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Digital Signage: Consumers Want Control |
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Written by David Little
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Friday, 04 July 2008 |
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Control tower, control grid, taking control, controlling interest, command and control, and even control freak. Nearly everywhere you look and everywhere you go, the name of the game is control. Whos in charge here, anyway? Perhaps you have a friend like mine who wants more control over his own destiny. The good news is that this new technology can give everyone more control.
by DavidLittle
Control tower, control grid, taking control, controlling interest, command and control, and even control freak. Nearly everywhere you look and everywhere you go, the name of the game is control. Whos in charge here, anyway? Perhaps you have a friend like mine who wants more control over his own destiny. The good news is that this new technology can give everyone more control.
When I question him about why the set is on, he never has a very definitive answer, just some nebulous comment about background noise. Without question, my friend and millions upon millions of other Americans- have found a way to tune out the endless stream of information, commercials and promotions and selectively focus in long enough if something arises to pique his interest.
At the same time the popularity of touch-screen interactivity is growing, the cable TV industry is hard at work developing new standards and systems to let viewers interact with programming through their remotes. What they envision far exceeds the rudimentary implementations of interactivity popping up on cable systems across the nation. The next generation of interactivity potentially will be far more grandular than todays offering, allowing viewers to click on on-screen items to get information about the blouse an actress is wearing or far deeper information about a car than what can be presented in its 30 second commercial.
The cable TV industry has a good reason to push hard in developing this next generation of interactivity as companies like AT&T and Verizon roll out competitive offerings that push the interactive envelope.
For the digital signage marketer these trends are significant because the technology they use does not exist in a vacuum. While today it might be enough to market a product on a digital sign at the point of sale in an effort to influence the buying decisions of customers, it wont be for long. Soon, those shoppers will expect the same degree of interactivity and control they have on their TVs at home and the phones in their purses.
The situation will be exacerbated as cable TV gets more interactive, IPTV rollouts with on-screen hotspot links and over-the-top video (video delivered via Internet broadband connection) blurs the line further between whats a television and whats a computer. The good news for digital signage marketers is that a variety of interactive technologies are being integrated into some of todays digital signs, giving them touchscreen capabilities and freeing them to combine the best of the kiosks world with the strengths of digital signage.
In a nutshell, these interactive, hybrid digital signs can attract attention while in linear mode by playing back special offers or even something as basic as television programming and at the touch of one finger transition into an interactive mode in which a consumer can find the product information, electronic coupon or one of an endless list of info nuggets that are desired.
Winning the race to influence consumer-purchasing decisions soon will mean digital signage content producers soon will be forced to add interactivity. While there certainly will still be a place for traditional linear digital signage content, its hard to imagine a future in which interactive hybrid digital signs arent at the least an important addition to the marketing mix.
Simply put, to compete in the battle to influence the buying decisions of consumers, digital signage content producers will soon be forced to incorporate interactivity into their presentations just to stay competitive.
About the Author:
David Little is a digital signage enthusiast with 20 years of experience helping advertisers use technology to effectively promote their unique marketing messages. For further digital signage insight from Keywest Technology, visit our website to learn how digital signage can benefit you. |
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