Digital signage content provider BlueFox conducted a one-month running online poll open to the industry to take the temperature of the industry on questions they were asking.

Some of the results were expected and confirmed what they already had found out in previous interviews, but some of the points are new and they would like to know your opinion.

Do you agree with these insights or do you have a different vision?

• The most relevant feed content categories are weather, top news, business/economy, sports, traffic and health/healthy living.
• The most relevant video content categories are travel/escape, sports, nature/animals and cartoons.
• The preferred delivery formats for feeds are XML/RSS and media RSS.
• The preferred delivery formats for video is video content (clips, feeds delivered in video), compared to raw feed delivery.
• The important criteria for the choice of content is visual beauty, low price, proof of performance (that content is pertinent for the target group) and the possibility to customize.
• One of three respondents say they will need more content in 2012. Almost one in four will self-produce the content. The demand for customized content is important.
• Agencies and network owners are responsible for which content will be shown on the screens; integrators and network operators have less influence.
• The overall budgets for content are very modest (three of four spend less than €10/screen/month). One in three spends less than €1/screen/month, another 1/3 orders for 4-10€. Less than 10 percent spend €16-30.
• The vertical markets which need the most of content are retail, banking/financial/insurance, healthcare and food and beverage/hospitality.
• Half of the respondents expect the total revenue of digital signage to rise in 2012, while about one in four thinks it will stay the same and the rest fear reduced revenues.
• The respondents are divided about advertising revenues in 2012. The majority believe in more ad revenues in 2012, but one in three is expecting less ad revenue.
• A large majority of the respondents plan to spend more on Digital Signage, while one out of four plan to spend less.
• The majority of the respondents care for middle-sized DS networks (31-100 screens).
• The broadcast systems used are very variable.
• What are the major errors that content providers do? The four most typical answers:

1. Prices should fit the number of screens (digressive rate card)
2. Content has to be beautiful AND customizable
3. There is a need for very short content (up to 5 seconds)
4. 4. Prices are too high and offerings too complicated.