Why Isn't There More Airport Digital Signage?
By Linda Seid Frembes
rAVe Columnist As many of you can relate, I tend to have spurts where I spend a lot of time in airports. Delays, touchy TSA agents, bad food, and hours of breathing in recycled farts and sneezes tend to make me a mad flyer though. What has brought a touch of cheer to my travels is the increasing amount of digital signage I’ve noticed in airports.
On a recent cross country trip, I saw flat panels conveying arrival/departure and gate info. Why, I wondered, was the airport’s retail and concession areas also not using digital signage, especially with such a captive audience and plenty of eyeballs walking by? I, for one, would love to know how far I am to the nearest restaurant with a bar, rather than hunkering down with a BK meal or slice of Sbarro.
Shibu Kurian, owner of Media 2000 Systems in Illinois, tells me that he’s heavily marketing his digital signage solution to airports but pushback comes from all sides. “The airports have invested money in custom signage that’s expensive,” he says. “The cost of converting to digital signage outweighs the benefit, in their minds.”
Kurian also notes that media companies like Clear Channel have a lock on outdoor digital advertising. He does say that some airports are slowly moving to digital signage, but usually when there is a renovation or new terminal extension. “Some airlines, like at O’Hare, have their own digital signage at the gate,” he says, but those systems are operated and maintained by the airlines, not the airport.
Jeff Porter, executive vice president at Scala in Pennsylvania, says that the digital signage we see as passengers are deployed in the common use area for airport operations. “The airport authority owns the IT infrastructure,” he explains. “In airports that look like shopping malls, they don’t dictate signage when renting retail space.”
And even in concession spaces, airports will contract out to Aramark or HMS Host and leave it up to them for signage. “All the players at the airport – the food services providers, retailers, and the owner of the airport – need to think like a shopping mall,” he adds. “But they act in a silo so there is no cross marketing to delayed passengers.”
Porter uses the example of Simon Malls, a Scala client, as to how digital signage can increase both the customer experience and the customer spend. “People need to understand that digital signage is a new medium. It’s not just a billboard,” he says.
So placing a JC Penney ad outside of a Sears store selling the same shirt for less money will motivate the shopper to walk through the mall. Perhaps he or she will see something else in another store’s window and go in, or will pass the food court and decide to grab a snack. “So, the better question is why retail isn’t using digital signage more?” says Porter.
But really, the question is: Which airport will finally get it right when it comes to integrated digital signage? Which airport will get its act together and use digital signage for information, way finding, and marketing? The answer lies in educational efforts by the likes of Scala, Media 2000 Systems, and the many other digital signage providers who think that airports are a viable market.
What say you, rAVe readers? Which airports are on the path to getting it right? And which ones are getting digital signage horribly wrong? Snap a photo and send it my way. Linda Seid Frembes is a rAVe columnist who covers AV technology, installs, market trends and industry news. Linda has worked with high profile AV manufacturers, trade organization, systems integrators, rep firms and dealer/distributors in the industry including John Lyons Systems, Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW), Northern Sound & Light (NSL), and InfoComm International, among others. Reach her at linda@ravepubs.com
Image via Media 2000 Systems Back to Top DSE Announced Q4 2009 DS Market Results According to the folks that put on the DSE Show, 2010 should be another growth year for the DS market. Why? Well, 97 percent of all survey participants of their Q4 Quarterly Business Barometer remain positive about the future of the Digital Out-of-Home Industry – no overall change from Q3 – (60 percent “very positive”; 37 percent “somewhat positive”). As in past quarters, those most positive about the DOOH Industry varied across each of the three main groups of respondents, which included Technology/Content Providers (55 percent “very positive”), Advertising/Marketing Professionals (69 percent “very positive”), and End Users/OOH Network Operators (65 percent “very positive”).
Where is the big growth opportunity for the DS market in 2010? According to the survey, they will be retail, healthcare and restaurants – with higher education being 4th in growth.
You can read the entire survey and its results at: http://www.digitalsignageexpo.net/Resources/Research/DSEBusinessBarometer.aspx Back to Top CoolSign Returns to Digital Signage Market After being owned by Clarity and Planar Systems for a few years, CoolSign is back as an independent company and re-launched into the DS market at DSE 2010 as a software-only solutions provider of DS networks. President and Founder Lou Giacalone recorded this video explaining the new focus and company here: http://cool-sign.com/ Back to Top Sharp Shows New PN-E Series of DS Displays At DSE, Sharp launched the new PN-“E” series of LCD monitors aimed specifically at the DS market. Offering a new fairly thin bezel design and Energy Star qualification, the new PN-E series includes the PN-E601 (60”), PN-E521 (52”) and PN-E421 (42”). All three models can be mounted horizontally and vertically. Sharp told rAVe that they will add a 46” this summer.
Using native 1080p LCD glass, the series of monitors include both VGA and HDMI inputs, built-in speakers, an expansion slot for a media player, network and RS 232 control and range in price from $1799 to $7500.
You can see the entire series here: http://www.sharpusa.com/ForBusiness/PresentationProducts/ProfessionalLCDMonitors.aspx?view=learnmore Back to Top NEC Debuts VUKUNET CMS at DSE 2010 Show The anticipated debut of NEC’s CMS for their popular VUKUNET advertising platform opportunity for integrators of DS networks was debuted at the DSE Show and it was a hit. We shot a rAVe NOW Video of NEC’s president, Pierre Richer, demonstrating it here: https://www.ravepubs.com/index.php?option=com_ravevideo&ravevideo_id=443&view=ravevideo&Itemid=300
The CMS software, a partnership with Project Leadership Associates (PLA) a Chicago-based Microsoft Gold certified business and technology consulting firm, created a system that’s totally web-based – making it possible to modify, edit or create DS presentations from anywhere in the world. In fact, Microsoft did a study case on the partnership that you can read here: http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000006543 Back to Top DailyDOOH Releases Annual Top Ten DS Software List Digital signage industry watcher DailyDOOH has released its third annual list of the top-rated global software vendors, with UK-based EnQii finishing #1 again in 2009. The top ten for 2009 were: 1. EnQii
2. Stratacache
3. BroadSign
4. Scala
5. Omnivex
6. (tie) SignageLive & WireSpring
8. CoolSign
9. C-nario
10. Dynamax Back to Top rAVe Announces rAVe Surveys: To Give Away Two HDTVs Per Month No one likes taking Surveys – we know that. But, they’re needed for research, trending and product development to design and engineer the right products and services for you!
So, to encourage you to participate, we’re giving away two 42” HDTVs each month – one to one of the first 10 survey takers each month, and the other one we give away to a random survey taker! Interested in helping us now? Well, last month Christie Digital and rAVe announced rAVe Surveys – a monthly survey service from rAVe Publications. Wanna win? Well, go FOLLOW us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ravepubs or on our FACEBOOK page at http://www.facebook.com/rAVePubs and you’ll find out about the surveys before anyone else – we announce each survey and give you the link to take it on Twitter and Facebook about five minutes before we send an eBlast to our readers. So, go sign up today! Back to Top SunBriteTV Debuts New Portrait 46" Outdoor LCD SunBriteTV finally has a portrait-based 46” outdoor display. Primarily known as a consumer TV provider for outdoor TVs around the home, SunBriteTV sees growth of fast food drive-thru digital signage as well as campus-based signage markets. SunBrightTV claims that the new 1080p display can handle cold as low as -24 degrees and heat as high as 122 degrees F.
The new 4650EST is not on their website yet, but when it is, it will be here: http://www.sunbritetv.com/products.asp Back to Top DSE Launches New Digital Signage Federation On Wednesday, the Digital Signage Expo announced that it is willing to step up and provide initial funding to launch a truly independent Digital Signage Trade Association this year. Dubbed the Digital Signage Federation, the association will be an independent 501c non-profit association with legal and professional by-laws and an elected Board of Directors who represent a cross-section of the industry and are therefore motivated to act in the industry’s best interest. Along with other member benefits still being finalized, the new Digital Signage Federation will provide a year-round education program for members and a full program of member services, featuring a vertical industry outreach program to bring the digital signage industry’s message to thousands of end users in 2011. Professional association management will support the new Federation and funds will be provided to make projects immediately actionable.
If you’re interested in becoming a member of the new association, go to: http://www.digitalsignagefederation.org/ Back to Top DisplaySearch Shares DS Display Market Data According to DisplaySearch, since 2007, the DS market has installed one million monitors (26”+) for digital signage applications – with 52 percent of those being LCD and 48 percent plasma. In 2009, the top five brands installed for DS applications were Samsung, Panasonic, NEC, LG and Philips (take out plasma, and it shifts to Samsung, NEC, LG, Philips and Sony). What’s interesting here is that Sharp isn’t in the top six in this market, even though they are so strong in both the ProAV and the HomeAV markets.
DisplaySearch also forecasts that in 2010, the DS market will install just over over two million flat panel displays and by 2015, that number will reach almost 7.5 million annually.
Click here to read the entire report. Back to Top Minicom Shows New DS Vision Wall at DSE Show Specifically designed for in-store retail applications, the new Minicom DS Vision Wall can support 3, 4, 6, or 9 digital messaging screens of any size in any matrix at 1080p resolution and create an image in any shape or configuration. Minicom says the wall can be used for video, advertising and audio purposes with additional customization tools including Flash animation overlays, RSS feeds, crawls, etc. DS Vision Wall comes in three configurations ready to go (out-of-the-box), to support three, six, or nine screens of any size, without the need for customization. Screens can be mounted in different configurations – vertically, horizontally or side by side.
To learn more, go to: http://www.minicomdigitalsignage.com/av_ds_wall.htm Back to Top X2O Media Shows Three Versions of Xpresenter Claiming to lower the cost of entry into the DS market, X2O Media launched three versions of their Xpresenter Xe DS software package – the new Xpresenter Xe versions include the Digital Poster Edition for still images, Video Poster Edition for stills and video, and Dynamic DS Edition for stills, video, and data-driven graphics, enabling users to choose the application they need now and upgrade in the future.
To evaluate each version, go to: http://www.x2omedia.com/prod_xpresenter_overview.asp Back to Top AmberAlert and Digital Advertising Tech Launch DS App During DSE 2010, AMBER Alert and Digital Advertising Technologies debuted the Digital Eyes & Ears Project (DEEP) to help increase the visibility of AMBER Alerts across the country by utilizing screens traditionally used for advertising. The two companies say that the DEEP partnership is a proactive approach to ensuring the largest audience possible is alerted and acting as the eyes and ears of law enforcement during an AMBER Alert.
Through Entourage, Digital Advertising Technologies’ new suite of cross-platform solutions, DEEP will allow AMBER Alerts to scroll across screens in sports arenas, airports, shopping malls and at gas stations, as well as be seen on billboards, highway traffic signs and more. Participating networks, known as DEEP Alerting Partners, will help to promote the initiative by displaying a series of public service announcements to help increase the number of individuals registered to receive AMBER Alerts directly.
For more information on this, go to: http://www.amberalert.com/ Back to Top SpinetiX adds 3G/4G Capability to HMP100 Media Player As a backup when the network may go down in a DS application, SpinetiX has added a USB port that’s compatible with a 3G/4G cell stick on their HMP100 media player. The HMP100 is their solid-state drive based media player that’s OS agnostic (not Windows-based) and can handle every imaginable video and graphics format playback – it includes an Ethernet port in and has a VGA output that can be configured for up to 1080p resolution display of DS content. You can watch the rAVe NOW Video we shot on this at DSE 2010 here: https://www.ravepubs.com/index.php?option=com_ravevideo&ravevideo_id=468&view=ravevideo&Itemid=300
To learn more, go here: http://www.spinetix.com/ Back to Top NEC Launches 70" DS Display at DSE 2010 Part of the “P Series” line of NEC’s digital signage displays, the new P701 is a 70”, 1080p, 2000:1 contrast ratio LCD monitor that’s actually completely sealed so it’s designed for harsh environments. Scheduled to ship next month, the $11,799 P701 has a built-in expansion slot to completely hide the media player. NEC says the P701 can be tiled in up to 10×10 configurations and can maintain identical monitor settings for each display.
You can see the new P701 here: http://www.necdisplay.com/Products/Series/?series=acf118d3-a8b2-4f83-964c-bbff00a7a497
Back to Top rAVe NOW Shoots More Than 65 Videos at DSE 2010 We were at the DSE 2010 show in force both Tweeting (http://www.twitter.com/ravepubs) and recording videos of the major new digital signage products being launched at the show. Most of these products are products you should be selling NOW. To watch them all, go to: https://www.ravepubs.com/index.php?option=com_ravevideo&view=single&Itemid=300 Back to Top Case Study of the Month: Kinepolis Theatre Chain Adds 350+ dZine DS Displays Kinepolis, one of the largest movie theater groups in Europe, wanted to entertain its customers from the moment they buy their ticket – even before the movie begins. Kinepolis is known for it’s innovative approach to the theatergoing experience – for example, years before the rest of the industry, they started integrating digital projectors into their theaters, they’ve added 3D capabilities in almost every theater and their programming includes sporting events and social events as well as movies.
The Goal
To stay on the cutting edge of creativity as well as serve the customer with an entertaining experience from the moment they walk in the door. Kinepolis was looking for an out-of-the-box solution that was easy to handle and could be modified to fit their specific requirements. The solution uses the available Kinepolis network, therefore a non-Windows based player solution is preferred because of security restrictions and uptime.
How’d They Do It?
Kinepolis has installed + 360 dZine digital signage displays so far in different European countries. Installations grew gradually from a couple of information displays per site to a full range of displays for multiple purposes. After some testing in the most recent movie theaters, a complete refresh program for existing sites was introduced. Every theater in their chain will be integrated with DS by the end of 2010.
Kinepolis says that each theater is managed by a local server, connected to HQ. This server links seat information advertising and database content together with the ticketing system for any specific complex. In the most recent Kinepolis movie theaters, such as Kinepolis Bruges and Ostend, advanced sensors in the seats notice when a seat is being filled in. Above each movie theater entrance a display shows all the seats in that specific room. The green colored seats are people sitting in the right seat; red colored seats show people sitting in the wrong seat or people who haven’t bought a ticket and white colored marked seats haven’t been sold yet. And, of course, there are plenty of DS displays for advertising and movie preview information as well.
Digital signage in a cinema environment can be considered as one of the key markets for dZine. In the past, numerous customers abroad chose dZine as the platform for their internal promotional communication.
Within this cinema environment, dZine excels in providing a secure and reliable DS solution with an open mind towards customized integrations with third party back-office software and content databases.
Back to Top News from LG, Visix, never.no… Tightrope Media Systems has announced the release of Carousel 6.0, a major update to the Carousel Digital Signage System… LG has hired John Sheehan as director of Digital Signage Sales… never.no has appointed Scott Davies as vice president of sales for the United Kingdom and Ireland… UCView media's digital signage management software has added mobile access for monitoring of digital signage networks… LG Electronics has launced a new sales approach for digital signage called "Simple to Buy, Simple to Sell, Simple to Use"… X2O Media has partnered with TruMedia to integrate AlliO audience measurement system for DOOH with X2O's Xpresenter digital signage platform… Visix has named SYNNEX Corporation as its exclusive IT VAR distribution partner. Back to Top So, that's rAVe DS [Digital Signage] for this month! Remember, we are here to HELP the AV market penetrate the DS market. Only 12 percent of the DS market is integrated by AV companies. The other 88 percent is IT-based. Now, there are AV publications and even an association that would like to draw those IT people in to AV (it would increase readers, right? – and more readers means they can charge more for ads). That is NOT what we are doing. rAVe DS is specifically designed to pull AV into the DS market and teach AV companies how to take business away from the currently dominated by IT market.
For those of you NEW to rAVe, you just read a 100% opinionated ePublication that's designed to help AV integrators. We not only report the news and new product stories of the digital signage industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions. That may include (but is not limited to) whether or not the product is even worth looking at, challenging the manufacturers on their specifications, calling a marketing-spec bluff and suggesting ways integrators market their products better. But, one thing is for sure, we are NOT a trade publication that gets paid for running editorial or product stories. Traditional trade publications get paid to run product stories — that's why you see what you see in most of the pubs out there. We are different: we run what we want to run and NO ONE is going to pay us to write anything good (or bad).
Don't like us, then go away — unsubscribe! Just use the link below.
To send me feedback, don't reply to this newsletter — instead, write directly to me at gary@ravepubs.com or for editorial ideas: Editor-in-Chief Sara Abrons at sara@ravepubs.com
rAVe [Publications] has been around since 2003, when we launched our original newsletter rAVe ProAV Edition. rAVe HomeAV Edition, co-published with CEDIA, launched in February, 2004. rAVe Rental [and Staging] launched in November 2007. rAVe ED [Education] launched in May 2008. rAVe DS [Digital Signage] was launched in January 2009.
To read more about my background, our team, and what we do, go to https://www.ravepubs.com
Back to Top Copyright 2010 – rAVe [Publications] – All rights reserved – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact rAVe [Publications], 210 Old Barn Ln. – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – (919) 969-7501. Email: sara@ravepubs.com
rAVe Rental [and Staging] contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. |