Digital Signage

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With the rise of information technology, many companies have shifted towards digital signage for advertising purposes. Digital signage is an electronic display that exhibits advertisements or other messages. Some examples include arrival and departure times at the airport or highway traffic information. This is a cost effective method to display messages because firms can save on printing and construction costs.

Applications

There are many different uses for digital signage. Some of the common applications include public information, advertising and menu information.

China currently has the most digital signage displays. The country’s largest digital signage firm is Focus Media Holdings. The firm operates more than 120,000 screens.

In the United States, the effectiveness of digital signage is closely monitored by the private company Nielsen. In a recent report published by the company, it was shown that digital signage used for advertising and media targeted at those 18 years of age or older had generated 237 million monthly exposures. Based on these findings, the company estimates that more than half of the adult population are exposed to advertisements transmitted through digital signage. Based on these statistics, analysts believe that the revenue generated by the United States digital signage equipment market is expected to grow by 33%. This market includes hardware, software and installation.

Technology

There are many different components used in digital signage in order to effectively display messages and advertisements. Some of these include display screens, media players and a server.

The type of display components will vary depending on the type of display. For example, LED displays will often consist of modular display components. This allows for different display shapes and sizes. The modular components used generally consist of display matrix modules and a display matrix controller. The individual modules are aligned to construct the display.

A popular new form of digital signage is the 3D displays. New technologies for these methods are currently being developed so that the display can be viewed with or without 3D glasses. One market trend that has contributed to the availability of this type of technology is the lower cost of LCD and plasma displays.

Media players are used to reproduce digital audiovisual content. Often times portable media players are used since they can be updated using a USB flash drive. However, another option is a Digital Advertising Network which can connect directly to the monitor and to the internet.

Issues

Despite the growing popularity of digital signage, there are still some issues associated with the more widespread use of this technology.

When digital signage is used for advertisements, there is still some uncertainty surrounding the overall profitability of this advertising method. Larger screens that are situated outdoors tend to be more expensive to maintain. This can be a very expensive form of advertisement if a large network is not planned. However, it is believed that measuring the profitability alone is slightly skewed since it is difficult to measure the extent of brand recognition that this form of advertisement generates.

There are also some issues surrounding the overall effectiveness of this advertising method when compared to more traditional forms of advertisements such as radio or television ads. The reason for this is because it is difficult to advertise across different networks running different solutions. However, this is an issue that may soon correct itself since different industry organizations are working to develop standards that are to be complied with by the different vendors in the industry.