Strategy Institute's Digital Signage Technology Summit
LAS VEGAS, NV– June 27, 2008— Strategy Institute events are well known for providing strategic business information and executive education to decision-makers. Their events provide an opportunity for concentrated learning, networking, and information exchange on focused topics. When Strategy Institute turned its attention toward the topic of digital signage it attracted many high-quality presenters across corporate, government, education, and retail sectors.
The Digital Signage Technology Summit was a two-day event held at the Las Vegas Hilton in conjunction with InfoComm on June 16th and 17th. The event brought together a broad range of end-users from universities, hospitals, retailers, communication firms, and systems integrators looking to increase their knowledge base regarding the planning, installation, and maintenance of digital signage networks. Lyle Bunn, strategy architect, BUNN CO., who's company provides strategic and business counsel to investors, operators, suppliers, and end-users of digital signage and dynamic out-of-home media, moderated the event.
DAY 1
The event's keynote address was given by David Keene, Executive Editor of Digital Signage Magazine, "Digital Signage 101—Overview, Benefits, and Key Elements" provided the foundation for the meeting. Mr. Keene's speech touched on the key market drivers for digital signage, the current market size and future projections, and how digital signage has affected the media mix for both ad buyers and consumers.
The Digital Signage Technology Summit included many end-users from colleges and universities looking to deploy digital signage on their campuses for security and communications. A panel discussion on "Emergency Alert and Notification: Integrating Digital Signage as Part of the Overall Response Program" received great interest. The panel included Paul Cell, Chief of Police, Montclair State University; Stephen Abrams, Emergency Management Coordinator, Penn State University; and Alison Kiss, Program Director, Security on Campus. Case studies were presented by Penn State and Montclair on their use of digital signage systems to supply real-time messaging to inform students, faculty, and staff of emergency situations.
The Hardware Analysis Panel was a highlight of the afternoon session featuring Sanju Khatri, Principal Analyst, Projection & Large Screen Displays, for iSuppli Corporation. Some key findings from her presentation included a 40% compounded growth rate projected through 2011 for flat panel sales. Large increases are also projected in global deployments of digital signage for the retail and education sectors, with a projected decline for more established sectors such as transportation. Another aspect of the panel was an in depth presentation on understanding the key technical differences between Plasma, LCD, LED, and Projection Systems for use in digital signage applications given by Tony Turiello, General Manager, Sports & Entertainment for Panasonic Systems Integration.
DAY 2
After processing the information from the first day of the Summit we were now ready for the next phase— Finding the right partners to successfully implement a digital signage network. Several case studies were presented covering corporate communications, public venues, hospitals, and universities. A highlight for us included an excellent presentation by Mary Hood, CEO of Digital Roads Inc., a Colorado-based systems integration company. Digital Road's presentation, "Request for Proposal: Formulating the RFP for the Best Results" was a step-by-step methodology for building a concise RFP that included the basics for setting objectives, establishing requirements, developing budgets, and managing vendor relationships. Of particular interest were her suggestions on avoiding costly deployment mistakes that included hiring qualified vendors, avoiding compressed timelines, vague or open-ended requirements, and ineffective communications between clients and vendors.
After you have deployed your digital signage network, how do you know that it's effective? A case study presented by Paul Bleimeyer, Manager, Media Support Services for the Mayo Clinic answered that question by demonstrating several key facts and technologies. His presentation "Strategies to Measure the Effectiveness of a Digital Signage Network" demonstrated several methodologies that validated the usefulness of digital signage networks. Some key points included proof of play reports, a comparison of cost (CPM) comparing print-based campaign response to that of digital signage-based campaign response, audits and surveys from companies like Arbitron and Nielsen, and Eye Gazing. The Eye Gazing discussion included a demonstration of TruMedia's technology for anonymously observing and recording data on dwell time and eye tracking to determine if the content being displayed is working effectively. The TruMedia system is capable of identifying the gender and approximate age of the viewer and generating detailed reports.
How do you find financing for your digital signage project? Everyone has interest in finding the right partner to help navigate the financial landscape of loans, leases, convertible debt, private and public equity. Bernie Shimkovitz, CEO and Director of Alliance Financing Group presented "Innovative Debt Financing Techniques to Raise Funds for Your Digital Signage Project". The presentation provided valuable insight to the many options that are now available to fund projects in the emerging digital signage market. Alliance has provided its clients with an array of financial structures and has financed projects from $1500 to $90,000,000.
M&A activity is surging in Digital Out-of-Home industry given that its the fastest growing media in North America. If you missed Strategy Institute's Digital Signage Technology Summit, there will be another SI event held in New York on Tuesday October 7th and Wednesday October 8th, 2008.
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