Visiting recent trade shows, some London Underground stations and even your favourite stationery superstore, you will have noticed they have become awash with multimedia displays.
On the back of the television revolution in the home that has seen flat panel sets become increasingly popular, plasma, LCD and now LED technology is finding its way into high street stores and now the B2B sector. Recent figures suggest there are now more than 10,000 retail outlets using some form of screen technology to communicate with customers. Market intelligence company iSuppli also forecasts the world digital signage and professional displays market will top £13 billion by 2010.
What is clear is that the days of the static display are numbered as IP-supported screens become cheaper and more widely available. Mark Hopgood, technical director of Plasmanet, says, “Within the B2B market, businesses are increasingly using digital signage for internal and external communications. By leveraging the power of corporate intranets for internal B2B communications and extranets for communication with other companies, businesses are able to keep those receiving the messages fully informed and engaged. With the right platform and infrastructure (i.e. networked screens across a broadband connection), internal B2B communications can include multiple sites, business unit to business unit or even country to country.”
Screen technology
With the rush to move away from old-style CRT television sets, LCD and plasma flat panel displays have tumbled in price over the last 18 months. The knock-on effect of this demand has been to enable more businesses in the B2C market and now the B2B sector to begin to use digital signage seriously. From a marketing perspective, the development of digital screen technology has opened a new communications channel that has the potential to become one of the most effective marketing mediums available in the B2B marketing arsenal.
At the moment, many of the marketing messages that are communicated via digital signage are passive. More interactivity is certainly the future of this marketing channel. One innovative solution is Hypertag. With over 80 per cent of UK consumers aware of Bluetooth and over 30 per cent accessing multimedia on their mobile phones, hypertags could be a cost effective means of injecting more dynamism into digital signage. Digital posters will be able to beam information to anyone with a compatible mobile phone – if you walk past a hypertagged digital poster marketed messages will appear on your mobile.
The cameras on mobile phones are also being used to convert every camera phone into an opt-in marketing device. Mobile marketing company SnapTell has developed image recognition technology to create its ‘Snap, send, get’ solution. It enables users to obtain valuable information with the snap of a photo while marketers, in the process, get to create a personalised and targeted brand conversation with their customers. SnapTell works with all camera phones, using existing collateral and product packaging. Special barcodes or additional software is not required.
“Brands are using the mobile channel more than ever to reach their audience. We saw a clear opportunity to apply our innovative image-recognition technology in the mobile environment to offer marketers something that wasn’t available before,” says Gautam Bhargava, co-founder and CEO of SnapTell.
Interaction is just a touch away
Screen technology itself is also evolving with flexible screens just around the corner. This technology will not only solve the problems associated with current LCD and plasma displays that are heavy and require masses of power to display their images, but flexible screens will also herald the era of interactive touch screens.
Visual Planet is already showing how ViP interactive foil can revolutionise how customers interact with marketing messages via touch sensitive screens. And wireless solutions are also beginning to appear. The Consumer Electronics Show that took place in January included the world’s first wireless plasma television connected to a Blu-ray high definition DVD player. Aimed at businesses, using wireless technology can offer even more versatility with the installation digital signage.
“A truly flexible screen technology is something the event industry has wanted for years. Now it looks as if this will be delivered – or so we are promised,- says Art Lewry, creative director at Show Presentation Services. “I think it will be LED technology rather than LCD that has a big future for the event industry. The impact will be a combination of conventional LED displays and digital printing – allowing displays to be wrapped around everything from buildings, exhibition stands, directional signage, vehicles, stage sets and people. And, once these screens get interactive, the possibilities are endless. Yes, there are going to be some great applications of the technology, but be prepared for high levels of visual pollution.”
Multimedia assault
Marketers are increasingly looking to integrate screen technology into their customer messages. Technology companies are developing allegiances with screen technology suppliers as the market expands.
A good example is Sony, which announced late last year that it had reached an agreement with Barco – a leader in LED screen technology. Son’ys dedicated retail, transport and venues division has worked with high profile customers such as Arsenal Football Club, FC Porto, La Poste of France and World Duty Free, Heathrow Terminal 5 to deliver end-to-end audiovisual solutions and expertise. On top of a portfolio of systems that include digital multimedia video networks and digital signage to intelligent security and customer tracking applications, it also provides a range of services including consultancy, design, systems integration, training and support through its professional solutions division.
With a plethora of technologies to choose from it is a mistake to believe that simply installing a large plasma display on your trade stand or as a permanent marketing device in your store without proper planning and support will deliver the marketing message you intended. Digital displays have to be properly supported by content that must itself be carefully created to ensure that its message is delivered effectively to its target audience.
“Companies using digital signage for the first time can often be overwhelmed by the complexity of the system and the difficulties in making sure that all elements work smoothly together,” said Vernon Spencer, technical director of Visual Planet. “Ongoing support, particularly for a new installation, is also critical. New users of a technology can find themselves abandoned by suppliers and left to fend for themselves, so complicated projects can be discarded in the early stages as just too time-consuming.”
Simeon Joseph, product marketing manager at NEC Display Solutions, says, “Marketing messages need to be vertical, specific and appropriate to the audience that is being targeted. Compared with the B2C market, the message in B2B outlets is driven more by environmental factors such as seasons rather than stock and sales objectives. For example, within an environment such as Wickes the messaging in early winter may be targeted at promoting heating and boiler installations and service products, along with insulation and heating efficiency products, whilst in the summer the same displays may focus on garden and cooling products such as conservatories and air conditioning.
“This type of use of digital signage may be taken over a decision to promote the sale of internal doors, which may be consistent throughout the year. Therefore, B2C signage tends to be more focussed on promotions and stock leads as opposed to trade and environment leads in B2B,” says Joseph.
Transforming exhibitions
A key area for digital signage is the trade show. Frederic Groussolles, Cisco’s European digital media solutions marketing manager, says, “B2B trade shows are definitely leveraging digital signage solutions. Cisco uses its own solutions extensively at our customer events, expos and technology conferences. A highly effective way of using digital signage is the possibility of integrating it with radio frequency identification technology (RFID), which makes it possible to have dynamic interactions with visitors.
Potential examples of this application at trade shows and conferences include having each visitor’s badge RFID tagged so screens will automatically display a visitor’s customised agenda as she/he approaches a screen (and additionally offer directions to his/her next session or meeting). With this type of capability, any business process where providing personalised information on a location-specific basis can add value will be a market for digital signage.”
Marketing message
The rapid development of screen displays over the last two years and the imminent arrival of flexible screen technology will herald a new era in marketing. Flexible screens coupled with touch screen technology are the future.
Richard Farnworth, general manager of NEC Enterprise Solutions, says, “The market is maturing both in terms of the size and types of displays that are being used, but more importantly the B2B sector is focusing on the way messages are being conveyed. Early applications tended to consist of a rolling DVD of the company or product, but now even these passive approaches are becoming more sophisticated by utilising flash animations and various messages at different times of the day throughout the venue.”
He continues, “Evolution is now making interaction possible through different means (for example touch screen, voice, barcode or near field communication) so that the end-user can control and respond to the content. NEC has developed solutions that can sense if a customer is watching the screen and consuming the content and can measure their interest, dwell time and the number of people being captured by the message.”
Mike Cole of Visual Planet, says, “We believe 2008 is the year of large touch screens – we predict 10 per cent of all large LCD screens will be shipped with touch interfaces. Touch is going mainstream in the small device market and this will translate to the large screen format as marketers use these devices as a way to deliver specific information to their audiences. In retail, large touch LCD screens are being used as an integral part of the marketing mix. The ability to measure customer response is key and touch screens can provide this.”
Hopgood adds, “The most important considerations to make before implementing a digital signage solution are the front-end applications and of course solid remote back office support for rapid resolution of issues. Though widely used in retail, employing traditional digital signage (i.e. one-way communication relaying the same information through a front-end application such as PowerPoint) provides little or no return on investment for many B2B companies.”
Digital signage may be the new kid on the marketing block but the technology has the potential to revolutionise many of the marketing messages that are delivered in the B2B sector. Clearly trade events and specialised retail environments are ideal. However, companies in the B2B sector that are looking closely at digital signage should take care to perform a complete ROI analysis before making any investment.
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