Happy Friday, everyone.  Time for Friday’s 4-1-1.  Many of my readers know the guys at The Preset Group.  Since the beginning of the year, I’ve gotten to know each of them fairly well.  They’ve been very good to me, and all of my experiences with them – collectively and individually – have been more than pleasant.  Real good guys.  Solid minds, too.  This week, I’ve had various interactions with them and they just produce such good content, so I’m going to be an aggregator of sorts.

1.  Sixteen:Nine and rAVe Work New Partnership – Two very bright guys in the digital signage/DOOH space have partnered together to essentially bring us double-great thinking in 1 location.  I’ve sat in quite a few press “quarters” with Dave and we’ve had some good discussions.  I even had the privilege of speaking on a panel with him earlier in the year.  He’s probably the most knowledgable person in the space I’ve met.  And I’ve seen Gary go through one of his presentations.  Dynamic guy.  Knowledgable, too.  This is a powerhouse of knowledge.  I think all who follow each of them just benefited greatly, whether or not they know it right now.  Soon, they will.

2.  Mark Cuban’s Views on the Fan Experience – David Weinfeld wrote a piece earlier in the week about how Mark Cuban views the importance of creating an “experience” (similar to a wedding) for fans at sporting events (in this case, HIS sporting events).  As David points out in this article, digital signage and the physical things around us have great potential in sporting venues.  Cuban gets this, too.  I think the power of mobile, though, (as David and I discussed) is extending the experience beyond the actual venue.  The brand (in this case, let’s say the Mavericks) should recognize that the venue (digital signage or not) and mobile are merely channels to extend their story.  The question is not “which technology do I use to create an experience at a particular place?” but really, “how do I tell my brand’s story at a particular place on a particular piece of technology?”

3.  What Do You Reach for in the Morning? – Paul does these down-and-dirty surveys on his blog every so often and this week, he wants to find out why people use their mobile phones.  If you haven’t taken it, go over there and do it.  It will take 1 minute of your time.  Literally.  Mobile is definitely a gateway between the offline and online worlds that I so often talk about.  Next up on the survey list should be, now that we know how you use mobile, do you integrate it with other mediums/channels?

4.  The Advertising Slogan Generator – From Paul’s Twitter feed, it is what it says it is (and yes, I know, not the first of its kind).  Enter a word, see your advertising slogan.  I smell an idea perfect for interactive signage, both at the aforementioned sports venue or in a densely populated environment – transit, wait – whatever.  Text your word in, see your slogan on the big screen.  Simple idea.  Engaging.  Multiple extensions, including commerce.  How hard was that?

“Uh-huh” – Bad Digital Signage Projects Hurt Us All – Dear All DOOH Decision Makers (Advertisers and Agencies) – Don’t Suck.  I say this tongue-in-cheek, but seriously, count the number of DOOH/IOOH installations that have made sense vs. the ones that haven’t.  Overwhelmingly weighted on the haven’t-made-sense side.

“Duh” –  See above.  Case in point for a head scratcher.

Happy weekend, everyone!