Some Thoughts on Digital Signage

A few years back, I was invited to speak at a number of industry events about digital signage and it's role in the advertising biz. I took a different tack then most everyone else, especially since I thought too many people were using the same interruptive model that advertising has used for years. I've included a link to the full article below and have included some thought starters here.

With the information available today through your cell phone, what's the role of digital signage today? Is it destined to be just ambient, background noise or will it play a more vital role in creating a compelling brand experience?

If you’re currently working on an in-something digital network, ask yourself: Where does “create a better experience” fall on your list of reasons to install a digital network? My guess is that the top spots are occupied by “increase revenue” or “create opportunities to promote partners” and somewhere further down the line is create a better retail experience. And even when it’s on the list, my guess is that few people have actually defined how it will create a better experience for the consumer.

So, stop what you’re doing right now and look at your experience first. If it doesn’t create a truly better experience for your audience first, I don't think you’re doing it right.

You're Not a Media Company

It seemed a simple enough announcement: P-O-P Times sat down with Evan Anthony, Kroger’s corporate vice president of marketing and advertising, to discuss roll-out plans for an ambitious, integrated network that will turn the nation’s largest supermarket chain into a “media company.” (Emphasis mine)

To be fair to Kroger, they are not the only retailer thinking this way. Steve Heyer, formally CMO at Coke, has been saying that Starwood Hotels are a media channel as well. This seems to be pretty standard thinking for retailers today—or anyone with a location that can now become a media dynasty!

Don’t we understand that the reason brands are seeing a decline in the effectiveness of TV advertising is that we don’t like ads interrupting everything we do? If you’re involved in putting together one of these in-store networks, ask yourself: How many of your friends, not in the advertising business, have said to you—“Hey, can you put up lots of monitors in your store and run commercials on them?” My guess is not that many.

Advertising based on the fact that you can’t turn it off IS NOT A GOOD ADVERTISING MEDIUM. You don’t build a relationship with anyone when you start by talking about the fact that they can’t avoid you. You can’t think reach and frequency and relationship building at the same time. They usually, in fact, work against each other.

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