11th Screen

A smile.  That’s the emotion that Coke brings me.  Sure, some of it is the sugar rush, but a lot more of it is how they create brand experiences.  I saw another example this weekend of how they (re)create the experience of simply getting a drink.  Introducing Coca Cola Freestyle – the (interactive touch) machine that brings you 106 flavors with the simple touch of a button.

This is a game changer.  Think of how many self-serve beverage dispensers you’ve used.  At the most, you’ve got ~10 options, and they’re typically options in drinks, not flavors.  Here, this kiosk serves all Coke products and their flavors – a total of 106 different options.

The interface is simple – pick your product, then your flavor, then fill ‘er up.  I overheard one of the movie theatre employees talking to a customer:

Employee:  Cool, huh?

Customer (looks amazed while filling his cup):  Yeah, it’s awesome.

Employee:  We just got those in and everyone thinks they’re great.

Customer:  Makes getting drinks fun.

Employee:  I know, it’s pretty cool.

So, there you go.  Coke has now made filling up your drink at the movie theatre fun.  This will, no doubt, be something that we see in every movie theatre, restaurant, and convenience store in the future.

Gotta hand it to brands like Coke.  They see an opportunity to utilize technology outside of the home to fulfill a simple task (utility) and make a meaningful brand experience out of it.  And they capitalize on it.

Today marks a milestone of accomplishment here on this blog – for the first time ever, I have blogged every day this week! I hope everyone’s enjoyed the posts. I have my own opinions on blogging and everything behind it and at the end of the day, I’m just another voice in the sea of opinions that now have access to be heard. I don’t really like to write here unless I feel like my perspective is beneficial (and no, I don’t feel like it’s beneficial on everything, and I’m sure I’ve missed the mark here, on a number of occasions) – this week, I saw many different things that I really wanted to write about and share. So, today, I hope to close the week out strong, at least semi-strong.

I’m a huge fan of Fast Company and I’m a little sour to admit that I still don’t have an iPad. I’m kicking it old school with the print magazine – hence, today’s 4-1-1 is inspired by this month’s edition of Fast Company:

1. Ford continues to use enabling technology – still being a print magazine guy, I see MS Tags on most every one of Ford’s print ads, just like this:

The site that it sends you back to is nothing impressive, but it is driving consumers deeper into the brand.  And I still maintain that as long as you’re using print, why not include tags like this?  It just makes all the sense in the world.  I love the fact that they’ve chosen MS Tags, the scanning code/technology that I believe is the easiest, device-agnostic, user-friendly to use.

2.  Why Environmental Activists Embrace Social Media – this article specifically talks about PR and social media and BP being caught with their pants down.  Obviously very interesting for me to read, being that I work for the largest PR company in the world.  Here’s what I say to any company about social media (in addition to the points made in this article that I agree with) – you need to create a baseline of a presence, regardless of the climate of the industry and what your competitors are doing.  In other words, start with something – a blog, for instance – that allows you to get your voice out there and establish a baseline of presence and credibility.  That way, god forbid something happens and you need to respond to crisis (just as BP did), you’re not forced to go 0-60 in a day.  Even now, there are many companies who don’t want to get involved with social media unless they’re “forced” to (ie – when they need to deal with a crisis).  It’s hard to react to something critical when you haven’t even defined your presence.  And it takes time.

3.  The Ultimate Guide to Rapper Names (Infographic) – I’m a visual person.  I love infographics.  As you can see (follow the link to see infographic), “Lil”, names centered around “Royalty” and “Criminals” are some of the most popular.  What a world we live in.

4.  Online Retailers’ $44 Billion Customer Experience Problem (Another Infographic) - pretty cool stuff shown here.  The point is (aside from poor design/workflow in online shopping experiences) – many people don’t like to bother with going in stores.  They’d rather do it online, in the convenience of their own surroundings.  I’d love to see something like this showing the impact on digital/interactive Out of Home that allows consumers to shop outside of their home, without going into the store.  We’ll get there.  Still, the digital shopping experience can’t be ignored.  (Images look better on the Fast Company site vs. here, so check it out there).

“Uh-huh” – “Heroes” Creator Tim Kring Looks to the Future – I found this article fascinating.  #1 – I like the term “transmedia” which as he puts it, is a “fancy word at this point for a simple concept:  telling stories across multiple platforms.”  What I always talk about!!  And #2 – what I like even more, he follows that up with, “It will be a short-lived word, because it’ll just become the norm – the trans will stop and it’ll just be media”.  Wow, this dude is dialed in and he gets it on a level that I believe few people do.  His ideas are no doubt cool.  And although I didn’t watch every episode of Heroes and follow the different stories across all of the channels, it was a groundbreaking way to extend and evolve a story across multiple platforms.  (Just as Lost did as well).  #3 – what really got me thinking is, in agencies, particularly new agencies of the future – the gold might be in finding storytellers of the filmmaking nature vs. “creatives” specializing in design or copywriting.  Hmm.

“Duh” – Technology Changes the Face of Politicking – I don’t know if this is a “duh,” really.  But I don’t know that I really get the level of the true impact that politicians think that geo-location services like Gowalla actually make.  I like Gowalla and have worked with them multiple times before, and I’m happy that they’re exploring a new arena, but I don’t know how this is going to be the next social media “game changer.”  Seems a little strong to me.  Would love to hear your thoughts, though, if you feel differently.

So, there you go.  Closing out the week (semi-) strong.  Happy weekend, everyone!

Today, I attended the Digital Signage Federation’s first “learning series” webinar – “Turning on Digital Signage” brought to us by the guys at Brawn Consulting.  In short, it was a great session with lots of helpful information, all presented in 1 quick hour.  It was very much a 101-type session on digital signage, placements, “components” of the network and even selling, which makes sense coming from someone who leads a consulting group.  From my POV, it was really geared to companies who would sell services of the digital signage network “components,” specifically hardware and software providers (makes sense because they’re AV guys, too).  There were mentions sprinkled in about content, and I appreciated that they were sprinkled in in the right context (working together with the components and identifying ways digital signage can be used in various locations).  I think anyone listening, particularly those who want to learn the basics of this thing called “digital signage,” walked away with learning something.  Here are the specific nuggets of the session that I walked away with:

• The “industry” doesn’t talk about “digital” signage and “interactive” signage as separate terms.  “Digital” signage can become “interactive,” but in the end, it’s all digital.  I either have to accept this or continue pushing this.  To me, there is a big distinction and it’s important to differentiate the two.  (“Digital” signage and “traditional” OOH are about 1-way messaging.  Both can become “interactive,” therefore becoming conduits for 2-way interaction.  Push/pull messaging vs. just push.)  But what this does is exacerbate the problem of people talking consistently about this space.  Although there were mentions in text of “interactivity,” everything today was talked about as “digital signage.”  I believe the opportunity for this “OOH” medium is the possibility for interaction, driving deeper into brands.  Not just an efficient way to “display”/push messages out.  I’ll keep talking the way that I talk, but I am becoming more and more aware of how everyone else talks about it.

• I’m big into models.  The Brawn guys have created a model that identifies 7 Key Elements to Digital Signage:  Hardware, Software, Connectivity, Content, Operations, Design, & Business.  I want to get a copy of this deck so I can absorb everything involved in each of the elements.  Overall, though, this is a “simple” guide.

• I loved how they put consumers before makers/distributers/sellers in terms of identifying value.  They were talking about identifying what’s “valuable” before you implement any digital signage solution and they started with the audience (consumers).  This is music to my ears.  If it’s not providing value to the people who are ultimately going to use it, it’s no good.  (They also presented a “value triad,” which was another model that I thought was effective and simple.  Want to see it again, though.)

• There are ~350 companies out there selling digital signage software.  Wow.  And I know first hand about this, because I spent the last four years of my life creating a custom piece of interactive signage software.   I understand and appreciate nuance differences, but 350 different solutions?  How can one navigate the space well enough to know what software is best for them?  I know the end user (consumer) doesn’t care about this, but as someone who would need to ultimately buy (or create) one of these, I wouldn’t know where to begin.  Actually, I would….now I understand what the guys at Preset & Brawn do :)

As I said when I first learned about this series, education sessions like this are needed.  They’re the “right” way for an organization like the Digital Signage Federation to take responsibility and own education.  Many people need to be hearing about this and listening in on these sessions.  I would love to know who participated today and what they got out of it.

In an effort to write more regularly, I’m going to implement something that every other blogger on the planet does – a regular series.  It’s called the Friday 4-1-1.  And here’s how it breaks down:

Each week, on Friday, I’ll highlight 4 stories/events/implementations that I’ve seen during that week and give my impressions.  On top of that, I’ll highlight the best “uh-huh” (rockin’) thing I’ve seen and the worst “duh” (what were they thinking?) thing I’ve seen.  And we’ll see how it works.  So, here we go.

1. Interactive Technology to Enhance Museum Experience – an affiliate museum of the Smithsonian, The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Washington state, is piloting a “Passport to Discovery” project that sounds a lot like the myLOC passport system (set up in the Library of Congress).  Solid idea – make the user’s experience smarter each time they visit, based on their actions/interactions from the last visit, but my question is – how much of a pain is it to keep track of a passport-like tchotchke?  I would either lose it, forget it, or be annoyed that I have to sift through my catch-all drawer every time I need it.  Tie this into the one thing that people keep track of and don’t leave home without – their mobile phone – and you have something.

2. Google Introduces Branded Map Icons – simple – brands can now “brand” their locations into Google maps.  For OOH/DOOH/IOOH, brands can benefit in a major way.  They not only benefit from the brand recognition when Google maps is integrated into a digital/interactive sign, they benefit from the native functionality that allows users to automatically click-through to details about the brand.  I’m big on driving deeper brand experiences through all mediums, particularly OOH/DOOH/IOOH, and this is an example of an API unlocking that feature.  This feature has been available before now, but for a brand, there is a big difference from their location being tagged by a grey dot and being tagged by their logo, especially on an interactive sign, when you want to make it as enticing as possible.  Of course, this feature is only available to paying brands (using this as a form of advertising).  :)

3. Eye Expands Mobile Marketing at Malls, Sans “Big Brother” Effect – this is cool, but I just wonder for the end-consumer, if they make any distinction with geo-location ads.  The average consumer probably thinks it’s still creepy, regardless of “how” it’s done.  EYE and Ace Marketing & Promotions are working a system based on phone proximity, nothing GPS-related.  Here’s where I think digital/interactive signage (I don’t even think you’d need a “digital” sign) serves an ideal purpose – the sign is the bridge between the smart-but-creepy ad and the not-knowing-and-wary consumer.  Imagine in a mall, you walk up to a sign that lets you know what to expect on your phone – in terms of store advertisements – just because you’re “in the area.”  Viola, without doing anything other than being in that place, you’re pleasantly delighted when you look at your phone and see that Gap is having a sale on jeans.  You don’t walk away creeped out.  We need as much of this “non-creepy” interaction/advertising as possible right now – it will only help in the acceptance of digital/interactive signs (that have the potential to be very smart).

4.  Seahawks Utilize iPad Kiosks for Fan Registration – first, I can’t wait for football to begin next Thursday.  Second, anytime interactive technology and football are mentioned in the same sentence, my ears perk up.  So, I was delighted to read about the Seattle Seahawks building kiosks with iPads to “register over 20,000 fans” at their training camp this summer.  Sounds like they were also able to allow the fans to experience some premier content, which I would fully expect on devices like that.  I think this is a great, relatively cost-effective solution to explore when wanting an interactive out-of-home solution.  Take a $800 sophisticated piece of hardware & software, build a nice unit around it and you have yourself a feature-rich, well-functioning IOOH solution.

“Uh-huh” – I give this the “uh-huh” head nod each time I see it.  Imagine what could be done with this interactive film – The Wilderness Downtown – in an out-of-home setting?  Not only would the current iteration be sticky enough for people to stop, interact, and gather around, it sure would be cool to integrate the point where people are interacting with it and the point where they ultimately go (their hometown house).  That idea goes against what I said earlier about the “creepiness” factor, but it would be cool.

“Duh” – I don’t know if this is the right word for this category.  Nor do I know if it’s a “what were they thinking” category.  I just know it’s opposite of the cool, “uh-huh” category.  But this week’s installment of the un-cool comes in the form of QR codes.  And not one specific implementation.  Just as an overall solution.  I saw this one and this one, not to mention this one in a magazine I was reading:

Now, look, there’s not another enabling technology that I’ve written about more than QR codes, but the more I learn, read, see, not to mention actually work with QR codes and other mobile technologies, the more I question whether or not the average consumer knows what the heck to do with them.  It’s all about the audience – the JFK/Twitter example will probably get more interaction because Twitter, in and of itself, does not attract the “average” consumer, but I just might be at the point of QR code over saturation.  Good to see so many examples this year, but are they working?  Jury is still way out.

So, there you have it.  My first Friday 4-1-1.  What do you think?

I met a couple of guys from a Toronto-based company, Jibestream Media, at a show a few months ago.  At the time, I was playing around with the Las Vegas Convention Center’s wayfinder, and this guy walks up to me and asks me about wayfinding.

Side note – my take on wayfinding (and probably many others’) is that I think it’s such a utilitarian tool that can easily be implemented through touch technology and can also serve as an effective DOOH advertising platform.  The context, primarily where it’s actually placed, drives its effectiveness at doing both.  For instance, I don’t think the in-mall static paradigm is broken and needs interactivity, but it can certainly be enhanced for dynamic advertising purposes.  Wayfinding in a place like hospitals, on the other hand, should have a presence and interactivity might help its utility be more effective, particularly with mobile integration.  Advertising here might be less important, but can nonetheless be incorporated and leveraged.

Anyway….I sat down and talked with the company’s VP of Marketing, Chris Weigand, and watched demos of their solution – NOVOMAP – and in the end walked away pretty impressed with him and it.  Novomap is an interactive out-of-home platform that is built to handle wayfinding, dynamic advertising, mobile interactivity, and even social connections.  What I think is interesting here, aside from how great the solution looks (highly produced, great graphics, animation, and an easy-to-use UI), is all of the hooks that they’ve incorporated.  They’re tapped into what’s needed and what’s wanted.  By and large, mobile & social capability are not selling points to large facilities.  Wayfinding and dynamic advertising are tools that can impact their bottom line, so, I think that’s always the base of any solution like this.  This is what gets their attention.  But once these guys get in the door with the utility and a platform that can drive the prospective company’s business, they’re in a position for incremental value via smart, connecting-type solutions.  The type of solutions that will get people talking and excited – because mobile interactivity and connectiveness is now today’s consumer’s utility.

If you hear the way these guys talk about their solution, you walk away feeling like they have it figured out.  They’re talking about it in all the right ways.  They’re working like crazy to get this into as many places as they can, even in test scenarios.  If you haven’t heard of them, check them out.  I’ve really enjoyed keeping up with them over the past few months and would love to see them succeed.  I think they have a pretty cool product that is effectively powerful.  Keep it up, guys.

Simplicity, I’m finding, is really where it’s at.  Perhaps I’m more sensitive to it since I’m right in the middle of Excess City.  The solutions that are sticking out to me are the ones that require me to do very little while interacting, and give me the ability to share with others.  I walked the floor a number of times today and I was just so overwelmed by the barrage of touch technology, I didn’t interact with anything.  Outside of this environment, I’m sure I’d interact with all of the solutions.  I’ve got to keep that perspective tomorrow so I can interact with, what are probably many, effective solutions.

Those which I did interact with fell into 2 buckets:  (All are examples Interactive Out of Home (IOOH)

1.  Simple, usable, and effective

2.  Complicated, unusable, and frustrating

Example 1, falls in the 1st bucket:

Standard OOH made interactive through mobile enabling technology.  The only problem with this one is that it’s on the back of this brochure and the graphical callout that houses the Call-to-Action (CTA) doesn’t stand out (black on black).  So, it’s easy to miss.

Example 2, falls in the 1st bucket as well:

Digital OOH made interactive through mobile enabling technology.  Text photos, a message or even Tweets and they’ll end up on these screens for everyone to see.  I really like the engagement here.  All different.  All unique.  And most importantly, especially for me today, all easy.

Example 3, falls in the 2nd bucket:

DOOH made interactive through enabling touch technology.  I think wayfinding is one of the most logical, practical uses of touch technology, but ironically enough, I think it’s one of the most overly mis-executed solutions of touch technology.  This one lives up to my very low expectations.  I couldn’t figure it out, much less find my way anywhere.

I think it’s important to look at these examples through a cost/value lense, too.  The two effective examples, I believe provide great value for the cost.  The ineffective example, however, provides little to no value for the cost.  In fact, the cost heavily outweighs the value in my opinion. 

You feel me?  What are the most effective IOOH solutions you’ve seen and interacted with?

Keith Kelsen is up.

First words that came out of his mouth: “it’s all about content.”

Content is really what the consumer is engaged with.  In his new book, Unleashing the Power of Digital Signage: Content Strategies for the 5th Screen, the thinking around content is relative depending on what type of network you’re running.

There are 3 types of networks:

1.  Point of sale – all about shoppers.  There are a number of networks in a POS and they’re advertising things that are not part of that experience.  Personally to him, with the exception of a grocery store, he doesn’t think this works.  In a retail environement, the biggest considerations should be merchandising and shopping.

2.  Point of wait – can mean a number of different things, but in essence it’s any point where we have dwell time.  This can be in bank lines, in taxi cabs, in train stations, buildings, etc.. Content here is totally different from POS.  With the confluence of the types of media we’re in, point of wait is an interesting area.  We’re moving to a place where you can buy/get anything, anytime, anyplace.  POW networks can be an activator for that type of engagement.  Important nugget - there is a different speed, length, and message itself in a POW system than there is in a POS system, even in a POT transit (below). 

3.  Point of transit - here you do not have captive audience.  People are on the go.  How do you grab their attention?  This is also an opportunity for mobile and social engagement.  At this point in the discussion, he asked us to think about the difference between standard and high def video.  Just the shear resolution is drastically different.  When you look at the spectrum in SD, you see about 25% of color spectrum.  With HD, you see about 75% of the color spectrum.  This result in a higher impact and higher stickiness.  Now, blow it up to life size on a screen or a window or a surface.  With life size content, the mind makes an immediate reaction whether it is friend or foe.  Very important to understand. 

When you start looking at content in this new, digital world we’re in, ask yourself, how do I develop content that plays across multiple platforms?  It’s important to consider making that content in bite-size pieces.  Don’t duplicate content across platforms.  This medium is so different from any other medium than we have.  Don’t use TV assets for digital signage.  Best buy – rather than playing the trailer of a movie, they play a particular section of the movie.  So, the consumer doesn’t see what they see on the TV when they go into the store.  Don’t pull those assets over and expect them to work. Create media for specific network and this industry.

Taking a step back, to level set the audience – when you look at your networks, something that is extremely powerful is continuity.  Create an “interstitial” – logo, ID, brand – so there is an overall arching brand that comes across the entire network.  On the technical side, there are a number of things someone should take into account to build a successful network – content is one of those.  How often do you have to refresh your content?  There is a formula – how much dwell time is there + how often do people visit that specific place?  That determines your play loop and frequency of refresh. 

Neuro-marketing – very intersting.  When you look at content and images, the mind reacts immediately whether or not that image is something you want to take further.  All the decisions from that first decision are made down hill from there. 

Then, questions from the audience:

Any stats that will hold an older audience vs. younger audience?  No, not off the top of his head, but you really need to look at what has influenced them over time.  What are signficant events in their lives?  For him, it’s the moon.  For Y generation, it’s probably 9/11.

How do you see everything coming together and “crashing” all around us?  Minority Report, is it going to happen?  Can it be too much?  Yes.  Remember, it’s about the experience and the engagement.  If you overload people, it is not going to work and there will be backlash.  Speaking of Minority Report, this is where he sees the future.  If you look at the connectedness of what this media is doing and how it’s connected to other screens and how the content will flow – it’s going to get very interesting. 

Favorite term of the talk:  “spatial connectedness” – connecting screens to screens including the screens in my pocket.  I can grab a piece of content on one screen and drag it to the screen in my pocket. 

He loves technology, but content is what makes it happen.

This dude’s awesome.  I can’t wait to read his book.  He told me he’s read my blog.  And even though he didn’t say it, I think he likes the term, “11th Screen.”

I haven’t had a chance to stop by all of the booths on the showroom floor, but it is safe to say that interactivity is all around us.  Last year, my biggest observation was the lack of interactivity.  From both hardware and software providers.  Now, it doesn’t seem like there is a booth that doesn’t have an interactive solution.  On the surface, this is awesome.  I’m worried about over saturation.  I don’t know who does what better than the next company, so that’s going to be my task.

Initial photos:

This is the entrance to the tradeshow floor.  Cool stuff here, but no interactivity.  Each screen (and you’re not seeing 2 of them) shows something different and actually, relevant.  The vertical screen on the far right is a Tweet stream of #dse2010.

And this is the foursquare, Locamoda, digital signage integration that gained a lot of buzz before the conference.  Look at the top right hand corner,  from SalmonKangaroo3 (that was me??) – I was here.  But this is cool.  It lists the mayor of the Las Vegas Convention Center, # of check-ins and tips.  Truly integrated 11th Screen material.  “Digital” sign that allows you to interact with it via an enabling technology (mobile) phone and share it with like-minded individuals (social). 

Waiting on Keith Kelson, “father of the 5th Screen” now.  Hope he makes the session….

This time, from Gary Kayye at rAVe Publications.  30 minutes, fast and furious.  The best “session” I’ve attended today.

The 80′s were all about gathering information/content.

The 90′s were all about managing information/content.

The 00′s were all about displaying information/content.

Now:  What do we do with the content?  How does it evolve?  There is a next wave of “digital signage” and it is all personal & customized.  It is the 11th Screen.  Me and Gary – we’re talking the same language.

But he is from an AV company so he is very interested, knowledgeable, and experienced with the hardware and infrastructure of systems.  I am more interested in the content.  We are both interested in the experience.

His formula was “AV (source + display technology) + IT (network) = next phase of Digital Signage.  So, if I can break this down, what he is saying is when the source/display technology merges with the “network” or cloud, you can serve custom content on custom devices.  It gets to the level of personalization that I’m always talking about.  In his estimation, we are 3 years away.  I didn’t have the chance to ask him why “3 years” – that’s just what his magic ball says.

I thought it was interesting that he claimed that the “cell phone is the ultimate digital signage display.”  I agree with the fact that it is the ultimate personal display, even the ultimate convenient display, but it is an interactive display, not digital.  I might be on my own here, but I think it’s important to differentiate “digital” from “interactive.”

Finally, he left us with 5 steps for success:

1.  Why are you doing what you’re doing?

2.  Where and who are you doing it for?

3.  Plan

4.  Execute

5.  Scale

I have my own thoughts on this, but other philosophies are good!

Two things to check out:  WiMax 802.16 and Vukunet.  I will check them out and give you my lowdown, but anyone else who wants to chime in on their thoughts – with these two and everything else - let me know.

Attended a great session this morning – the Future of Digital Signage. 

Great thoughts from really smart, experienced people in the industry:

• Mike Hiatt – President, Dynamic Retailing, LLC (was instrumental in the Walmart in-store network)
• Suzanne LaForgia – President, Out of Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB)
• Jose Avalos – Director of Digital Signage, Intel

The resounding message is that this industry has experience steady growth in previous years, despite the economic challenges that have faced marketers.  We have a bright future.  But specifically, I heard over and over again, from all three that:

• We need a consistent way to measure success.  Internal stakeholders respond to this.  Marketers respond to this.  And if we have the customer in mind, in the end, they respond to this.  Always ask, “what are you trying to accomplish?”  With this in mind, you should find out very quickly what you should and should not be doing, and tailor a solution accordingly.
• Multi-channel strides will be made over the next few years.  Mobile.  Social.  Touch.  True 11th Screen stuff, here.
• Advocacy, advocacy, advocacy.  We need champions.
• Case studies, case studies, case studies.  We need stories.
• And specifically from Jose, speaking about physical media players:  “Once devices become digital, they want to become connected, once they become connected, they want to become intelligent, once they become intelligent, they want to become cross-functional.”

And the term of the morning is from Mike – look at digital/interactive signage solutions/systems as a “customer-centric communication system.”