So I started a thread in a discussion group on Digital Signage on Linkedin.
I wanted to launch a provocation. There has been a lot of talk about it for a long time BUT the system has not yet given clear answers. The models struggle to consolidate and demonstrate their effectiveness. I have often reiterated that DS implementation models cannot base ROI only on advertising space sales plans. But when I say "only", I mean to underline the importance of the creation of interaction systems that give an additional impulse through services, applications, news, etc. for advertising itself... Starting from this assumption which should help us build mix models between advertising and services I have always thought that a real "general" PRICE cannot exist TODAY! or at least it cannot be defined as such. Starting from the basic elements, whether they are commercials of varying duration or static images or other content, the variables at play are time and location. Time segmented on the basis of the context and valorised precisely according to what I call proximity pedestrianity. The location instead is valued for its position and ability to attract interest and specific or general targets. We are certainly at the beginning and I am convinced that the so-called traditional TV and billboard models have little to teach what will instead represent the future of advertising.
The various interventions have concretely clarified some of the key aspects on which the entire sector must work hard and even more so I think that the time is not premature for the DS to find its killer application mix between advertising and service.
I continue to stress this topic because we must not wait for the "media and dealership bandwagon" to get underway. The Internet has taught everyone that certain rules, even with time and the sacrifice of many and few, can change habits and customs, eliminate the middle ground and optimize processes. So why should we still focus on the fact that the consumer should watch and not interact. That type of consumer will be “dead”. As soon as the elements and measurement tools leave the "lobby" we will have to worry about how to create "living" users. Even in this the internet can teach us something. And if it is important that they are "alive" it is equally fundamental that they then use the message to access a service, a promotion, a purchase, etc... in short, they transform the communication into a purchasing action! but not only BUT as long as there is an economic transfer (in the end that's what counts).
The factors that could contribute to the evolution of DS can be summarized as:
1. technology: a more aggressive cost per dimension that brings with it and simplifies fixings, maintenance and life time, improves visualization and is interactive;
2. the services: think of a communication that leads the user to actively experience the advertising to transform the message into a purchasing impulse (final goal! the rest are words dear friends; I like the idea of assveritising BUT as a demonstration that what attracts is not the message but the rest! 🙂 );
3. the DS's proposition: in public tenders it is time to talk about DIGITAL, innovate, experiment with new avenues; while in other markets it is a must TODAY to look for new frontiers and the DS can be an important lever for quickly bringing new technologies to the market, making them truly useful for the purchasing process (NFC, RFID, etc.) so that costs follow revenues but also optimization and innovation;
4. dealerships and media centers: DS is the new media channel! this needs to be clarified and made CLEAR to everyone! on the DS the contents must be designed first and then created tailored to the project and objectives. Here we need a change with greater conviction and courage! Here we need to overturn the chain because otherwise, as has happened in other sectors, the middle market will collapse with the arrival of online networks and software (look to understand the Google TV Ads initiative!)
BUT IN THE END, how much is advertising in Digital Signage networks worth? Depends. But one day through network aggregation we will be able to establish simple but complete algorithms to determine their value. It will certainly be a variable and dynamic value, linked to the factors that will make up the magic formula!
