A lot of times I don’t write about stuff because it’s just not all that interesting –- the steady drip-drip of announcements of turnkey solutions (!!!) and remarkable (not) software advances being good examples.

Other times, there’s something there… but not enough to write a full-bodied post and then find an image so the home page stays consistent. The latter applies here. So, a few things I’ve noticed and am cobbling into an assorted article…

AMSCREEN

News of Amscreen in the UK expanding into Europe, and then acquiring media sales group Digicom, is a bit of a big moment for the industry. I haven’t been to the UK since 2007, so I’ve never seen Amscreen’s product in the wild. But from a distance, it’s always looked breathtakingly mediocre.

Smallish, utilitarian displays mounted on a pole at cash will tend to leave people uninspired, but the important thing to remember here is that it is working for the company, and apparently for the venue owners and advertisers.

One of the key reasons it works overall is that utilitarian plug’n’play design removes variables and drops manufacturing, install and management costs as low as they can go.

My worry is that Amscreen’s success will lead yet more entrepreneurs to conclude the gas station/convenience store sector is media business slam-dunk and go after it with their own start-up networks. It’s not.

Amscreen came from a PC manufacturing background and got plug’n’play down to a budget-price science, and then got seasoned, serious media people selling their inventory. They also started with a high public profile, a very deep Rolodex and enough money to get to critical mass in a hurry.

Learn from what these guys have done, but don’t assume what they’re up to is the universal answer.

DOWELL

Jeff Dowell has landed on his feet after his rapid rise and then fall at LG U.S., where he was the high profile VP of Digital Signage (after much head-hunting) for a couple of years. He was punted after DSE, as the South Korean company pretty much cleaned the Chicago house and put nothing but people from Seoul in charge of the various business units, including DS.

Dowell came from 3M and that’s where he’s going – moving from Chicago to the Twin Cities in the next little bit. I’ve spoken to him a couple of times recently and he’s happy and excited to be going back to 3M. It’s a different business unit than he was in, and he will be building up the digital signage business and defining where 3M sits in the so-called eco-system. He starts carrying a 3M card again later this month.

Huddle Up

The DSE folks continue to broaden their horizons, and maybe hedge their bets a little.

They started the industry forums last year – weekend retreats where warm leads are wined, dined and golfed by paying vendor/sponsors – and those have proven very successful.

Now they have announced something called the DSE Huddle, the first set for the end of the month in Atlanta.

The Huddles are described as small events where industry people get together to network and talk shop. In other words, they are mixers.

The difference is that this is more a commercialized version of what’s been going in Toronto for a few years how, as the event includes a tour and a networking reception sponsored by several vendors. It also appears to be a lead generation tactic for the DSE people.

I like more informal mixers, and that’s the feedback I’ve received regarding the Toronto and DSE mixers I’ve had a hand in running. But I get the counter-argument for a more structured set-up. I’ve also definitely sensed more people show up when they know someone else is buying. Human nature, I suppose.

I have nothing to back this up other than observation and a hunch, but sense diversification is a good move by ExpoNation, which runs DSE. More and more companies tell me they are looking at vertically-focused trade shows – like a hospital or hotel technology conference – as alternatives or supplements to the catch-all of DSE.

I LOVE DSE, but as the industry gets more specialized I wonder how long it can stay big. Events like the forums and, now, the huddles take far less work and involve far less risk. Maybe Angelo Varrone and Chris Gibbs are placing some side bets on the future.