The Critical Moment
Part One
Everything is moving quickly in the evolution of Digital Signage. Not only is it being pushed into the future by its inherent benefits but some of the momentum we are enjoying is fuelled by advertising dollars migrating in from other less effective mediums.
In this short narrative I would like you to hear my take on Digital Signage. Good or bad, wrong or right these are my thoughts.
In order to see where we are going we must have a good sense of where we’ve been. When I started in Digital Signage there were limited attempts made to harness this new medium. Dominion Foods in Ontario had placed some CRT Monitors at the check-outs in their stores. To my understanding this test had failed for them for a number of reasons that are simple to identify now. If you just open your eyes today you will see a flat screen some where.
In the spring of 1989 I was sitting in my favourite restaurant in my favourite town doing what I do best, looking around. On the wall was a clock with a mechanical roll-0-dex, it turned very slowly with an advertiser on each card. Some of the ads were in felt pen, did I mention a small town? It was then I came up with the idea to put still ads on a video tape in succession and sell them. I ran home and drew out some paper and started planning, that was twenty one years ago.
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I have to admit I haven’t been doing Digital Signage every day for this time but I have been studying and listening to people in the advertising world all these years in an attempt to map out processes for the future.
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In 1990 a forward thinking convenience store company in Canada agreed to let us proceed with an initial installation of 64 stores in Calgary Alberta. I and my computer friend put together the components required to play a Power Point slide show and we soon realized, number one the 286 computer (probably equivalent to today’s Blackberry) could barely do the job and each unit installation would be $8,000.00. Thank God we didn’t do it; I would still be paying them off. My point is until recently the technology needed to do the job was in its infancy.
Today we are enjoying a ground swell of excitement and accolades for this industry that is fuelled by the Digital Signage success stories and falling equipment prices.
If you are reading this as a precursor to starting your own Digital Signage Company listen up. There are more failures than successes. If you think as I did that you are going to buy some flat screens and sell some ads and make your fortune you may as well quit now, or have very deep pockets. Read the book first then sit and think about it, unless you are prepared to see it through to a successful conclusion, don’t even start. I don’t know if we will ever have the numbers for the failure rate but as so many who try take on a huge debt, fall on their faces and retreat back to the same small restaurant in the small town. They did not fully realize their dreams because, well they didn’t do it right.
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I am not for a second implying I have all the answers but I can say with all sincerity I will tell you what I have learned about this industry and give you a heads up to the pit falls and problems I have encountered along the way. Twenty one years and we are still here and better than ever.
A Look at the Past
In order to map out a course for the Future it is critical you look where you have been. In doing this we can look at our mistakes gather the relevant data and in time make a calculated decision as to which direction to go. Mistakes cost money and that is why we are all doing this is to make money. Unfortunately the Digital Signage industry is so new that the data is just now coming in and people are beginning to report what successes they have had.
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We must first understand and never loose focus on the fact that this is an advertising medium. If you do not provide benefit for your clients you will soon be called on it, so you should make every effort to do it right the first time. The conclusions I have drawn over the years are certainly not going to be your blue print but it should give you a good point of departure so you can add your own good ideas and make this truly functional for your needs.
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The name of this narrative is The Critical Moment and refers to the millisecond that it takes to transfer information from the display to the brain. If there is a disconnect for any reason that prohibits the flawless transfer of information you will fail to provide benefit for your client. Even at its most effective a Digital Signage message only offers memory retention at 57%, which is really competitive to other forms of advertising but you can see we have yet to perfect this medium.
You can have all the technology in the world, all the best traffic flows, but if you fail at the Critical Moment you fail entirely.
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So let us have a look quick look at the history of display advertising because this is the conventional media that most closely relates to our new display format.