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Mike Quinn
SVP Marketing, Research & Product Dev.
PRN
What are the top three examples of exceptionally well done digital signage installations that you are aware of and what do you think others should learn from these examples?
As an employee at PRN, I am tempted to answer, “The Walmart Smart Network, PRN’s TV Wall Network, and PRN’s Checkout Network. After all, these networks are widely deployed in over 6,500 stores and they reach consumers where they make over $300 Billion in purchase decisions are made every year.
That said, I recognize that some might think this answer biased, so I have decided to highlight some of my favorite non-PRN Networks. To that end, I’d like to recognize four networks I think do a great job meeting the different needs of the various constituents of a place-based network:
o Consumers
o Venue Owners
o Advertisers
o Network Providers
I have arranged these examples in this order of “priority” -- from consumer, to venue owner, to advertiser, to network operator – because if the consumer’s needs are not being met, then the venue owner will not invest in the network. If the venue owner will not invest in the network, then there is no media to sell to the advertiser. If there are no advertisers (or source of monetization), then the network operator has no business model. If the network operator has no business model, then the industry cannot grow.
In terms of meeting consumer needs, one of the “coolest” networks I have ever seen was in Hollister, a clothing retailer for teens. This retailer used two banks of TVs on opposing walls to display live video from Hermosa Beach, CA (one wall showing images shot looking north up the beach and another wall showing images looking south). Ironically, the first time I saw this installation was in the middle of winter in a mall just north of Chicago. I parked my car in the middle of a icy parking lot, hustled into the giant mall, and made my way to the Hollister store which was located on the basement level, sandwiched between dozens of other retailers. The second I entered the store, I knew I was somewhere different. Everything in the store screamed hip, young, alive teen-ager, and backing up the experience were vivid images of sunny Hermosa Beach, CA…delivered to Chicago, IL…in January…complete with real beach sounds and colors, broadcast live all day, every day. By observing the clientele, it was clear that this was the best place within miles to be a teen.
When it comes to meeting the needs of the venue owner, nothing can touch the variety of networks at play in the Airport. Today, imagining an airport without digital media is almost impossible, but 10 years ago, the airport was about as sophisticated as the bus depot. In my most recent trip to the airport (in Oakland, CA), I took the opportunity to count the number of screens used by the venue owner(s) to communicate with customers. This is the kind of exercise I do in my free time that makes my wife raise her eyebrows. In total, I counted 340 screens. Three hundred and forty screens in an airport that barely cracks the top 40 in most traveled airports in the US! There were screens behind every check-in counter (40), screens that helped you check-in on your own (74), screens that displayed all the departures and arrivals (82), at the TSA bag check (4), in various retail venues in the concourse (40), at the gate (69), on the ATMs (23) and at baggage claim (7). On top of that, I counted 448 personal screens in use (PDAs, laptops and personal media players), as well as 197 screens used by workers at the airport to order your McMuffin or assign you a seat. In all, this accounts for 985 screens, networked and displaying information in a 32-gate airport. Interestingly, I counted the most screens in the Southwest Airlines terminal, a company known not just for its frugality, but more importantly for its efficiency and understanding of today’s consumer.
In a recent poll among advertising planners, “Captive Audience” and “Targeting” were selected as the most two important factors in the evaluation of out-of-home networks. Is it any wonder, then, that “Captivate” continues to be one of the most successful advertising networks in our industry. This network targets hard to reach business decision-makers in their place of work while they are riding the elevator 8 to 10 times a day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Delivered in 7,000+ elevators, in 1,000+ Class-A office buildings, Captivate continues to be a network that our clients mention when I ask them about their favorite vehicles. Captivate also has the benefit of high awareness, due to the fact that its clients often work in Captivate office buildings. That said, high awareness is only a good thing when you deliver on your promises every day...and Captivate has.
Last in the equation is the network operator. In this area, there are two types of networks that consistently interest me, those with increasing levels of “intelligence” and those with reduced costs. On the “intelligence” front, I am particularly proud of the “Walmart Smart Network,” a partnership between Walmart, PRN, Studio2 and DS-IQ. This network utilizes an end-to-end IPTV network, custom programming, and real time POS optimization to deliver a learning network for shopper marketing. That said, I promised to avoid promoting PRN in this response, so let me highlight an interesting network delivered by “Targetcast”. Targetcast utilizes the existing TVs in bars and restaurants to deliver its messaging. It does this without interrupting the programming already playing on these TVs and, as a result, Targetcast is able to dramatically reduce not only Capital Expense, but also Operating Expense. Targetcast is still a very young enterprise and has to clear many of the hurdles we have all had to surmount, but I’ll bet those hurdles look a lot “lower” when you have taken out a huge percentage of your costs.
As you can see, when networks meet the unique needs of their customers, then the venue owners are willing to invest the substantial capital costs required to build and maintain these networks. With an engaged customer base and a robust network in place, advertisers are willing to spend the money necessary to reach and connect these customers. With a solid business model in place, network operators will profit and reinvest in their networks and in the industry at large, while also encouraging, directly or indirectly, others to do the same. And with this, the industry will continue to grow.