Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Digital Signage: More on the video wall



As promised, I'm posting pictures of the video wall installation we did for the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau. We will be releasing this product to the masses in a month or so. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures and if you are ever in Louisville, you can find this installation at 4th and Jefferson in downtown Louisville, KY!

Monday, January 22, 2007

Digital Signage: Are Digital Billboards a Driving Hazard?

I came across an article at MediaPlannerBuyer.com that goes over the growing concern with digital outdoor billboards. According to that article, digital billboards are expected to grow from a current install level of 400 to 4,000 over the next 10 years. I actually thought that projection was low but I should mention I have not seen any other numbers on which to base my opinion. The article goes on to suggest that digital billboards demand more attention from the driver therefore making them less focused on their driving situation. You can find the article I’ve referring to here.

This article was timely for my company. Captive Indoor Media recently became involved in a video wall project that faces a high traffic intersection in Downtown Louisville, KY. Although not a traditional digital billboard, that project needed a lengthy project review by the City of Louisville before approval. During that process, they invoked limitations on media that could be displayed but little else.

Our project involves eight, 46” LCD screens stacked 2x4 and positioned in a corner of the building that faces the street through floor to ceiling glass windows. The intent of this project is to grab and retain the attention of passersby and the potential hazard introduced at the intersection was a concern for everyone.

Iwill post a picture of our project once installed. That is scheduled to happen this week :-).

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Digital Signage: A few tips for attaining good A/V contractors and a quality installation process

Digital Signage is all about software and content right? That is what your customers are seeing and ultimately the benchmark of success right? Easy to use software, great content and a plan to execute is all I need to get up and running right?

Ok, stop right there. If we can reverse that order and start with “A plan to execute”, now we are on pace. And one of the most integral yet often overlooked aspects of that “plan” is the question of who is going to hang the screen on the wall, hook up the player and service that equipment over the coming days, weeks and years. “No problem” you say, “we’ve got the guy to do it.” Ok, but what happens when you have an installation of 400 screens in 5 states on 200 walls within a tight time frame and in varied construction scenarios? Hmmm. It gets a bit more difficult doesn’t it?

With that question in mind and several scenarios which closely adhere to the above characteristics, I thought it would be beneficial to post a quick list of elements key to a good installation.

1- Work with a known partner

As a company we have used both individual A/V companies and networks of A/V companies provided by an aggregator. The aggregator’s job is to screen the contractor used for each installation and then help project manage the entire process. While this seems to be the most logical approach for implementing large orders, it also presents the most pitfalls. There always seems to be finger pointing and never a firm allocation of fault when a problem happens.

At Captive Indoor Media, we have assembled a team of A/V partners over the years which we work with on a regular basis. Today our network of partners spans across the country and we handle project management in-house. Through the combination of an existing relationship and a single point of contact (us) for our customers, our projects run much smoother and when we do have problems, we can handle them without all of the finger pointing.

2- Make sure the Audio/Visual contractor has experience with Digital Signage

This is absolutely critical if you cannot utilize an installer that either you as an end customer or your software vendor can provide. In these cases, it is necessary to have a qualified person on hand to check the basics from signal quality to the screen and dB levels for audio to network connectivity for the player. When you do use an unknown company, their experience with most any digital signage product should be a key component of your due diligence as to their ability to install a system cleanly, professionally and quickly.



3- Have a punch list

Here is the reference to my initial comments about executing a plan. Part of the process is the up front work which includes site surveys and a concrete set of requirements for each installation. Is the screen always 8 ft’ above the floor centered behind the tellers or are there deviations? What are the power requirements and is there any existing infrastructure the system can piggy back on? What happens when a truck shows up and things are slightly different than agreed upon when the punch list was created? Do you allow that vendor some flexibility to install anyway or do you have them come back at a later date? Who is responsible for configuring the network connection for the player and who will take the call when that connection is not allowing traffic for the player? These are just some of the obvious questions that need to be covered up front before work begins. Those questions set up the document which lists a set of requirements to be met when an installer begins at each location. When each of those requirements are met, a manager at the location should be required to check each to ensure they have been done and then agree that work is complete with their signature.

4- Have an experienced Software Vendor

As much as I would like to preach that Captive Indoor Media is in the software and content delivery business, we are also in the project management business. We carefully follow progress of each project, big or small, and manage constant communication (both verbal and documented) between all parties involved. Experience in this area should be a part of any vendor selection.

5- Maintain Consistency of labor

When large installations are taking place, we try to assign project teams that will gain efficiencies over the course of the installation project. It seems common sense to claim that 5 teams doing 40 locations each will be moving much faster on locations 30-40 than on locations 1-10. They gain confidence, relationships and knowledge which ultimately transcends to a good, clean installation. If there are constant changes in labor, it is more difficult to attain efficiencies and consistent quality.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Digital Signage: When you peel the layers… It seems like everyone is adding layers…

Ok, ok, before your eyes glass over about another blog post concerning Cisco digital signage, just give me a few minutes to explain. I’ve got an idea here and maybe we can learn something from all this Cisco news.

For a couple years now I’ve thought that the key to building a successful digital signage product and therefore company is to ensure the ability to layer service on the software platform without great expense or deviation from the business model. In the case of Captive Indoor Media, we have acted out this approach and currently deliver everything from content creation to syndicated news feeds and touch screen applications all with the intent of adding value for our customers while increasing our average bill (yes, we are trying to make some money).

Take a second to admire the cell phone/PDA/MP3 Player in your pocket to get a glimpse inside a successful business model based on layering services in the face of margin attrition. That device probably looks much different from the brick like thing you carried just a few years ago and the service you receive today most certainly is.

Cell phone providers 5 years ago were selling little more than voice service with varied packages for roaming and long distance. Today long distance is free; roaming is a word used mostly for cattle and every mobile service provider I know of is pushing email, fast internet access and text messaging. In the face of product price attrition, they layered new service and retained or increased the average monthly bill. In my unfortunate case, I have actually seen a pretty steep increase in my bill but the service is so necessary to my day to day activity I would probably pay double if I had to.

As Digital Signage continues to get more competitive (300 vendors and counting) we will certainly see pricing come down within the more commoditized digital signage products such as remote access and scheduling capability. Success will be based in the ability of each company to introduce compelling service products which ride on that company’s software backbone and deliver further value to their customers while also increasing the barrier to entry for the competition.

OK, now it’s time for the Cisco reference. Cisco is not in the digital signage game just to start developing content and fulfill delivery of that content. They want to sell the whole kit and caboodle. They want to add on video to the desktop. They want to add VOIP and teleconferencing. They want to sell digital signage not as a unique technology (pssst. It is not new anymore nor unique) but as a means to an end (gulp). They have the expertise, money and capability to plant customer flags fast and implement with speed and precision. Once the flag is planted, it is time to farm the account and sell every product they can over as few platforms as possible.

The good news is that Cisco is big and most of us are small. Well all of us are small in the face of that logo. We will be the ones innovating and they will be the one’s purchasing and consolidating the industry. In my humble opinion there is plenty of room for both of those activities in the coming months and years. We shall see.

To read the article that prompted this post, please follow this link
Hyper Smash