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Chicago, IL – March 12, 2008 – Like that famous
advertising axiom, “Where’s the beef,” organizers and attendees at last
month’s vendor-rich Digital Signage Expo were asking, “Where are the content
providers?”
The Digital
Signage (DS) market has exploded over the last several years causing
this premier event to drop the industry-qualifying “Retailing” from its
title. In 2005, market research giant Forrester began covering
the boom in retail DS and urged retailers to take advantage of “opportunities
that in-store media presents.” Forrester observed that with such
an abundance of solutions, retailers should “select tech partners with
caution.” Since 2005, the number of vendors has grown significantly
with more than 170 exhibiting at Digital Signage Expo. Thanks to
improvements in software capabilities, there is also an exponential growth
in content. Content providers, however, were conspicuous by their
absence at this year’s show. |
Brian Reynolds, President
Flyte Systems
|
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Three top trends emerged at the Digital Signage
exhibition at the Las Vegas Convention Center:
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Pull-through demand for content providers and integrators
is increasing
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The transportation market is the break-out
industry for the future
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Digital Signage is spreading rapidly into new verticals
New technologies drive growth
Increasingly sophisticated digital
signage software is driving rapid adoption by new markets. These
advances are creating new ways providers are displaying both revenue generating
and informational content. From static to interactive, signage platforms
are becoming progressively more accommodating to new types of content,
such as RSS and XML feeds. New releases of main applications, control
programs and display are simplifying display flexibility so what used to
take custom coding is now an option or a switch. Thanks to these
advances, new content feeds such as live flight
information, are making DS a more dynamic entity with an enhanced value-add
proposition to assist planning and purchasing.
Content goes mainstream
Whether its stock quotes, current weather conditions,
or real-time flight information,
need-to-know, eye-catching content is driving the pull-through demand for
new providers and integrators. As more end-users see the value in
digital signage for building customer loyalty, repeat business and creating
unique revenue generators, the need to provide more comprehensive and interactive
content will increase. The advantages of one-stop service vendors
offering hardware, software, installation and content has aided the recent
consolidations and overall popularity of market integrators and will be
a powerful driver for new adopters.
Applications at the speed of travel
From cruise lines to rail and airlines, the transportation
sector is literally exploding with opportunity for DS providers.
New tools emerge every day and their interactive applications are being
implemented in ways that first attract and then retain viewers. Revenue
generating opportunities through strategic partnerships are plentiful and
obvious.
 Flyte
Systems recently entered into a partnership with Digital Minds at the Donald
E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, to provide conventioneers
with current airline flight information that enables them to make more
confident travel plans. Conventioneers view FlyteBoard content to
check on their flight status on a split screen. Digital Minds provides
revenue-generating sponsorship opportunities to companies affiliated with
the convention center on the same panel with the flight information.
During the International Hotel/Motel and Restaurant Show last November
at NYC’s Javits Center, a FlyteBoard was installed in the lobby and attracted
a steady stream of attendees who were grateful for the ability to verify
their flight times at three major airports. The revenue opportunity
was clear.
Putting customers first, the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey uses FlyteBoard in its JFK AirTrain system so passengers
can benefit from updated flight information before boarding their train
for the airport. More than a dozen hotels in New York and New Jersey
have installed digital flight information signage and an area Avis-Rent-a-Car
facility also provides the service.
Elsewhere, cruise lines have already recognized
the benefits of digital signage, using dynamic displays as onboard wayfinders
and informational resources – coupled with marketing messages. The
time is ripe for expanding these services to include need-to-know information
that attracts and retains captive cruise audiences, whether shipboard or
in the cruise terminal awaiting transportation to the airport. Thanks
to continuing technological advances, the ability to provide relevant,
targeted data is now economically feasible and as simple as connecting
to the Internet.
Finding the Beef
The Digital Signage Expo is a strong draw for
hardware providers and enterprise-wide systems and it is clear the show’s
sponsors are actively looking toward expansion opportunities in the future.
Attracting greater participation from content providers will ensure a wider
spectrum of new offerings at next year’s show and is linked with the industry’s
growing presence in new markets. The consensus on the floor at this
year’s show was that adding new content providers to the 2009 event would
generate even greater revenue opportunities for the entire industry.
About Flyte Systems
 The
Flyte
Systems Division of Industrial Television Services (ITS), based in
Chicago, Illinois, is the leading provider of airport flight information
displays for the hospitality and convention center industries and related
businesses. It delivers accurate, instant, airport-centric updates
of flight information – not FAA-regulated scheduled departure times that
may omit last minute changes. Properties are able to differentiate
their products and boost customer loyalty and repeat business with ’glance-and-go’
content critical to a traveler’s day. Flyte Systems’ product
suite builds upon ITS’ 47-year history as the leading provider of live
flight information to airports, airlines, government agencies, port authorities
and other travel-based businesses. Flyte Systems was formed in 2007
to offer new Web-based travel technology and product lines. Customers
include the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Touch Quest, Marriott,
Days Inn, Hilton, DoubleTree, Hotel Sofitel, and Crown Plaza hotels, independent
properties and municipal airports. |