Digital signage to revolutionize outdoor advertising

You see them at ticket counters. You see them in malls. You see them on large outdoor hoardings. Digital screens with automated content are fast replacing paperback posters as a cost-effective and popular advertising medium. Digital signage, a more developed customized automated content screen, is set to do this in a big way, if sources from Cable&Wireless are to be believed.

Advertising with the use of signage content or static, digital media content can be placed at a centralized location and routed through an IP network. Moreover, the refresh rate is very high in such digital screens, with content changing in seconds, providing greater visibility and multimedia, without having to be installed in multiple locations. Being a paperless medium, digital signage is also a green solution that can help in reducing carbon footprint.

According to Vikas Bansal, director, carrier sales, India and South Asia, “Digital signage has three keys: advertising agency, equipment provider and network provider. Being a content provider, Cisco is majorly in this space. This solution is good for CEOs as chat, videoconferencing and other multi-purpose options are available on this medium. While videoconferencing is unidirectional and has customized content, this medium is multi-directional.”

A new solution that has achieved reasonable success in popular large retail outlets in Europe and the Caribbean-where it has been tested-has turned a tedious installation into an extra income garnering opportunity for retail stores. It can have revenue sharing and other such models with advertising agencies for display of content in stores. Cable&Wireless believes that this solution could be ideal for Indian customers as well, and should launch in India in the next financial year.

Sunanda Das, MD, India and South Asia says, “We have seen a lot of PC companies showing interest in this technology, and there is a lot of potential for telecom operators to introduce this as well as to advertise their content. This can be applied to the tourism sector as well. In the Indian market, this solution will cater to the premium sector initially, percolating just about 5% of the market, but will be introduced in phases, as more MNCs introduce the technology in the country.”

Another advantage of the IP-CCTV with digital media is that its smart 'digital eye' uses analytical feed and customized, dynamic content by processing an individual's profile to display content specifically catering to the individual's interest, using digital imaging and profile matching. Thus, giving a more focused content, and providing micro-segmentation, catering to specific groups, that are useful in high-end retail stores to cater strategically to different groups of high-end clientèle.

Moreover, the screens can be placed anywhere from stores and offices, to bus shelters, and more. The USP lies in the intelligent analytical software, which is scalable. As bandwidth becomes cheaper, this is a potential option, and third party providers can share costs to make it more practical and cost-effective. The incremental costs are low, which start increasing according to the number of screens and analytical feed. The technology works akin to a cloud, with all sectors connected to a centralized location with a common database.

Bansal says, “Cable&Wireless has invested a lot in domestic digital rich fiber, and thus it makes sense to launch this solution. The company will be the main solutions provider and will approach other large and small providers in India to officially launch this service.”

berylm@cybermedia.co.in