Dialogue

In Toronto during the last week of April, St. Joseph Content chaired the Digital Brand Activation Summit. This two-day event attracted delegates from Canada and the United States to hear keynote presentations and panel discussions on strategies for engaging consumers through digital media. The focus of the gathering was place‑based digital signage.

I’m often asked about the role that screen size plays in digital signage strategy, and while it’s common to assume that all digital signage implementations are based on large screens and dynamic content designed to capture attention, this is not always the case. Small screens also have an important part to play in a comprehensive digital signage strategy; the difference is in how small screens are used.

"A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well." – Jeff Bezos (CEO, Amazon.com)

As thousands of companies and start-ups are trying to figure out social media—the valuation of LinkedIn soared at its debut, the valuations of Skype, Groupon, and Facebook continue to skyrocket, and the valuation of social gaming giant Zynga continues to rise—people are being driven into a money-making, schema-creating frenzy like the dot-com explosion of the late 90s. But what is happening with brands? Who owns them? Who controls them?

On Wednesday, March 7, the Digital Signage Expo (DSE) announced the winners of its Digital Content Awards for 2012 at its 3rd Annual Awards Dinner at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. We’re very pleased to announce that our work for The Shoppes at Ocean Drive—Romero Britto digital signage installation has won the Gold Content Award in the prestigious Retail Category.

At the beginning of each new year, the Digital Signage Expo (DSE) poses a trend-related Question of the Month to members of our industry who have first-hand insights “on the ground”. When it comes to trends in digital signage, I see several developments that are worth exploring, so I’ve expanded on the DSE single-question format and outlined these developments for you in this post.

In my first post of this series—Getting Started With Digital Signage, I identified the first step in building a successful network, which is to think about the two groups who will get the most from it: the stakeholders within your company and the audience they are trying to reach. 

Big Data, Near Field Communication (NFC), and Multi-tablet Households are just some of the trends for 2012 that you need to pay attention to. I attended Deloitte’s live presentation of their Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions for 2012 and came away with some valuable insights that will affect businesses this year.

We are proud to announce that our work for The Shoppes at Ocean Drive—Romero Britto digital signage installation has been selected as one of the finalists in the retail category for the Digital Signage Expo 2012 Content Awards.

The Shoppes at Ocean Drive is a massive new retail space operated by NewsLink within the Miami International Airport. Comprised of eight brand sections in one area, and anchored by a large elliptical atrium, this space offers travelers a delightful blend of products—from fashion and toys to art and gourmet food—that reflect the style and sensibilities of Miami.

Everyone has their lists and predictions for the New Year—bye bye 2011 and hello 2012. That said, as the world of Marketing becomes more complex and as the various lexicons, buzz-words, and catch phrases gain momentum, we want to keep you abreast of some of those terms, trends, and insights… for now and into the future.