciseTV (www.exercisetv.tv), for tips on how to get a “Red Carpet Body”.

* Verdant Magazine (www.verdantmag.com), how to have a green Oscar party.

Through its strategic partnership with Westinghouse Digital, a leading LCD screen manufacturer, PumpTop TV reaches millions of consumers each month through thousands of 19-inch HD screens with full stereo sound on gas pumps in the top US DMAs.

Doug Woo, Executive Vice President of AdtekMedia, the parent company of PumpTop TV, said, “We are delighted that PumpTop TV will be taking our unique audience behind the scenes for the upcoming Oscars and Independent Spirit Awards. Our quick, informative sound bites and copy are rapidly becoming a welcome communications platform for the upwardly mobile society. We feel Hollywood and Madison Avenue will become big fans of using PumpTop TV as an important outlet for information about their ongoing projects.“

So, again, the angle for this release is a pretty big reach for attention, but the substance of it is really interesting. These guys think like content people, and don't see the stuff between the ads as feeds and filler. That part I really like.

Next Toronto Digital Signage Mixer set for Feb. 9th

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:41:36 EST

Dmitry at Ingram has pulled the pieces together as he always does and booked our spot and found a sponsor for the February edition of the Toronto Digital Signage Mixer event. on Feb. 9th.

Chief Mounts has stepped up as sponsors and they will have some of their gear around to look over and use later when we, as is tradition, spill into the streets to overturn police cars and smash windows.

And now a word from the sponsor:

With over 30 years of proven product and service excellence, hundreds of product awards and patented designs, CHIEF is globally recognized as an AV industry leader. Chief designs state-of-the-art mount and rack solutions that complement the technology they support. http://www.chiefmfg.com

Sponsors buy, so they get to a little spotlight for their noble deeds. Please feel free to invite anyone you see to be a good fit for this event. Remember your business cards, great ideas and bail money.

For those unfamiliar with this event, and wondering what the beer pong photo and the rioting reference is all about, never mind. It is regular social gathering of people in or interested in the digital signage and digital out of home sector. It's a totally informal networking session and usually runs around three hours until people realize Wednesday is a work day and they better head home. A great way to meet a lot nice, smart people quickly.

RSVP to Dmitry's attention if you can, as it helps provide a sense of numbers to expect. Dmitry.Sokolov [at] ingrammicro.ca

Address:

Six Steps Restaurant & Lounge

55 Colborne Street

T - 416.504.4800

F - 416.504.4880

http://sixstepsrestaurant.com

A variation on the Toronto mixer goes in Las Vegas two weeks later. Unfortunately, we're RSVP'd out, but a healthy number of the Toronto regulars got themselves on the list in time.

"There is a 'funding model:'" Onestop on its high school hallway screen network

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:10:55 EST

From Marketing magazine online:

Four Toronto high schools have new digital screens in their halls thanks to a pilot project between the school board and Onestop Media Group.

The screens mainly display content produced by and for students, but will include some third-party messaging, though the school board balks at calling it advertising.

"There will be sponsorships," said trustee Chris Bolton, vice-chair of the Toronto District School Board. "This isn't advertising. Advertising is jeans for $39.99. Sponsorship is the milk marketing board putting forward ideas around [kids] drinking more milk."

He said the board will be very selective about who can pay to get their message onto the screens, but the criteria are still evolving and the board will be making decisions on a case-by-case basis as the pilot unfolds. Colleges and universities would be acceptable, while marketers like McDonald's, for example, would likely not pass the test.

There was a mid-week press conference around the announcement and the Marketing piece is the first attention the pilot has received from media other than knucklehead bloggers like me, if Google searches can be trusted..

"We had students at the press conference [announcing the project] who are just over the moon," said Bolton. "They'll be able to publish their work, their ideas and their stories in a medium they are extremely comfortable with."

"This is a communications network for the schools," said Michael Girgis, CEO and president, Onestop Media Group. The community itself–students, their parents, administrators–will be giving feedback and defining how the network is used. School announcements can be delivered and reinforced, student councils could ask for voting on yearbook covers, or the Toronto Transit Commission could share information about public transportation, he said.

There is a "funding model," he said, but the advertising – Girgis also prefers "sponsorships" – must deliver the right message and the right content.

My guess is the model is to get in the door, prove the sky didn't fall and this thing isn't the high school hallway shopping channel, and slowly get the board and parents loosening the rules. If it works, Girgis may have something. If it doesn't, he's out maybe $20K in gear and lots of legwork and resource time.

More on the privacy issue: example of how stakeholders can collaborate

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:30:14 EST

Still cranky about the digital signage is a privacy Chernobyl report.

Haroon Mirza from CognoVision sent me a note saying they'd seen the report (they are prominently mentioned as being among the evil-doers) and noted his company is and always has been very big on privacy. They lay out what they do and don't do on their website. And to exemplify how important this stuff is, Mirza noted he was at a Privacy by Design conference at the Toronto Board of Trade, run by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

While these events have a different theme each year, notes Commissioner Ann Cavoukian, one goal remains the same throughout – to enable organizations to realize the Positive-Sum or win/win promise of Privacy by Design. This is the opposite of the dated win/lose zero-sum approach, wherein only one party may win. We want to help organizations answer the ever-increasing requirements to protect their customers’ and clients’ personal information, while at the same time advancing the security and functionality of their technology, processes and infrastructure. Effective protection of personal information is a critical business requirement and a very real opportunity for organizations to build confidence and trust with their stakeholders.

Exactly.

Comprehensive report on privacy in digital signage all but ruined by alarmist overtones

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:13:03 EST

The California-based World Privacy Forum has taken a deep dive on the privacy implications of digital signage networks, in a report by Pam Dixon called The One-Way-Mirror Society.

I have very mixed feelings about the report.

On one hand, it is a deep, pretty exhaustively researched look at the technologies, history, issues and general hoo-hah that sporadically bubbles up about audience metrics technologies sold by companies like CognoVision and Tru-Media. For someone looking to get up to speed on all this, the report is a solid piece of work.

On the other hand, it is thoughtful and reasonable in some sections, and flat-out alarmist to the point of goofiness in other sections.

Consider this key passage:

Digital signage is a privacy Chernobyl just waiting to happen, unless something is done quickly, and proactively. When customers realize how pervasive and how invasive this digital sign surveillance is, they will not like what they learn. Controls need to be put in place now, before this technology runs amok and becomes an entrenched problem that is too systemic to root out.

Really? Chernobyl? Surveillance? Technology runs amok???

Good Lord. We are talking here about technology that advertising-based networks use to more efficiently try to figure out who and how many people are looking at the screens, when and for how long. The cameras are replacing people who had the crushingly dull job of standing in the same places with clickers and clipboards, counting people manually and tallying them up for reports that do the same thing.

If this report was a film it would be in grainy black and white and the narrator would sound like a deep-voiced Rod Serling. He'd speak in rapid fire, and seem really concerned.

These technologies are quickly becoming ubiquitous in the offline world, and there is little if any disclosure to consumers that information about behavioral and personal characteristics is being collected and analyzed to create highly targeted advertisements, among other things. In the most sophisticated digital sign networks, for example, individuals watching a video screen will be shown different information based on their age bracket, gender, or ethnicity.

OK, maybe I'm naive. But I profoundly don't care if some audience-counting camera figures out I am a 52-year-old guy and not a 17-year-old girl, and serves me up a marketing message that's a little more tailored to my interests. Maybe I am slightly happier that the screen is pushing a smartphone ad on me instead of one for a text-tastic pink slider-flip thing?

Is that sort of thing really keeping anyone ... ANYONE ... up at night?

There is, of course, the obligatory reference to Minority Report. There are lots of loaded words and phrases here and there like "secretive" and innocent-looking" and "unrestrained." And loopy assertions.

The unfortunate part is that all this nonsense taints what is, on balance, a pretty useful document. The author cites some cases - like a campaign briefly run by Castrol in the UK last year, where cameras were used to capture the plates on vehicles approaching a big LED billboard and ran databases to come up with near instant oil recommendations for each car. Problem is they displayed the plates of all the cars on the LED board.

Dumb. Bad. Wrong. It lasted four days before the motor vehicles people went after the people behind the campaign.

Good example of why there do need to be some standards, and regulations. The industry is doing a pretty good job of regulating itself, but I get that just trusting advertising-driven companies to behave properly is maybe not the best idea.

The report makes a series of recommendations, most of which are reasonable enough:

• Better notice and disclosure to consumers

• No one-sided industry self regulation

• No price or other unfair discrimination

• The full set of Fair Information Practices must apply for compiled information

• Notice given to consumers about subpoenas for their information

• Prohibitions on digital signage in bathrooms, health facilities, etc.

• More robust consumer choices regarding data capture and use from signage

• Special rules for collection and use of pictures and information about children

The report does a nice job explaining and showing the technology, and even makes references to the evil guys at MarketPlace Station who are sorting out screen dwell times and genders at some Canadian Whole Foods stores. There's a photo of Haroon Mirza from CognoVisioon looking at one of his cameras. It shows how heat mapping works and taps CRI's Laura Davis-Taylor for her shopping behavior insights.

What really doesn't get talked about in the report is how this stuff is being applied not to invade privacy but do a better job of analyzing what's going in stores and other places, and tuning the experience to those dynamics and demographics.

Technology gets to be the bogeyman for possibly tailoring ads or offers based on gender and, horrors, ethnicity. Does anyone actually believe that sort of profiling doesn't enter into virtually every sales and shopper exchange that happens in retail every day. The sales associate sizes up the customer on first sight and things go from there.

I could go on, but's it's late ...

If privacy advocates really want an industry to work with them to safeguard the citizenry, does it make sense to pretty much condemn its people as being secretive and toxic? Would it not make a little more sense to say, as some other privacy advocates have done, that "we realize just about everyone in your sector is using this technology only to better understand their audiences, and that the technology is just an evolution of audience research that's been done in varied ways for decades. However, not everyone's motives will be as straight-forward and innocuous as yours, so let's all work to develop some safeguards."

But why be reasoned when you can make more noise and get more attention by driving an agenda and making the whole thing seem sinister and damn-near nightmarish? Chernobyl???

Dixon is the executive director of the forum, a small not-for-profit research group in California. Undoubtedly, the forum does some very good work. But the silly, over the top tone of some of the passages in this thing pretty much taint this good intentions of it.

It's a free download. make up your own mind, and do comment.

DSE Apex Award nominees announced

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:57:21 EST

Digital Signage Expo has announced the 22 companies that are finalists for the 2010 Apex Awards, which are put together by the event and judged by a panel of five industry journalists from Digital Signage Magazine, Digital Signage Today, PRO AV Magazine, Sound & Communications and Digital Signage Expo.

Art, Entertainment, Recreation

Adler Planetarium — nominated by NEC Display Solutions

NYC & Company — nominated by GestureTek Inc.

The Olympic Experience Museum of the Olympic Committee of Israel — nominated by C-nario

Corporate & Government

Unisys Belgium NV — nominated by X2O Media

Education & Healthcare

BC Children's Hospital Foundation — nominated by Scala Inc.

Indiana University — nominated by Scala Inc.

Northern Virginia Community College — nominated by Cisco Systems

Public Spaces

Amsterdam RAI — nominated by Scala Inc.

Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. — nominated by Aerva Inc.

IDS Center - Inland American Office Management — nominated by AlivePromo

Hospitality

ARAMARK — nominated by Wireless Ronin Technologies

Portland Trail Blazers/Rose Garden Arena — nominated by Omnivex Corp.

Zoom Media & Marketing — nominated by LocaModa Inc.

Retail

Miele Inspirience Centre — nominated by Scala Inc.

Sprint Studio Store — nominated by Scala Inc.

Turk Telekom Group/TTGaleri — nominated by Dreambox

Stadium, Arenas

Maple Leaf Sports + Entertainment — nominated by Digital Display & Communications/Omnivex Corp.

Miami Dolphins/Land Shark Stadium — nominated by Cisco Systems

Miami Heat/American Airlines Arena — nominated by Sony Electronics

Transportation

Monopoly Media/Zoom TV — nominated by Scala Inc.

The Port Authority of NY & NJ — nominated by Tightrope Media Systems

Underground of Barcelona — nominated by ADmira Digital Networks

Nice to see a good cross-section of international selections. The awards get handed at a banquet on Feb. 24th in Lost Wages.

Tips on why ads don't work; for online, but relevant to digital signage

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:04:44 EST

There's a great post up in Advertising Age about why most digital creative is ineffective. It is written by an advertising effectiveness consultant so it is in his interest to declare most of the stuff out there needs re-thinking, but what he suggests is valid and entirely relevant to digital signage advertising content ... most of which I'd suggest is also ineffective.

Writes Philip Sawyer:

I'll be blunt: Many digital advertisers make the same mistakes that the least effective advertisers made five years ago. The medium isn't to blame. The problems are due to creative efforts that do not suit the medium and the refusal to employ research tools that can identify creative problems and how to fix them.

Here are seven mistakes that, research tells us, afflict so many digital ads today.

1. They are too complex.

To digital advertisers: Most people aren't as interested in your products and services as you are; avoid the details. To interest them, attract their eye with uncluttered visual displays and concise, to-the-point headlines and body copy. In short: Keep it simple.

Note - How many DS ads have you seen that cram too much information, or are crammed on to a screen that has multiple zones of information?

2. They take too long to get to the point.

Yes, the viewer is watching a screen. But they're not at the movies -- they're not waiting for the credits to roll and the good stuff to start. Effective internet advertisers register their brands, post their messages quickly and avoid the long build-up with teaser words and images, which irritate and, worse, alienate the audience.

Note - In DS, you have a matter of three or four seconds. Some research suggest you have less than a second.

3. They are ambiguous.

Americans don't go to advertising to raise questions. They want answers. When internet ads generate thoughts that begin, "I wonder what..." or "Why are they..." or "What the hell...," they've missed their opportunity. Some digital advertisers believe that ambiguity arouses curiosity and product interest, but the research indicates that advertising effectiveness and uncertainty are usually mutually exclusive.

Note - Don't see this so much.

4. They are visually bland -- or, worse, ugly.

The research demonstrates that the eye is drawn to sharp, clear, colorful pictures; yet many digital advertisers offer muted, abstract photography or a visual cacophony of verbiage and images. With photographs, present one clear focal-point to entice the eye; employ strong, primary colors; and, if possible, heighten contrast by using black for the background.

Note - Yup, you get what you pay for, and a lot of stuff gets built in-house by people who are not trained creatives.

5. They use Flash for the sake of Flash -- not for a clear purpose.

Static ads often perform better than flash ads. Why? The online world is divided into two kinds of advertisers: the quick and the dead. Effective static ads don't have the luxury to distract the visitor with Flash; rather, they're forced to rely on simple images to attract the eye and on simply-stated messages for the mind, exactly what most online travelers are looking for.

Note - Lotsa debate out there as to whether motion is better or not. Some sophisticated stuff from Europe suggests motion is important, but the question is also about how much motion.

6. They are often difficult, if not impossible, to read.

Some digital advertisers unwisely borrow from some of the most egregious print ads, which were created by people who are not aware that uniformity of font size and style, not VaRIabIlitY, is the key to legibility. The most effective digital ads use one font style, in one size, well spaced and in lower case. (All-caps copy demands too much effort.)

Note - Especially on a screen viewed across a room, that has multiple zones.

7. They are bereft of benefit statements.

The vast majority of advertisers in all media are more comfortable listing features not benefits. The importance of this point cannot be overstated: There is one primary question that drives purchase interest in any product in any medium, and it is, "What's in it for me?" Clearly and concisely answer that question, and you'll win their hearts and minds.

Note - Calls to action are particularly important. DS advertising is not about story-telling.

One last point: The internet traveler usually has a clear purpose: to read e-mail, to get medical information, to book a flight to Bermuda ... Time moves quickly for people on a mission. Distract them without a quick payoff, and you're likely to irritate them -- rarely a goal of any advertising campaign.

Digital advertising isn't working very well, but don't blame the medium. The fault lies in the creative. Exploit the research possibilities available to you -- especially web analytics -- and you can create powerful advertising that can turn your business around.

More evidence this stuff works: Nielsen numbers

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:51:32 EST

Thanks to Dirk Hülsermann at OVAB Europe for flagging and posting this note about encouraging research from Germany, as done by Nielsen. We're starting to see more and more networks sharing their numbers, and it helps the sector as a whole when there are good stories to tell, and the storyteller has credibility.

According to a new consumer survey by the Nielsen research firm on “Awareness and Effectiveness of Digital Display Screens Installed In Grocery Stores,” digital out-of-home Media (DOOH) increases sales at the point of sale (POS). Four out of five product brands experienced significant increases of up to 33 percent in additional sales through the use of DOOH media. At the same time, display screen advertising at the POS considerably increased brand awareness: While previous studies on the effectiveness of POS advertising media showed only a slight increase in brand awareness (unprompted), the in-store TV tested here yielded a remarkable increase in awareness and recall rates of up to 14 percent (unprompted) and 31 percent (prompted).

Conscious awareness of digital display screens is generally high, according to the Nielsen study. Roughly three quarters of those surveyed (74 percent) noticed the monitors at the POS. The awareness rate for DOOH media is thus 23 percent higher than the average benchmark of other POS media analyses. In-store TV also gets good marks when it comes to acceptance:Display screen advertising and infotainment while shopping were well received by 62 percent of consumers.

“The Nielsen study makes one thing particularly clear: DOOH media have a direct effect on brand awareness and consumer buying patterns, directly boosting sales as a result, says Dirk Hülsermann, President of OVAB Europe, the association that represents the interests of the digital out-of-home industry on the continent. “These results are a clear call to retailers to increase their use of DOOH formats in the future. The results are important for us because they promote acceptance of our industry”

The Nielsen study refers to the DOOH format “EDEKA TV,” which was installed by OVAB Europe member Neo Advertising and another company in nearly 220 EDEKA stores across Germany. For several weeks, DOOH media showed special TV commercials for brand products in the grocery and hygiene categories. Their effect on brand awareness and sales in the respective stores was then measured. To do this, Nielsen surveyed over 1,400 consumers in twelve stores across Germany.

The killer (as in screens) digital signage app

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:59:13 EST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICpM3ItIhI0

An industry friend sent me a note about the TVBGone universal remote control, which allows users to turn off just about anyone's TV. He joked it was a killer digital signage app, as in killing screens.

It reminded me about what the Gizmodo guys did at CES in 2008, wandering around and turning off displays at booths and presentations for kicks. I had never seen the video, which is very funny (except if you were one of the people pranked).

I mention this because this could easily be done to anyone at ISE, DSE or any of the other upcoming trade shows. There are controls, I believe, that disable the IR receiver on monitors. Or the low tech way is a strip of black electrical tape over the IR area. In my booth bunny days (now gloriously in my past) we'd do that, just in case.

Toronto school board goes ahead with screen network; Onestop bites

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:52:08 EST

A few months ago there was what seemed like the strangest possible RFP from the Toronto District School Board, looking for a company to install a digital signage network in schools, on its own nickel. The curious part was that ads were not going to be allowed on the screens, which kinda messed up that pesky business model thing for the network people.

I wrote about first word of it, and then on some of the detail that started to filter out, including the involvement of Onestop Media Group, which went to the board with the concept. Onestop does the screens in the Toronto subways system, as well as a new network growing in apartment and condo lobbies. They do some fee for service work for retailers like Sporting Life, but they are very much a digital out of home ad network company that pays the bills selling ads.

Onestop's involvement means there is a way to ad revenue glory somewhere in this arrangement, because the guys who run the company are NOT knuckleheaded dreamers.

A release issued today confirms Onestop bagged the RFP (not sure if anyone else bothered once it appeared pre-cooked as most RFPs are), and that a system is now running in four downtown high schools.

The release gives some pretty good detail, but is a masterpiece when it comes to artfully ignoring the elephant in the room - advertising.

TORONTO, ONTARIO, MEDIA ADVISORY--(Marketwire - Jan. 26, 2010) - The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Onestop Media Group (Onestop) have officially launched a pilot project to bring a real-time, digital communications network to students in four downtown high schools; Harbord Collegiate, Central Technical School, Central Commerce Collegiate and Haydon Park Secondary. Using today's digital and interactive technologies, the network showcases a massive portfolio of content segments, from student news reports; to safety and security information; to the announcement of events and student achievements. The TDSB network also enables staff and students to upload videos, images and text to a series of state-of-the-art LCD screens.

The TDSB network's goal is to equip the schools with a modern communication platform to allow user-generated content - similar to what the students encounter growing up in the digital age. Content creation for this emerging digital medium may, in the future, be integrated into the school curriculum.

Chris Bolton, Vice-Chair of the Board, says: "Today's youth are tech savvy. This project engages them through their own media environment but also challenges them to be involved in their school and community. Learning has become more relevant using the technology and is reflective of their interests and those of their community, which also shares the benefits of this new communication piece in the Toronto District School Board."

"This is a generation that was born with the internet. Digital technologies are a part of the way students speak with each other, and we're pleased to provide a way for them to use this technology at school." says, Michael Girgis, CEO and President, Onestop Media Group.

Constable Scott Mills, Community Youth Officer, Toronto Crime Stoppers, says: "We are thrilled to see TDSB adopting a Digital Communication Network. The digital infrastructure that supports this Network also allows authorities such as TDSB and Crime Stoppers to deliver messaging in a timely and relevant fashion. Digital Networks like these have proven to be instrumental in helping keep our communities safe, as seen with Onestop's Network in the Toronto Transit Commission."

Rodrigo Fuentes, Principal, Harbord CI, adds: "The pilot will run for several more months, and will allow for student, parent and staff feedback on the tools and technology as they become part of daily school life."

Media is invited to join the students at Harbord CI for a demonstration of how they create dynamic content, upload and showcase their work real-time on state-of-the-art LCD screens.

I couldn't care one way or the other if there are screens in such schools, as there would not be anything going on the screens, in terms of advertising or content, that hasn't been seen 1,000 other worse ways by high school kids on cable, the Web or their phones. Innocent minds, these are not, by 15. If a system pays for the other functionality that comes with the system, cool.

But the careful avoidance of the "ad" word in this release speaks to the minefield Onestop is going to have to cross with a hyper-political school board and both educators and parents who will immediately conclude the devil is now broadcasting in Toronto's high school hallways and poisoning minds.

Note off to Onestop to ask what's what.

Las Vegas Mixer Now Sold Out

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:27:30 EST

UPDATE; Well, the free tickets didn't quite disappear as quick as a Taylor Swift concert, but they did indeed go fast. We stretched the RSVP number to 160 for the mixer on Feb. 23rd, and that's now fully subscribed. We have people coming from all over the place, and my guess is at least 80 companies are represented, perhaps more.

If you didn't hear about it in time, or procrastinated, sorry. No more room at the inn. Don Selmon of Popstar Networks was last over the line.

We'd appreciate people who are not on the "list" not showing up and trying to talk their way in. At this number it will be a little crowded, and if that inflates, it will detract from the spirit of the event. There is a check-in with a security guy anyway (not our choice, but there you go ...)

There's also lot of other things shaking that week, so finding a partner in crime to grab a beer will not be a chore.

Thanks to all who did RSVP. We shall see you in Vegas.

From earlier ...

Members of the digital signage community who live and work in the Toronto area have for a few years now been getting together on a regular basis for an informal mixer at an area bar. These “meet-up” sessions are purely intended as a chance to get people with common business interests together to swap cards and share ideas. Many business relationships have developed out of these friendly sessions, and the events usually attract 50 or more people. There are no demos. No speeches. Just a lot of mixing and meeting.

I did a mixer last year, the night before the exhibit hall opened for Digital Signage Expo, at a slightly weird but still cool lounge that had a flaming firepool and waitresses wearing long gowns. That went over well, so me and my colleagues at The Preset Group, a digital signage consultancy, have organized a bigger, better mixer for this year on February 23rd, the night before the DSE exhibit hall opens.

We have selected and booked a portion of a beautiful bar/nightclub that is part of the Venetian/Palazzo hotel complex, with room indoors and outdoors on a patio overlooking the Strip.

The meet-up will run from 6-8, though we expect some or many will linger. We have room for about 150, so if you are coming, we suggest you RSVP now. Sponsors for the event are Diversified Media Group, Adcentricity, POPAI, Arsenal Media, Thinxtream and DailyDOOH. Sharing sponsorship means we were able to get the first round of drinks covered, as well as some food, at a place that is definitely not in the same family as the $1 Margarita places down the strip.

We need to control numbers, so if you wish to attend, please use our RSVP tool on EventBrite: http://dslvmixer2010.eventbrite.com/

Come mixer day, you will then check-in at the event to get your access information. I think security will actually ask for IDs because there will be drink tickets. So people in their 40s and 50s will have the surreal experience of being carded. Oh well. Minor silliness.

Please also respect our sponsors who have graciously agreed to help offset costs without a lot of promotional consideration. Showing up in logo'd shirts and passing out material other than your business card would be, simply put, bad form.

We have room for roughly 150, so these will go fast. The place is big, not huge, so we have to control numbers and just showing up that night will be a little problematic. If you register, please don't try to bring your whole booth. One or two people, please, as the point of a mixer is to meet NEW people, not hang out with colleagues.

Help for Haiti - Video and Flash PSA downloads available

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:44:08 EST

A series of very simple hi-rez video spots are available now for download that help continue to drive awareness and donation for the relief effort in Haiti. Network operators can use to help direct funds to Red Cross groups in the US and internationally.

The downloads are available here: http://www.presetgroup.com/downloads/index.html

Landscape and portrait versions are available, and there are a few different file formats. We also left the Final Cut Pro file up there for producers to download. (That alone saves them 2 - 3 hours of work).

ANYONE can have these, including other networks, any end-users. You can even download the Flash versions and resize for your website, if you so choose.

The catalyst for this came at the end of last week from a DailyDOOH post wondering why there were not more appeals on DOOH networks for Haiti relief. Preset Group member David Weinfeld suggested we had the resources to put spots together for network operators who’d like to help, but didn’t have the time or resources to build a spot on their own. Some of the largest DOOH networks have stepped up with spots, but there are many smaller networks who we hope will welcome having a PSA that drives awareness.

There are countless agencies helping out, but the Red Cross was selected for simplicity and because of the haunting imagery agency photographers have captured.

Off-white paper was indeed a set-up for product launch

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:54:54 EST

Right before Christmas the Maryland integrator Noventri issued a strange "off-white paper" about the sorry state of the digital signage industry and how buyers were being duped by false claims and how much of what's being done out there is wrong and ineffective.

I wrote about it then, first because it was such an odd, off-putting approach to building up business, and because it smelled like a set-up.

It was.

What disappoints me here, I wrote, is that this whole white paper is not all that cleverly angling toward a change in direction for the company in January. This is not a paper trying to advance industry knowledge. This is a paper leading readers toward an announcement of a new product that moves them down-market to a small, low-cost and limited device that probably only plays stills, or does HD video as needed.

So this weekend my Google Alerts squirted out a new press release from Noventri that, sure enough, introduces a down-market low-cost networked media player.

At $500, including software and no recurring costs, the player is spec'd to do up to 1080P video. It would be using set-top box media player components so it is not a PC and therefore will have its limitations. But I definitely think there's room in the marketplace for something like this, and while the eco-green thing is over the top, the energy-saving aspects of the little box are impressive. (Minor point - Do people really want a fluorescent green box on the back of a display, or something dark that blends in?)

The in-your-face, "you're being lied to" marketing approach that started with the white paper is all through Noventri's Website now, and it takes some serious clicking around to find the earlier product line and offer that looked like scores of other companies doing the same thing. I have some admiration for people who decide not to do what everyone else does with their marketing and take a different path. These guys are certainly doing that.

But I'm not at all convinced they're taking the right path.

I don't think end-users - particularly the entry-level market Noventri is after - care about the history and state of marketing spin in the industry. They want to know what it does, how easy is it to use, and how much it costs. And that's about it.

I'm not convinced that target market has the interest or the patience to sort through a site that has copy that borders on diatribes, and screwball eco-centric navigation in an industry where the "green" factor is hardly a raging topic. All this approach does, I think, is make people think, "Hmmmmm ..."

Never met these folks. Have nothing at all against them. But they do make my head shake.

Monster does monster street level promotion for new MTV series Buried Life

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:11:28 EST

The Buried Life is a new MTV series based on an earlier documentary about four Canuck college students from Victoria, BC who do their own "bucket list" of things they need to do before they die. Given that they are still just young pups, they are getting a serious head-start on most of us, but then the list includes things like camp at the Playboy Mansion and kiss Rachel McAdams (another Canuck) and the Stanley Cup. They're young, after all, and Canadian. Recipe for trouble.

MTV has engaged Monster Media to promote the show in a big way on a New York streetscape, and the result is a very cool blend of BIG printed vinyl graphics on the exterior of a building, as well as interactive screens.

I love this kind of stuff because of the stopping power it has - using printed graphics to make small digital stuff MUCH more impactful. That was exactly where I was taking a company I did work with last year, but, well ... I won't go there. Dimwits.

The variety of engagement and social media integration with this is also quite clever and compelling.

Anyway, the details:

MTV’s thought provoking series is intended not only to entertain, but also to engage its audience, serving as the perfect platform for an interactive storefront domination. To present MTV with the right blend of engagement and innovation, Monster Media, the global leader of interactive street-level displays, partnered with Media Storm and Maude. This team created a dynamic campaign that can be viewed and controlled by pedestrians.

This never-before-done experience showcases three main areas of engagement fused together to create a highly-customized display. In one section, participants use a control panel consisting of touch sensitive digital screens where they are able to type in one of their goals they would like to accomplish before they die. The users can then submit these goals to MTV’s master list, which appears on a linked LCD screen, and can also post to their personal Facebook accounts, a first for Monster Media.

Could not find any video, but have asked Monster. They say one should be up by Monday.

There is this, to be overly nice, curious approach to video press releases here: (http://www.vodnewswire.com/content/video/monster_20100120W.mov) It has a video of a woman describing what it is all about, but nothing from on site. WTF???

Stratacache unveils new networked POP player/screens for retail (with pix)

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:46:01 EST

Stratacache was exhibiting this week at NRF and the company announced a new product that SEEMED like it was pretty interesting and really well-suited to retail. But the release did not come with any visual aids to help get my feeble mind around what the units looked like and did.

So I didn't write anything up. But I did ask.

And now I have received. Paula Polei from Stratacache sent along a couple of images that show what a couple of the units look like.

The Spectra PopTouch units are combo LCD/media players that come in sizes as small as 3 inches and as big as 40. I suspect the market for these in the aisles is around the 10"-17" size and and at end-caps, bigger.

For a retailer or an advertiser, the release says, being able to put the right message in front of a consumer at the point of purchase (POP) as part of a shopping aisle display dramatically improves sales and brand impact. Adding interactivity via a touch screen to the in-store digital media platform further personalizes the medium and elevates the customer experience.

A SPECTRA PopTouch interactive display acts as an "attraction" device in retail environments where the consumer can choose to interact if they wish.

Cameras or motion detectors can be used to trigger "welcome" audio when patrons are in the vicinity. During idle time, the display can revert back

to default content.

For in-store marketers, interactivity inherently provides measurement characteristics while providing shopper insight by tracking user data and click/touch paths.

SPECTRA PopTouch displays come cellular equipped-only power is needed for use as a digital shelf or embedded within a display. The PopTouch interactive displays are perfect for applications where the retailer wants to trigger mobile couponing or provide a valued takeaway sent to the consumer's handheld device.

No word on pricing, but you want these, you are using the Stratacache CMS software.

I like this sort of thing for a few reasons

One, the company behind the units is big (by DS standards) and has the R&D people to do it properly. There are lots of digital POP screens out there but most come off containers from Asia-Pacific and the quality is often suspect and the available support minimal. Most are also sneakernet-based.

Two, screens in and amongst the merchandised aisles just work. There's more than enough sales evidence out there now.

Three, they don't look like hell - though the wood frame thing probably has a very limited audience.

Four, they're interactive and networked, so iy can be more than press here to play a different pre-loaded file. These can do more.

Mixer report: many new faces and honours for effort

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:42:00 EST

This will probably be the only time in my life I can write about spending six hours hanging out in a bar and leaving not even the slightest bit tipsy. I had a meeting before the latest Toronto digital signage mixer so we ghathered at the venue at four and did our thing, and then watched as the crowd built for the event.

So I was there for more tnan six hours and had all of a couple of beers early on, as I was driving back that night to my mountaintop lair in the outer suburbs.

Good crew. Some regulars. Some regulars like Kris Matheson of Artisan (one of the mixer founders from way back) who I have not seen for a bit. And some new faces, some who I met and some I didn't get a chance to chat with. I assume they were undercover police keeping an eye on things.

Three new companies on my radar screen: Impact Digital Media, Infinite Media and tetrAD.

Honours for effort go to David Spence of Coxcom and particularly Atlanta-based Rebecca Walt of Harris, both of them leaving the show floor at NRF in New York, heading to Newark and taking a Porter flight up to the downtown airport so they could get to the tail end of the mixer.

Thanks to Dmitry for organizing and dropping down his Ingram credit card as sponsor. Unless you hear otherwise, next one is Feb. 9th.

Also, venue in place for pre-DSE mixer in Lost Wages. Just rounding up sponsors. Room for 150 or so.

New large format display tech and firm enter the game

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:43:46 EST

When I was at InfoComm this spring I happily took advantage of press privileges and parked my butt and my gear in the media lounge down a back hallway of the event center. The halls were filled with private meeting and demo rooms, and I kept walking by a sign for something called Spudnik.

Now being old enough to remember Sputnik, the first Russian satellite, I was curious and one morning wandered in. It took about five seconds to get cornered and pretty much chased off, as this was a whisper room showing off technology that was coming but not ready to show to the great AV unwashed in the main halls of the show.

All they would tell me was that it was new large format display stuff and whatI saw around the corner looked projection cube-ish.

That was June, and the company has watched Christie's MicroTiles come out to great attention and considerable excitement about what it could do in large retail spaces. Now we have Spudnik taking the wraps off of what it is doing, with a new brand - Prysm.

As spotted in TechCrunch, Silicon Valley-based Prysm is unveiling something called Laser Phosphor Display, which is billed as being capable of massive, crisp digital displays with very limited power consumption and long operating lives.

As TechCrunch notes, the big, automatic question is how much.

In fact, all they’ll say on their site is vaguely worded statements such as, “Finally, LPD technology breaks free of the performance limitations of conventional displays by offering high resolution, superb image quality, high brightness and the widest viewing angle at the lowest cost of ownership while consuming the least resources.” That sounds like the best of all worlds. But seeing is believing, and we haven’t seen yet.

Prysm is a company that has actually been flying under the radar for about four years now in Silicon Valley. The privately held company has over 100 employees.

Here's the FAQ:

Q: WHAT IS LASER PHOSPHOR DISPLAY (LPD)?

A: LPD is a new category of large format displays, with the lowest power consumption and environmental impact along with freeform flexibility, long-lasting performance and brilliant picture quality.

Q: HOW DOES LPD WORK?

A: LPD uses lasers to excite phosphors which in turn create brilliant high resolution pictures. As the lasers scan across the surface the phosphors emit in the red, green and blue colors with very rapid response. The lasers then modulate by turning on and off for each pixel to create an image. This method results in substantial power efficiency and extended lifetime. This benefit contrasts with conventional displays that must filter or modulate a backlight that remains on constantly.

Q: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF LPD IN DISPLAY APPLICATIONS?

A: The benefits LPD brings to display applications lie in four major areas, Ecovation in operation and manufacture, Long-Lasting, low-maintenance operation, Freeform design and flexibility and Brilliant image performance. LPD consumes the least power of any large display type and its manufacture requires minimal environmental footprint and resources. In addition, the LPD is self-calibrating and adjusts individual tile characteristics to ensure overall uniformity over the life of the display. Third, the Freeform capability offers endless design freedom with seamless displays of any size and shape. Finally, LPD technology breaks free of the performance limitations of conventional displays by offering high resolution, superb image quality, high brightness and the widest viewing angle at the lowest cost of ownership while consuming the least resources.

Q: DOES LPD CONSUME MUCH POWER?

A: No, LPD consumes up to 75 percent less power than other display technologies. Prysm's LPDs are made with low impact manufacturing processes and non-toxic materials. This translates into the lowest cost of ownership and carbon footprint of any large format display.

Q: HOW IS LPD MADE? DOES IT NEED A BIG FABRICATION PLANT?

A: LPD displays are assembled from mass-produced components in very efficient fashion. The production of LPD does not require large fabrication plants and the energy and water resources required to produce LPD system are much lower than those associated with other display technology. Overall, the lifecycle carbon footprint for LPD displays is 80% lower than other display technologies.

Q: ARE LASERS SAFE?

A: All LPD display products are Class I laser safe and so are safe in all conditions of normal use. Like other products that use lasers like DVD players, the enclosure contains interlocks to prevent operation of the system if the enclosure is broken or opened.

I have only seen a display across a room, while peeking around a corner, so I cannot pass any judgment on quality of image. The FAQ suggest the company is treading the same territory as Christie in talking about tiles and seams and freeform design. There will be a shootoff, no doubt, with respect to all the engineering specs and visual comparisons. But the bigger challenge in competing with Christie (disclosure: writing client) is that Christie has many, many decades of display industry experience, a reputation for premium engineered products and a vast client list. Prysm, meanwhile, is essentially a start-up.

Would love to see it somewhere, sometime.

Mixer reminder - Toronto event tonight

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:28:37 EST

Final reminder the Toronto mixer goes off tonight. A decent (at least in size) crowd is expected.

Starts at 6:30, though I have a meeting downtown and will be there quite a bit earlier.

Address:

Six Steps Restaurant & Lounge

55 Colborne Street

T - 416.504.4800

http://sixstepsrestaurant.com

Intel shows off concept of interactive retailing

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:09:52 EST

The press release is just an intimidating wall of text, and the copy rough going, but from what i can sort out Intel is at NRF and showing off its take on the future of digital signage in retail.

It just screams show me a video (not that one is included with the release) so I searched and found a video done by the Manila Times when the same tech was being demo'd at CES.

Here is what it is about:

Eyeing a standards-based, interactive digital signage future, Intel Corporation demonstrated a new 7-foot-6-inch multi-user, multi-touch Intel® Intelligent Digital Signage Concept at the National Retail Federation Convention (NRF) in New York. Intel said the prototype device could change the way people interact with digital signage technology in environments such as stores, airports, banks and hotels.

First revealed by Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, the demonstration emulates a virtual brick-and-mortar store setting where customers may use the multi-touch holographic screen to explore merchandise, find out about promotions, submit feedback on products, read customer reviews, view past purchasing histories and share what they have discovered with their friends via social media and mobile phone integration.

Multiple consumers can use this side-by-side window display simultaneously to explore augmented reality-enabled maps of each floor of the store, on which retailers can superimpose images such as coupons and sales promotions next to the product visualizations on the glass, improving the customer’s shopping experience.

“As stores seek more competitive advantages over online retailers, digital signage has become a valuable technology for dispersing targeted and interactive content to shoppers,” said Joe Jensen, general manager, Intel Embedded Computing Division. “We therefore designed the Intel Intelligent Digital Signage Concept to show that retailers can engage and interact with consumers in a more personal and compelling manner through new usage models such as augmented reality and interactive product explorations, which in turn could yield an increase in revenue and customer loyalty.”

The video (and the one below from Intel proper - dig and you will find) are more helpful in explaining what is what. It is hard to pass any real judgment from a distance other than it looks expensive, but is more than big enough to command attention. This looks more like an exploration of the possible than a final product, and kudos to Intel for layering in augmented reality and mobile applications and showing how they might get used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOaeSnK01_0

Blogger and Preset Group member David Weinfeld is at NRF tomorrow and will hopefully have an opportunity to see this and pass on his impressions.

Carre Dawson hangs up consulting hard hat, joins Walt at Harris

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:26:52 EST

Harris Corporation has brought on longtime industry consultant Carre Dawson to help grow the Broadcast Communications unit's digital signage business, working as a director of business development.

Carre joins Rebecca Walt, who has been with Harris for a couple of months now. Dawson covers the West Coast (she lives in LA) and Walt works the east, based in Atlanta.

Background from the press release, timed to coincide with the Harris presence this week at NRF:

Dawson and Walt have extensive experience deploying networks across distributed retail, quick-service restaurant and other vertical markets, where Harris digital signage solutions apply. “They are well-connected and have impressive records of success in the digital signage and digital-out-of-home industry,” said Denise MacDonell, director and general manager of digital signage for Harris Broadcast Communications.

The company’s expansion of its digital signage business development team follows a large investment in developing the most advanced digital signage application on the market, a sophisticated scheduling and network management layer, and a managed services business with more than 3,000 field professionals. Recent wins in sports stadiums, quick-service restaurants, and hotels and casinos have enabled Harris to attract thought leaders in the industry, such as Dawson and Walt, to help manage the demand.

Dawson comes to Harris with 10 years experience in the retail and digital signage industries, including high-ranking positions at eVision and EDR Media. She will leverage her experience in building ad-modeling networks to expand the Harris digital signage business, while also emphasizing integrated merchandise strategies and sophisticated program design for Harris customers. Dawson also serves as co-chair of the Advocacy Committee for POPAI Digital Signage Association.

Walt has been a leading force in the digital signage sector since 2003. Before joining Harris, Walt held high-ranking roles at Reflect Systems and Technicolor Enterprise Systems. Her in-depth understanding of application and project processes, linked with her broader knowledge of retail and consumer package goods marketing, bring strong leadership capabilities to large-scale and mission-critical projects.

Two more very nice, very sharp people. Good hires for Harris. I've known Carre for a couple of years and having traded emails for a while, finally met Rebecca this fall at an event. That's three consultants out of the mix in one day. If this keeps up, Preset will have the sector to itself ... something I fully support.

Creative Realities hires on Davis-Taylor as retail strategy VP

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:21:17 EST

DailyDOOH had this on the weekend, but there's a press release out now with more detail about experiential branding and marketing firm Creative Realities (also known as CRI), hiring on Laura Davis-Taylor as Vice President of Global Retail Strategy, working with the New Jersey-based firm's Studio CRI strategy and creative group.

"We've always believed in the importance of big picture strategy," says Creative Realities' Founder and CEO, Jason Friedman. "We're excited to add a renowned retail strategist to our team and to expand our capabilities for clients."

Davis-Taylor says she decided to join the Inc. 5000 firm, because she sees it as a visionary company that has the leadership, resources, and global reach to help change retail.

"Retail is at a critical juncture," she says. "Companies can either become obsolete by applying old-school marketing dogma to the retail environment - what I call 'Find me, sell me' philosophy -- or they're going to understand that, in the future of retail, the consumer has as much authority as they do over their brand, and they'll embrace consumer experience, which I call 'Know me, help me' philosophy."

I only met Laura for the first time this fall, but have known about her for years. She is the co-author with Adrian Weidmann of the book, Lighting Up the Aisle: Practices and Principles for In-store Digital Media. Very smart, very nice woman, and a great pick-up for CRI.

Laura had been running a small consulting firm for the last few years and, presumably, will remain based in Atlanta (where CRI has an office), but seeing a lot of airports.

Congratulations Laura!

Do tweets on digital billboards make sense

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:51:40 EST

I was just reading a post on outdoor giant Lamar's digital blog (as spotted by DS Today) about how the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is working with them on a trial program with a couple of big digital boards around that city.

The billboard comes with its own unique set of challenges, notes Lamar's Adam Kirby. Conveying a coherent, meaningful offer via Twitter’s 140-character limit is challenging enough, but Lamar limits its billboard messages to only 100 characters. Complicating that is the fact that, while Twitter aficionados may understand the site’s jargon and shorthand, the billboards are read by countless people who have no idea what is being said.

I don't think the 140-character limit is the problem, but more so that it can take 140 characters. The spots only run seven seconds. That's probably waaaay too much text, as good billboards have very tight word counts.

If people rolling by quickly in their cars also have to mentally decode abbreviations that are often part of tweets, it's that much harder to absorb the message.

Twitter, particularly when it is visually juiced up as Locamoda does, can work well in places where people stand around and stare - ie Times Square in NY. But for billboards along the side of roads, I'd need a lot more convincing that it makes sense. That stated, it's great that someone is trying it and conceding they're not sure it will work well.

Is a Smartphone a Digital Signage Player Too?

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:45:00 EST

Like many people in the industry I have been watching the evolution of these phones and thinking they will pretty quickly get to the point that they could be fully realized digital signage playback devices. This one is capable of playing out 720P HD, the report says. However, the question was always whether that made any sense if small form factor PCs were available for $300-$400 and these handsets were $600. Presumably, the cost breakdown here is for very high volumes and does not include assembly. So baking all that in, these are units that would still probably be more than a very capable small-form factor PC. But if the right deal could be worked with a carrier, and therefore the subsidized handset costs kicked in, these things are now at a point where testing one would not be the goofiest thing ever tried. The open question, probably among many, is whether a smartphone designed to play videos and Flash 10 now and then would behave nicely if it was asked to do that over and over and over, 20 hours or more each day.

ISE coming up in Europe; bloggers get business class treatment

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:00:09 EST

Integrated Systems Europe is the rough equivalent, I gather, of the InfoComm show in North America for the AV/systems integrator crowd. It runs the first week of February in Amsterdam, somewhere I have never been but would love to see.

I'd go because I'd like to get a better perspective on what's going in Europe. The Dutch and Belgians next door have great beer. And they treat bloggers really well. Or at least fellow bloggers treat each other well.

The DailyDOOH mob from the UK have set up a blogger lounge with an espresso machine (maybe Adrian's Nespresso machine), comfy couches and Internet.

Quoting them:

The Digital Signage feature where we are located is at the front of Hall 10 and we can be found on stand 10N118. The Blogger Lounge is open to all bloggers and industry commentators. It will be a comfortable place to sit, relax, write, conduct interviews and meetings ALL on the show floor itself!!

Free Wi-Fi, coffee, tea and water on offer AND great (and like minded) company.

Pretty good, but the best I've run into was a company called Real Media that during the first dotcom craze had a booth at an online newspaper conference in Atlanta in 1999 where they were pouring big cups of draft beer. Their booth was busy.

Anybody need a smarty-pants in Amsterdam next month? I'll fly coach ;-]

Interactive Projector Turns Surfaces Into Touch Screens at CES

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST

Light Touch incorporates LBO’s proprietary holographic laser projection technology (HLP), creating bright, high-quality WVGA resolution video images that are always in focus. HLP enables extremely wide throw angles, resulting in large images being created at close proximity to the projector’s aperture. HLP can also correct for distortion and optical aberrations in software, enabling novel table-top projection. A unique optical architecture delivers a Class 1 laser safety classification making HLP and devices that incorporate it eye safe.

Is the $200 digital signage PC finally here?

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:17:35 EST

Small, fast, very affordable.

That's a nice set of words if you are building out a screen network to hundreds of locations and shaving off capital costs makes the business plan much more workable.

I was speaking to a CTO this afternoon who I would consider both smart and practical, and he said his team has been toying around with a $200 micro-PC from Acer, called the Acer Aspire Revo. That's $200, from an e-commerce site, WITH Windows XP loaded, and a keyboard and mouse. Single quantity. The thing is only 7 inches square and a little more than an inch high.

That might ordinarily make for a nice little entry-level, small form factor device to stick in a campus dorm room. But the thing has Nvidia's Ion graphics on it, and it therefore runs nice, smooth 1080P HD video. My CTO friend said on the lab bench, even with the skimpy Atom CPU and limited RAM, it only taxed the CPU to about 20 percent running 1080 HD video.

So ... load Windows 7 on there instead, do a deal to skip the keyboard and mouse, develop an image, and this is the sort of $200-ish, high capability box the industry has been looking around for the last few years. Aopen's little digital engine is roughly the same size, but a lot more costly and does not have the Ion graphics.

I mention this because the conversation with CTO guy started on all these little set-top box and media center devices, like the Boxee and Popcorn Hour, turning up this week at CES. They have the HD playback capability to drive video digital signage screens, and cost anywhere from $125 and up. BUT, someone would still have to develop or tweak software to run on the things, because they're not PCs. That's far more easily said that done, and is a running project

If it is possible to buy a PC and take advantage of ALL the development and drivers already out there, to build out an low requirements digital sign network, why would you bother with a set-top box if the cost gap is no longer much of an issue?

CAVEAT - I am not a propellerhead. I THINK it has a fan, therefore something that can gum up or break. And it is a consumer, NOT industrial, product. There are many places where I would not put this sort of thing. But there are lots of other environments where it would probably do no better or worse than lots of other consumer-grade PCs being used for screen networks. When I got into digital signage almost 11 years ago, the PC and software for one site cost $24,000 - and as you might expect, the $200 unit does much more.

Next Toronto mixer set for January 12th

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:39:55 EST

The next industry mixer is set for January 12th in Toronto a the usual haunt, Six Steps.

The holidays have left organizing a little late, so there is no sponsor this time - meaning attendees will actually have to buy a drink. They'll manage.

As always, all are invited - whether they are in the digital signage sector or have some interest in getting involved or tying in their business. It's an entirely informal event, meant for swapping cards and telling tall tales. Cocktails are involved. Local health inspectors have, unfotunately, clamped down on the ritual sacrifices. But we still have secret handshakes. And it's always fun when the police show up.

The event is booked through Dmitry Sokolov at Ingram Micro, and he's appreciate if you let him know you are coming so he has a handle on numbers. Reservation is under "Digital Signage Mixer", starting at 6:30.

RSVP to Dmitry.Sokolov @ ingrammicro.ca

Address:

Six Steps Restaurant & Lounge

55 Colborne Street

T - 416.504.4800

F - 416.504.4880

http://sixstepsrestaurant.com

Side note - there is likely a mixer in Toronto next month, but I am pulling the bits together for the second annual Las Vegas meet-up, just ahead of DSE. Watch for details. Last year's brass rails, velvet couches and flaming fire pools have been upgraded to a very cool, upscale venue down the road but still very central, overlooking the Strip. Zip me a note - dave.haynes at presetgroup.com - if your company wants to get involved in drinks or nibblies.

Tapping a MASS market with industry news

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:57:25 EST

Digital Signage Universe, a news and information portal on guess what, has added Mandarin Chinese to its services.

"The digital signage business is a global growth industry. Digital Signage Universe offers marketers the opportunity to extend their reach and connect with buyers from around the world. Our directory is the only resource available in three languages, which already includes Spanish and English. With the addition of Mandarin, the Digital Signage Universe Directory is now the most comprehensive directory available," said Lionel Tepper, the Managing Director of NYC-based Digital Signage Universe.

Lionel's company already does its work in English and in Spanish. The Chinese version is not some auto-bot translation, but is instead done by hand and mind.

I am not familiar with a Chinese-oriented blog focused on the sector, but it may well exist. Having no ability to read or speak Mandarin or Cantonese, how would I know? But more than 22% of all Web surfers (aka 380 million people) currently search the Internet using Mandarin, Lionel notes, so there's a big potential reading audience out there.

The only work I know related to China is the Chinese version of the OOH-TV blog/news portal from Europe.

MediaTile and partners latest to take a crack at two way video conferencing on the retail floor

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:45:00 EST

The hyperbole about this is about as over-torqued as could be imagined, but overlooking that a prototype being shown off this week at CES by MediaTile and Alcatel/Lucent is nonetheless interesting.

The companies have partnered to demo an interactive station that lets shoppers talk through remote video conference with product experts who, presumably, work for the vendor.

The HumanKiosk utilizes 4G/LTE technology to deliver a live, 2-way in-store video session between a consumer with a product question, and a representative of that product or service. For example, a customer seeking information about a new product can simply tap the touch screen to establish a live visual and audio connection with a product expert who is located virtually anywhere around the globe. Setting up the fully integrated solution requires nothing more than accessing a standard power outlet. It can be easily deployed into any retail, service or other locations that consumers regularly visit. With 4G/LTE technology, no on-site networking infrastructure or IT services for deployment or management are required to set up and use the solution, making it ideal for organizations to deploy virtually anywhere.

When there is no chatting going on, the panel can play full screen ads.

HP was demo'ing essentially the same concept at the Digital Signage Show in New York a couple of months ago, and a Toronto-area company, BTVPlus, had something like this (called Ask Clive) at least three years ago that they showed off at the Digital Signage Expo in Chicago. There are others around, as well. It took me about 45 seconds of Google time to find concepts dating back to 1995 and current proiducts by companies like this one.

So this is no breakthrough, and this is no game-changer, as the release asserts.

But, the design notion of something that can just be rolled into place in a store, plugged in and be ready to go has its attraction for things like new product launches. It beats the crap out of a screen hanging from the ceiling like a basketball backboard. It would be a LOT more interesting if it was designed in such a way that it could be merchandised, so there was a direct correlation between the product for sale and the interactive screen.

Setting that aside, and the overheated hoo-hah about using 4G (this year's emerging buzzword), the open question about this sort of application in retail is whether it will get used, and by whom. There are many, many times when the sales associate on the retail floor has not a clue about the product I am interested in, but do I want to stand in front of a screen in a busy shop, holler at it and strain to hear what the expert is telling me (remember, these are intended for big, busy stores, not libraries)?

Not convinced.

The whole 3G and 4G thing may actually work against these sorts of applications because of the now millions and millions (and more to come, with Google's Nexus phone released) of people walking around with high-speed pseudo-PCs in their pockets and purses. You can look at a product and decide: "Do I want to talk to an "expert" who will be trained in trying to close my sale, or do I want to whip out my high-speed mobile smartphone and do my own, independent research based on the piles of independent opinions available online?"

Retailers may not be all that happy about it, but real time product research, right on the shop floor, is here to stay.

Fun, cool project makes NZ ferry building interactive

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:48:32 EST

night lights from thesystemis on Vimeo - as spotted in ADVERBLOG

This is more art installation than digital sign, but it's a great, fun exploration of the possible on big surfaces, like the facade of a building.

The interactive projection project was done on the front of a building in Auckland, New Zealand, pulled together by the interactive agency YesYesNo.

In this installation YesYesNo teamed up with The Church, Inside Out Productions and Electric Canvas to turn the Auckland Ferry Building into an interactive playground. Our job was to create an installation that would go beyond merely projection on buildings and allow viewers to become performers, by taking their body movements and amplifying them 5 stories tall.

We used 3 different types of interaction - body interaction on the two stages, hand interaction above a light table, and phone interaction with the tracking of waving phones. There were 6 scenes, cycled every hour for the public.

This is kinda, maybe, sorta digital signage, but notable because it shows what's possible and is a reminder, yet again, that much of the most interesting work that could be applied to the digital signage sector comes from people working outside of it.

Lotsa pics here ...

BTW, I liked the music track - Under My Skin: New Zealand singer named Gin Wigmore - kind of an infinitely healthier down under version of Amy Winehouse.

Follow the money dep't: JP Morgan look at time spent with medium versus ad dollars going in

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:03:09 EST

Interesting post on TechCrunch about US advertising spend - particularly about how the money is coming back this year and where it will go. The post extracts its information and insight from a JP Morgan analysis, and notes how the online industry - arguably the closest thing to digital out of home because of targeting - is moving away from a blizzard of banner ads to more targeted, carefully considered formats.

What I found interesting was the chart (above) that broke down where the money is now spent versus how much time is spent with that medium. A disproportionately low amount of ad money is directed to online considering how much time people spend with that medium, and on the flip side, 20% of ad dollars go into newspapers while people now devote just eight per cent of their time to that medium.

New e-paper reader aimed at newspaper biz, but tech has broader application

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:53:34 EST

I spent the first two decades of my working life in the newspaper business, so it is a little painful to watch its slow death spiral. It typically costs more to produce a newspaper than it sells for at a newsstand, and way more than what it costs when delivery costs and subscription discounts are rolled in. It worked well when the only effective way to sell a used car or house, or hire new staff, was through the classified ads. But the Internet has obliterated what used to be about 50% of the revenues of a typical metro daily in North America, hence the mighty struggle.

So I look at things like the Skiff, announced today, with considerable curiosity. This sort of large, touchable digital display, networked by 3G, is a better distribution model than print, certainly, now represents. It looks like a newspaper and is large enough to begin to emulate a daily. And in theory it could be steadily updated, directly addressing the stale news problem faced by the papers.

There are a BUNCH of other things newspapers also have to fix for this sort of thing to keep them going, albeit in a radically different form.

What has me curious, though, is the buzz that's starting to become a roar about e-readers and, therefore, mass manufactured electronic ink displays. It is this sort of technology that could potentially meet a vast, mostly unfulfilled marketplace for networked signs that don't need to have a lot of sizzle. They just need to update information on the fly, and work reliably.

Some company will, at some point soon, get a color version of this sort of thing going at a high-volume price that's attractive. It will be far more capable than a digital picture frame, and far better engineered than those things.

If nothing else, the steady development of e-readers and tablets is pushing the boundaries on what's possible.

The gadget is being shown off at CES this week and is supposed to be available, via Sprint stores in the US, later in the year.

From the press release:

The Skiff Reader, the initial dedicated device to integrate the upcoming Skiff e-reading service, is remarkably sleek and easy to use. At just over a quarter-inch in overall height, the device is the thinnest e-reader announced to date. It features the largest and highest-resolution electronic-paper display yet unveiled in a consumer device, at 11.5" in size (measured diagonally) and a resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels (UXGA). A full touchscreen enables users to intuitively navigate and engage with the newspapers, magazines, books and other digital content they purchase through the Skiff Store, as well as personal and work documents. The device weighs just over one pound and lasts over a week of average use between charges.

"The Skiff Reader's big screen will showcase print media in compelling new ways," said Gilbert Fuchsberg, president of Skiff, LLC. "This is consistent with Skiff's focus on delivering enhanced reading experiences that engage consumers, publishers and advertisers."

The Skiff Reader is designed not just for sleekness but also for durability. It is the first consumer product to feature the next-generation of e-paper display – one based on a thin, flexible sheet of stainless-steel foil. This contrasts with the fragile glass that is the foundation of almost every electronic screen – and a primary source of vulnerability and breakage risk in the devices that incorporate them. Skiff has worked closely with LG Display (NYSE: LPL), one of the world's leading display manufacturers and the innovator of the foil-display technology, to optimize and implement this first-of-its-kind non-glass display uniquely for the Skiff Reader.

Private label guru Watt passes away

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:03:50 EST

Don Watt passed away suddenly, at the age of 73, just before Christmas - and the holiday break meant news of his death is just starting to really circulate.

Watt was one of the best known retail strategists around, recognized in particular for developing and mastering the art of private label brands for retailers.

He created the No Name and President’s Choice product programs for Canadian grocer giant Loblaws, designed the long-time Wal-Mart brand and the Super Center retail model, as well as their Sam’s Choice, Great Value and Equate retail brands.He also created the Home Depot brand and prototype store concept.

I did not know his design was chosen as the basis of the Canadian Flag, according to the Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends, and that he also contributed to the design of the Canadian Pavilion at Montreal's Expo 67.

I mention this because he is pretty well known in Canadian and US retail design and strategy circles, but also because he was one of the very first guys to try using video in retail, dropping a TV set and VCR with focused promo videos in the middle of Loblaw's stores in Canada. The sales lift numbers, he told me and my old EnQii boss Stu Armstrong when we met with Watt 2-3 years ago, were phenomenal.

This was years before the digital part of digital signage was really possible in retail, but smart guys like Watt saw it coming. Smart, talented man.

More about him here.

Happy New Year for 2010!

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:38:55 EST

All the best for tonight and the coming year.

No 2010 predictions from me. Folks like Ken Goldberg have already done good look-aheads, and some other stuff now circulating doesn't rise above the breathtakingly obvious and tone-deaf. My one suggestion for anyone in this sector is to take off the blinders next week and look at what's happening with online and mobile applications and technologies. Whether you are a vendor or operator, your offer needs texture and it needs to be able to integrate with other technologies and mediums.

The companies that look outside the narrowly defined chute of digital signage are the ones that have the best shot at a great 2010. If your company's 2010 plan is just about adding some bells and whistles to the status quo, well ...

Have fun if you're out tonight ... and nail down who's driving (and therefore behaving) before you start twisting off tops and yanking out corks.

A look at future display technologies

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:07:22 EST

There's a nice piece in Gizmodo today that helpfully brings readers up to speed with the latest state of development for OLEDs and other types of display technologies. If this is an area that interests read the whole thing. If not, here's the upshot:

Hi-rez 3-D video for the masses is still future stuff.

LCD plants can pump out 50 inchers every 30 seconds or so, making it hard for other technologies to compete with something produced at such high volume.

OLEDs are amazing (a paper-thin, flexible display slammed by a hammer without breaking, a display that's see-through when the power's off, and large area OLED coating that act as a window, a wall, or a display, depending on its mode) but the manufacturing processes are still very costly, and not really there yet for mass production. That's two year's out, at least.

A company has a display that just uses reflective light to show monochromatic images.

HP's information surfaces lab is working on a printer thingdoodle that imprints sheets of plastic with transistors and creates thin, flexible displays.

Very technical, but interesting stuff.

In other display news, Panasonic has completed construction of a plant in Japan that could actually produce the sort of monstrous 150 inch plasma it heaves into trade shows like CES.

Photo from Edopter

Adobe Update: "Unambiguous Statement" Coming

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:30:00 EST

Remember me?

Sorry for lack of posts. Happy to report I am very busy on both the pressDOOH and Preset fronts, and seeing a lot of airports (but dodging storms).

Anyway, there is encouraging news on the Adobe Flash licensing beat - with a senior Adobe guy promising: Adobe will make an unambiguous statement in the new year.

This was from the Director of Adobe's Open Screen Project, which is Adobe's big cross-platform initiative. He found me through another Adobe guy who conceded the company's position was confusing, and promised to look into it. He found me through Stephen Randall of Locamoda. So if we do get clarity, finally, Stephen gets a gold star.

Nate Kidwell of DS newcomer Ludicast, which uses Flash extensively, has also been a big help, and pointed me (among other things) to a post on a Flash developer's blog, called ickydime.

The comments are the interesting part of the post, as it drew in some Adobe people.

One noted:

Anyone can install Adobe Flash Player from adobe.com. But to *redistribute* Player in your own device requires agreements with Adobe -- otherwise anything might get called "Player". The Open Screen Project doesn't require cash licensing, but does require certain capabilities such as the ability to update.

The developer/blogger then responded:

From your recap, it sounds as though you can install the Runtime if the device goes to Adobe.com for the installation AND if the device has the ability to update the player.

Another Adobe person chimed in, noting first that the end user licensing agreement is getting old:

If you check the date, the EULA is from Feb of 2008.

Also, keep in mind that Adobe may not be the ones distributing the player binaries. Through Open Screen Project, partners can license source for porting in which case the EULA does not come from Adobe.

Also note that OSP royalty free terms are for open systems with the goal of providing a consistent runtime for web browsing and applications. Closed systems do not qualify for royalty free licensing.

So ... the issue is at least now on the Adobe radar, though it would be great to read something, from someone, that is not burdened by licensing-speak. What I get from these exchanges is a sense - repeat sense - that everything is peachy if the digital signage playback software you develop and distribute does not include Flash right in the build. The PC being used as the playback engine needs to go out to the Internet cloud to fetch the latest version and install it on the box, and then sit, deployed, in the field, able to go back to Adobe to get updates and patches to the Flash player.

If the Flash player is part of the build and offer to customers, you need to get licensing. I think.

Stay tuned.

The psychology of menus (and maybe menu boards?)

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:52:50 EST

(Photo from Wand Corporation)

There is pretty broad agreement out there that QSR, fast casual, fast food or whatever you want to call it will be a big growth sector for digital signage over the next year. Lots of companies, I am reliably told, are taking a hard look at making their menu boards digital because there's now a viable ROI model and enough experience in the field to know what to do and not to do.

Technically and financially, we're there. But what about content?

The conventional wisdom is that digital menu boards don't need to have any particular whiz-bang about the creative. They can be jpegs or motion vector graphics (like Flash or Silverlight), and maybe there's embedded video. The few digital menu boards I have seen look like regular menu boards.

Is that the optimal way to do it? I haven't a clue, as my fast food patronage doesn't extend much beyond buying coffee at Tim Horton's now and then. But there's an interesting piece in Wednesday's New York Times (you may need to register to read it, but that's free) about the psychology of menus that is worth a read if planning or peddling menu boards is in the cards for 2010.

Restaurant operators are fiddling, the story says, with combinations of prices, adjectives, fonts, type sizes, ink colors and placement on the page to try to coax diners into spending a little more money.

The use of menu engineers and consultants is exploding in the casual dining arena and among national chains, a sector of the business that has been especially pinched by the economy. In response, they are tapping into a growing body of research into the science of menu pricing and writing, hoping the way to a diner’s heart is not only through the stomach, but through the unconscious.

This piece, I should stress, is all about the menus a waiter or waitress hands to you, not menus up on boards. But there is good stuff in here that is broadly applicable to anyone trying to get people ordering more.

In the “Ten Commandments for Menu Success,” an article published in Restaurant Hospitality magazine in 1994, Allen H. Kelson, a restaurant consultant, wrote, “If admen had souls, many would probably trade them for an opportunity every restaurateur already has: the ability to place an advertisement in every customer’s hand before they part with their money.”

And like advertisements, menus contain plenty of subliminal messages.

Some restaurants use what researchers call decoys. For example, they may place a really expensive item at the top of the menu, so that other dishes look more reasonably priced; research shows that diners tend to order neither the most nor least expensive items, drifting toward the middle. Or restaurants might play up a profitable dish by using more appetizing adjectives and placing it next to a less profitable dish with less description so the contrast entices the diner to order the profitable dish.

Research by Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University and the author of “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think,” suggests that the average person makes more than 200 decisions about food every day, many of them unconsciously, including the choices made from reading menus.

Menu design draws some of its inspiration from newspaper layout, which puts the most important articles at the top right of the front page, where the eyes tend to be drawn. Some restaurants will place their most profitable items, or their specials, in that spot. Or they place a dotted outline or a box around the item, put more white space around it to make the dish stand out or, in what menu researchers say is one of the most effective tools, add a photograph of the item or an icon like a chili pepper.

Interesting reading, and a good reminder that our emerging industry can learn a lot from the efforts made on the more traditional sides of businesses.

Off-white paper a little off-base and off-putting

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:41:00 EST

I noticed a Tweet yesterday from DS Today's Bill Yackey that was provocative enough to get me clicking through and landing on a press release from Noventri, an east coast US integrator. I was interested because it was an "off-white paper" going against conventional wisdom and running with the headline: Don't be duped - The truth behind digital signage." My first reaction was why would anyone release a white paper, that obviously took a lot of effort, just as much of the industry was punching out for the holidays. People will read a press release or two in a spare moment. But a lengthy white paper ... big maybe

Driving beer sales with digital signage at retail

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:26:18 EST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbJXzH2mC-k

The guys at Waterloo, Ontario-based DDC have had a great year, with the Air Canada Centre build-out, more DIGI Award wins, and a big deal with Canadian brewer Labatt that they are now able to maker some noise about.

Earlier in the year, they put together a digital retail merchandising program for the brewer - a portable fixture that included an LCD screen, media player, and wireless connectivity. The idea was to have it squared away to a point that the beer distribution company could roll a truck up to the store, wheel the unit in, and use one cord to plug it in, and off she goes. DDC handled the design, with a fixture company, and does all the ongoing management, including content.

The started with 200 and in the new year, Labatt is rolling out another 300. That's because it works. The brewer was reluctant to release actual numbers, and provide too much encouragement to competitors, but I have seen them and they are really impressive in terms of sales lift. The campaigns change monthly, and the fixture is re-stocked with different product.

Here's the press release (Disclosure - client of mine on pressDOOH side):

Strong, immediate boosts in sales prompted Labatt Breweries of Canada to more than double the footprint of an in-store digital merchandising program developed and managed by veteran digital signage solutions company Digital Display and Communications (DDC).

Labatt will expand the number of "POD" digital signage merchandising units it has in the field to more than 500 by early next year, based on the encouraging results of an initial rollout of 200 units that started in selected Western Canada retailers earlier this year.

Following strong pilot results, DDC was engaged by Labatt to help it develop a true scalable turnkey solution that delivered on a set of well-defined core objectives like influencing buying decisions and better controlling sales promotions in stores. DDC was responsible for the technical system design, hardware and software procurement, assembly, configuration and project management for the program, which features an attractive merchandising unit based around a 32-inch LCD monitor and built-in media player.

Blake Jarrett & Company engineered and manufactured a highly functional and cost-effective structure to deliver the technology. “It was critical that the electronics be pre-installed in a fashion that was rugged enough for shipping and surviving in retail, while at the same time being ‘plug-and- play’ when it arrived,” said DDC's VP Business Development, Steve Harris. “The design styling was kept simple and elegant so the focus remained clearly on the merchandising messages shown on the LCD screen.”

The fully-integrated unit can be wheeled into a store, requiring only an available power outlet to start showing videos and connecting to the management network. DDC developed a content plan and provides ongoing content creation and network management services, controlling the deployed PODs remotely using a wireless data network.

The content is 100% focused on the featured product, with an engaging 90-second content loop intended to influence customers just as they make their beer-buying decisions. DDC also developed an online portal so that national, regional and local Labatt staff - based on access and control rights - can log in and manage POD content. An online template was also developed by DDC that allows individual store operators to set their own pricing.

The first batch of POD units was rolled out to stores in mid-2009, and had an immediate, compelling effect on sales.

"The actual results are confidential, but we can say that the sales increase on promoted products in stores that have the PODs, versus those that don't, raised some eyebrows," said Harris. "The numbers were really good, and consistent. We know enough now to believe a POD should be paying for itself within a year of getting plugged in."

"DDC really took the time to understand all aspects of our business, developed a solution that met our needs, and then delivered. They've quickly become a very valued partner for Labatt," said Tracey Sivak, National Customer Marketing Manager - Retail, Labatt Breweries of Canada.

"This is a great project for DDC because it brought our full range of capabilities to the project," added Harris, "and the sales results we've been seeing with Labatt suggest this is a formula that can really work in retail."

Clever and Useful Move with iPhone App

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:45:00 EST

I am at a bit of a disadvantage here because (oh, the horror) I don't have an iPhone and I am not all that conversant in Stratacache's software. But, that stated, I am nonetheless thinking that developing an iPhone app for its ActiVia software is a pretty clever move Yes, if you have a wireless phone and a browser, and your platform is Web-based, you kinda sorta have an app anyway. But from what I know of many browser-based platforms - including one I had a demo on yesterday - they'd all be a pain in the butt to use on a small handset screen.

Motion graphics guy for DS needed, east side of Toronto

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:52:05 EST

I met Chester Niziol of Omniplan Group and Architectural Media at the last mixer, and with Ray Prachun, they are starting to build out their digital signage business with a focus on making the digital piece an integrated part of the venue's design (as opposed to bolted on). Omniplan has a great background and base of skills in designing big retail spaces, particularly in the auto sector. If you have ever driven very slowly south on what is affectionately known as the Don Valley Parking Lot (Parkway) you will have seen a BMW dealership with vehicles embedded in the building design and a big media wall. That's these guys.

Niziol is adding to the team and looking to hire a full-time graphic designer who would work both in print and motion graphics for digital signage. The job is on the northeast side of Toronto, in the Oshawa-Pickering corridor.

Graphic Designer - Job Description
The Graphic Designer will be primarily responsible for:
core responsibilities: design and pre-press production of print material and digital signage program content and scheduling.
other projects may include: collateral materials, visual presentations, seminar and event materials, trade advertisements, electronic messages, web designs and electronic publications.
photograph and/or scanning of photos for use in printed and electronic materials for various projects.
video editing and production experience is desirable.
The successful candidate will be proficient in the following, as required:
Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive, ImageReady, HTML and Flash, Windows XP – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Software, Scanning/OCR Software, etc. Aptitude in Sharepoint environments and Scala Digital Signage software are assets.
Prerequisites:
A post secondary education in graphic design and electronic media design, along with a minimum of three years experience in technical functions is required.
You must also possess excellent organizational, interpersonal relations, written and oral communication skills, with a strong attention to detail.
The candidate must also be client service oriented, a good problem solver, work well under pressure, and have knowledge of printing and digital signage industries.
Ability to work through software-related problems with minimum of support and co-ordinate many issues/projects at once is essential.
Resumes go to: cniziol (at) omniplangroup.com

Snappies from the Christie MicroTiles launch

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:02:30 EST

Christie Digital took over a nightclub in New York last night and formally launched its MicroTiles products, with the event hosted by fellow blogger Adrian Cotterill of DailyDOOH fame.

This was the second time I have seen the gear and was impressed once again, this time by the scale. Bob Rushby (below), one of the inventors of the tiled displays, showed off a wall of tiles that was 16 wide and 6 high (96 tiles) that amounted to (I think he said) a 37 million pixel image. It was some crazy-big number like that.

The Christie folks also showed some other new designs and more content, including a huge display suspended at an angle and meant to emulate a 16-sheet out of home poster shape.

Impressive stuff, and good event. Lots of familiar faces there, as well as a lot of people from the AV industry who will be all over this.

(Disclaimer: I do some work for Christie, but I'd like it no matter the ties)

CognoVision cited as Canada's top new, innovating company

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:35:01 EST

Toronto-area audience measurement guys CognoVision has been named Canada's Innovation Leader for 2009 at the Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX), describe as Canada’s most important gathering place for innovative technologies.

The exchange does an annual search for innovative technology, products, services and companies in Canada, and whittles that down to a list of 20 finalists who then present and pitch to both Canadian and US senior executives and investors at a one-day conference held last week in Toronto. Industry peers at the event then vote on who they believe should be the year’s Innovation Leader.

“This year’s competition brought out some of the country’s most amazing companies and technologies. From super computers and unmanned aerial intelligence gathering systems to new cleantech solutions, we were extremely pleased to see such impressive technologies being developed by Canadian companies,” says Robert Montgomery, Co-Chair, Canadian Innovation Exchange, in a release. “CognoVision was chosen by industry peers based on their innovation and dedication to using technology to provide in-demand solutions consumers will benefit from.”

CognoVision (winner of Innovation Leader Award and Digital Media Award at the 2009 CIX) was commercially launched in 2008 to help companies measure the effectiveness of in-store media and shopper behavior in retail environments. This is achieved with the use of CognoVision’s proprietary retail audience measurement software solutions. Using small camera sensors and computers, the Company’s anonymous face detection and people tracking software gathers data on how people watch ads and how they navigate within retail venues. This information is easily communicated to clients with the use of CognoVision’s proprietary reporting system. This system allows end-clients to make data driven decisions to: dramatically improve the effectiveness of media campaigns, increase product sales and advertising revenue, optimize retail execution and to reduce operational costs.

The runners-up by were companies that make unmanned surveillance planes small enough to fit in the trunk of a police car and financial grade GPS metering technology that, oh great, provides data needed to migrate roads and parking from taxpayer-subsidized to pay-per-use.

CoolSign gets a VP Global Sales

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 11:02:34 EST

CoolSign's President, Lou Giacalone, Jr., sent me a note this weekend letting me know he's hired industry veteran Leo Bull on as the company's Vice President of Global Sales, with Atlanta-based Bull coming over from Wireless Ronin, where he was a regional VP.

This is a good move for Lou as he spins a bunch of dishes every day and the less he has to worry about day to day sales issues, the more time he has for other stuff. He has a couple of strong sales guys in Chris Colt and Raffi Vartian, but from what I can tell Giacalone has worn a sales hat as well since he came back to the company after the split from Planar.

This is undoubtedly a happy move for Bull (have never met him), as he is now with a company on the upswing and no longer spending at least part of his sales energy reassuring prospects his employers are not really in deep financial trouble (Ronin is a public company and their financial woes are there for all to easily see).

Bull previously worked with Avocent, LG, Fujitsu and Mitsubishi, so he certainly knows the hardware channel side of the industry, and CoolSign sells primarily through the channel.

He's on the job starting Monday and will meet the Portland guys (main CS office) later in the week.

Going Big: Bobbi Brown in NY Bloomingdales

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:50:20 EST

I got the PR direct but too stinkin' busy to post (and others do that stuff all day long). However, this is very nice and worth noting. A nine-screen tiled array using, I assume, the Samsung thin-bezel screens.

Flat panel screens are so ubiquitous now that consumers would walk by one or two sprinkled around a cosmetic section. But a wall of them three-high and three-wide, has genuine pop and impact.

More detail on OOH-TV.

A Call for Clarity: the Adobe Flash Issue

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:45:00 EST

When I was selling software, one of things that came up and that I was coached to use as a selling tool was the whole issue around what is OK and not OK about using Adobe Flash.

There were a few schools of thought or lines of attack, depending on how you looked at the world.

1 - the Flash End User License Agreement (EULA) expressly forbade the use of the Flash player for digital signage, and software companies needed to buy/license the developer libraries to be legit

2 - the EULA did not apply to PCs and therefore it didn't matter

3 - it was unclear, and Adobe wasn't helping add any clarity

4 - Flash for digital signage sucks, and is such a buggy, memory-leaking, CPU-intensive pig you'd be crazy to use it anyway

I hovered somewhere between 1 and 2, knew 3 was true, and figured 4 was pretty much true, but there were too many good capabilities in Flash and too much of it out there to just go away. Flash is installed on 98 per cent of PCs, after all.

I wrote a piece on this years ago and the post still comes up high in searches when I look up digital signage and Flash, but I am not, at all, certain, my assertions in that post still hold. I have been revisiting the question recently with industry contacts, and been dismayed to learn the whole issue remains clear as mud.

One contact told me the new Adobe media player, not the Flash player, makes the issue go away. Another said the Open Screen Project removed any restrictions. Another said the EULA does not apply with the latest version of the Flash player. Another said nothing has changed. Sheesh. These are all smart people and they are all operating on different points of view.

Here's what it says:

3.1 Adobe Runtime Restrictions. You may not Use any Adobe Runtime on any non-PC device or with any embedded or device version of any operating system. For the avoidance of doubt, and by example only, you may not use a Adobe Runtime on any (a) mobile devices, set top boxes (STB), handhelds, phones, web pad, tablets and Tablet PC (other than with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and its successors), game console, TV, DVD player, media center (other than with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and its successors), electronic billboard or other digital signage, Internet appliance or other internet-connected device, PDA, medical device, ATM, telematic device, gaming machine, home automation system, kiosk, remote control device, or any other consumer electronics device, (b) operator-based mobile, cable, satellite, or television systems or (c) other closed system devices.

That suggests OK for Windows-based PCs, but maybe not Linux. Who knows on Apple OS. Or does it??? Does it mean you may not use it on any digital signage device???

Oh, bother.

So I sent a note and left messages at Adobe. And got no love back.

Digital signage is all-encompassing when you live this stuff, but to Adobe, I assume it remains a little side project they keep hearing will be big, but doesn't merit much attention yet.

The Open Screen Project, which is intended to make Flash available with a consistent runtime across multiple platforms, SEEMS to suggest licensing issues will disappear:

From the FAQ: What motivated Adobe to remove the licensing restrictions from the specifications?

The SWF specification has been published since 1998. Until now, the specification had a license agreement associated with it, which said that developers could write software to output SWF but could not make software that would "play" SWF files. These license terms were initially included to prevent fragmentation, which most client technologies have experienced. These terms have worked well for Flash Player over the past decade as it now reaches over 98% of personal computers on the web with a consistent runtime, enabling things such as the video revolution we see today across the web. With this announcement, Adobe is removing this restriction from the SWF specification, as we have established a consistent runtime and we want to ensure the industry can confidently continue to support the SWF format. This will permit the development of applications that play SWF files. Adobe will, of course, remain focused on making the best, most reliable, and most consistently distributed implementation across desktops and devices.

SO ... I am doing a little manual crowd-sourcing here. I want to develop and release V1 of the definitive point of view on working with the Adobe Flash/Media Player. I want to be able to knock something out that puts to rest all the head-scratching and "I'm not sure" stuff, and clearly tells industry people, these are the rules ... if there are indeed rules.

A side project would be best practices (or is it practises? ... never nailed that one) on working with Flash and how to stop the leaks and keep systems happy.

I am hoping people will:

a - comment, usefully, below ...

b - send me their thoughts or insights ...

c - or point me to the person at Adobe, or the definitive letter or document, that says what's OK and what's off-base.

d - or Adobe sends a note that we can all use, so we can move on ... please.

Private note? dave.haynes at presetgroup.com

Tire maker uses signage as dealer incentive

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:58:48 EST

Tire manufacturers probably wouldn't be the first guys you'd think of as innovators and early adopters in the sector, but Toyo Tire Canada has announced it is going ahead with an expansion of its long-running trial to dealers across Canada.

The company has 79 dealers on its retail TV network and is opening the program up to a potential (repeat POTENTIAL, not actual) of 1,600 dealers, all part of the independent franchise O.K. Tire Stores. The stores have one or two screens and marketing content is divided between messaging from Toyo Tires and OK Tire, and programming is provided by AutoNetTV.

What's interesting is the business model.

“As a manufacturer, it’s always important for us to offer incentives for our dealers to carry our tires,” said Ron Golab, Advertising and Marketing Coordinator for Toyo Tires. “Digital signage is a great way to reach our customers, and it’s also an almost instantaneous way to update our current messages. We no longer have to worry if our posters are up on the wall in time to advertise the current retail campaign because they are simply programmed to be on the network.”

Dealers pay a monthly fee to belong to the network, which is paid in part by a special co-op program between Toyo Tires and OK Tire. The fee covers the monitoring of the network, as well as producing and adding new content to the playlist. Eventually, individual dealers will be able to work with The Data Works (integrator, using Scala)to request store-specific content to play on their screens to promote specific products and services or communicate news to their unique customer base.

TV for fashionistas and gas pumps seems like ballroom gown and high-tops

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:40:21 EST

I am seriously skeptical about the applicability but applaud the efforts by PumpTop TV to offer something different on its screens.

As spotted too early this morning on the Digital Signage Expo site:

PumpTop TV, a digital out-of-home media network comprising more than 12,600 screens at service stations and convenience stores nationwide, is bringing a world of personal fashion and style to gas stations across the country with original content from StyleCaster, an online personal style discovery platform.

According to the company, the ongoing series of 30-second video fashion trends is part of the PumpTop Network’s effort to provide its estimated 12 million monthly viewers with engaging and informative custom content that cannot be found anywhere else. The series kicked off nationwide on November 16.

StyleCaster is integrating Content, Shopping and Community to create a unique, personalized experience for each user. The site helps users get to know their personal style better with every click — from clothes to styled looks to articles — tailored just for them, the company said. StyleCaster’s executive fashion director, Carol Han, will be presenting the latest in fashion and style trends in the 30-second spots.

As viewers enjoy the StyleCaster videos, they also will be exposed to adjacent banners filled with information such as where to buy and how to wear certain fashion pieces. The surrounding banners serve as value-added content to any video or even text shown on the main screen. According to the company, the StyleCaster spots reflect PumpTop TV’s unique position to enrich video content with creative functionally-rich banners highlighting the interactive capabilities of its digital out-of-home network.

“Both PumpTop TV and StyleCaster are very synergistic when it comes to taking advantage of digital content,” said Doug Woo, Executive Vice President of Irvine, Calif.-based AdtekMedia, the parent company of PumpTop TV. “We are both experimenting with all the new digital applications in order to captivate our wide audiences wherever and whenever possible. We hope more and more content providers will realize the enormous opportunities PumpTop TV provides once they see how StyleCaster applied their talent to our video network.”

“The future of new media is based on distributed content that can be seen on multiple platforms,” added Ari Goldberg, Founder and CEO of StyleCaster. “Whether it’s a 2-inch screen, a 20-inch screen or a 200-inch screen, StyleCaster is creating engaging content that provides utility for style enthusiasts as we continue to democratize fashion.”

Me passing judgement on fashion is about as amusing as me passing judgement on particle accelerators. But I do understand the concept of contextually relevant. I think what the StyleCaster people are doing could be really relevant for certain types of screen networks, particularly those bubbling up to go after women in high dwell places like hair and nail salons.

But gas pumps?

Again, kudos for getting beyond the usual sludge like last night's edited-down newscast from CBS, but I am not sure this is what I'd recommend as part of the mix for people standing by a busy road squeezing in a few gallons. I do like how the company's programming mix is far more inventive than most screen networks. They have partnered with a lot of Web-based TV companies and seem to be trying things out. TV networks introduce a lot of new shows each fall and dump most of them. Why not gas pump TV networks, I suppose.