Monday, March 28, 2005

Cinema Digital Signage Advertising

This post is in response to a previous comment on a blog posting asking about CPM rates for digital signage in cinema.

We don't have CPM pricing information, but have some information on the market sizing and trends.

See the Arbitron study here.

See the Adspace paid research report here (this is a pdf).

Friday, March 25, 2005

Out-Of-Home Advertising Exceeds Newspaper, Radio, Yellow Pages Ad Growth

OUTDOOR AD SPENDING TOTALED $5.8 billion in 2004 according to OAAA. Read the release.

Based on the OAAA's final estimates, outdoor outpaced the growth of three other major media during 2004: newspapers (+4.5 percent), local radio (+4.0%) and Yellow Pages (+1.0 percent). Most of the top 10 outdoor ad categories showed healthy gains during the year, especially financial (+37.5 percent) and "media & advertising" (+31.9 percent).

Digital signage is generally regarded as out of home place based media fitting into "outdoor ad spending". We doubt the OAAA numbers include digital signage - with the exception of some electronic billboards. With that said, we're confident that digital signage outside of the home will inevitably have a positive effect on outdoor ad spending.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Strategy Research Institute - Retail Advertising Quick Takes

The Strategy Institute is a research-based organization which monitors and communicates changes and trends in business and business strategy.

The Strategy Institute is holding it's second digital signage advertising conference April 26TH & April 27TH, 2005 • new york city, ny.

Quick Take (src: SRI):

Business Opportunities and Advertising Techniques to Capitalize on America’s Fastest-Growing Ad Medium

Digital Signage is Transforming the Way You Do Business!

DID YOU KNOW THAT DIGITAL SIGNAGE ADVERTISING…
-- Receives 10 times the eye contact of static signage
-- Boosts sales of new products advertised on in-store digital signage by 30% to 300%
-- Increases revenue by more than 30% for profiled products
-- Reduces customers’ perceived wait times by 15% or more
-- Saves advertising dollars (CPM of only $2 to $6)

Check this blog frequently as Webpavement will recap any significant market forecasts and other data as a result of this conference.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Clarity Visual Systems Acquires CoolSign

Holy Cow! A display manufacturer acquired a digital signage network provider. Very Smart move Paul Gulick (CEO Clarity) - a man who understands the commoditization of displays and the desire to capitalize on digital signage recurring services revenue and intangibles associated in the digital signage business...

Other display manufacturers should take notice. Clarity lacks bureaucracy and is able to make smart strategic decisions.

Read the press release. We invite you to read our understanding of Adspace's history below. We report and you decide.


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by: Webpavement - Digital Signage Technology Solutions

Adspace Networks History (important note: Adspace is a competitor of Webpavement):

Adspace Networks was founded around the same time as Webpavement - the late 1990's. In the beginning, Adspace was a technology provider with digital signage software. Adspace had a strong market share in casinos as they were based in Las Vegas.

As a result of the 2001 CAPV report on Narrowcasting in Public Spaces, Adspace felt the need to respond to the first report on digital signage. The report indicated that the top growth areas for digital signage would be (1) Theatres (2) Malls/Retail and (3) Convenience Stores.
A "build it and they will come" mentality prompted Adspace to move first in building out a network.

Adspace revised their business plan and went after venture capital funding to build networks in Theatres, Malls and C-Stores. The thinking was that recurring revenue from advertising would pay for all of the operating expense and hardware replacement cycles associated with operating a digital media network.
CoolSign is not profitable on a stand-alone basis, said Gulick, but he expects it will run profitably this year, adding to Clarity's profits.

Adspace business plan included the restructuring of the business in two divisions:
(1) Adspace - advertisement sales arm

(2) CoolSign - software and the 3 digital signage networks

Adspace Venture Capital Funding Timeline:
(1) August 2001 - Doll Capital Mgmt, Paul Alan small investment $14MIL (provided with the expectation to be cash flow positive by Q3 2002)

(2) 4Q 2001 - Doll Capital Mgmt $2.5MIL

(3) 3Q 2003 - Doll Capital Mgmt $3.214MIL

Clarity acquired the CoolSign division. We suspect the Adspace arm is the area of venture capital debt. One would think - however - that the VC's would not allow this to happen. How are the VC's getting paid for their investments (we don't know)? Unlike Adspace, Webpavement has been focused on technology from day 1 - the portion of the business Clarity acquired.

Note: Adspace and Clarity are private companies. This blog should be ingested with caution as private companies are not required to disclose financial/strategic information. Comments are welcome.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Christie Sprinkler Mishap @ NSCA 2005

During the NSCA show, a sprinkler head broke directly above the Christie booth. The alarm system started beeping and the lights were flashing across the show floor. This happened in the brand new Orange County Convention Center expansion.

Rather than exiting the convention center, hundreds of voyeuristic exhibitors and attendees flocked to see what happened rather than exiting the convention center. Yes - we are guilty too. Christie did get a lot of branding as a result of the sprinkler shower.

Here is a video for those interested:
Video Clip (6.35MB WMV)

If Christie employees are reading this - it wasn't Barco that ignited the sprinkler system above your booth. Joking aside - we believe NSCA cleaned everything up and provided an open bar for Christie's booth the next couple of days. Yes - alcohol brings in booth traffic.

Not sure if NSCA or the convention center provided any financial compensation. We're interested to hear if there's more to the story. Post a comment if you have any info..

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

NSCA 2005 Attendance Results - Digital Signage Pavilion

How was this year's digital signage pavilion (Orlando) compared to last years pavilion (Vegas)? The foot traffic seemed a little lighter than last year. We'll have to rely on the NSCA organization for attendee traffic results.

In our opinion, the show attendence results will come in lower than last year. We believe audio visual integrators simply prefer Las Vegas over Orlando (Flashy Hotels & Gambling vs Mickey Mouse).

We met many wonderful and talented integrators and even end customers. We seek systems contractors that have skillsets in A/V and IT. It's a combination required for what we sell >> digital signage >> products and services.

We must say - however - that we received many new opportunities as a result of the show that will keep us very busy. We look forward to working with all of our new friends.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Webpavement Blog Readers

Thanks to all of you that read our digital signage Blog on a regular basis.

According to a study, Blog readers might still be small in number, but they are among the most influential groups in the United States, according to a study by blog ad network Blogads.com, released Friday. The report, issued by Blogads.com founder Henry Copeland, concluded that most blog readers were "involved, upscale, intelligent, individuals who also read Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, The New Yorker, National Geographic, The Nation, and WSJ.com."