Focus Media Portfolio Grows

Focus Media today announced a 70 screen network of 5' x 5' LEDs. Focus Media's new LED network targets Shanghai's high pedestrian traffic counts.

See the release: Focus Media Adds Outdoor LED Network to Its Out-of-home Media Platform

Focus Media now boasts 70,000+ digital signs, 90,000+ plus static poster signs and an undetermined number of cellphone screens.

Over 1500 advertisers have purchased insertions on Focus Media's network.

Why don't we have a Focus Media comparable in the United States?

Bathroom Digital Advertising

Check out the viewrinal video from the Freshcreation blog out of the Netherlands. It's another reason newspaper ad sales are declining :).

The media plaza building installed digital signs on the floors inside the bathroom stalls.

via Freshcreation.

CNN Money on Digital Billboards

CNN Money senior writer Paul R. La Monica reports the rising interest in billboards - and more importanty - digital billboards.

Lamar and Clear Channel outdoor are highlighted in the article.

Here's an excerpt:

For one, billboards, unlike other "older" forms of media, have not faced the same pressure from the Internet, iPods, satellite radio, TiVo and other technology. When you're driving on a highway, the only way to not see a billboard is to not look out your windshield. Needless to say, that's not a good idea.

"Technology helps people avoid other advertisements, but we are the one unavoidable media. There is no mute button, no off switch. You can't change the channel. We're there," said Paul Meyer, the global president of Clear Channel outdoor.

In fact, technology is actually something that could help Clear Channel Outdoor and Lamar in the near future. Both companies are testing digital billboards, LCD screens that can change advertisements instantaneously through Internet connections.

That's a far cry from the old vinyl billboards that only get changed every couple of weeks (or sometime months). "For our industry, technology is no longer a threat, it's just an ally. Digital displays eliminate the biggest disadvantage to outdoor right now, which is that we are a relatively slower acting cumbersome media," Meyer said. "With digital signage, there will be no limitations on how often and when advertisers
change their ads."
Full article here.

Webpavement at Globalshop 2006

Webpavement will be at Globalshop Orlando March 26-28, 2006. We will be showcasing our full suite of digital signage solutions in conjunction with partner Philips Business Displays within the Digital Store Pavilion. Please come visit us in the Philips booth # 5436.

Outdoor Ad Spending Soars in US

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America reported spending rose 8 percent during 2005, making it one of the fastest growing sectors of media last year.

According to the OAAA, consumers are spending more time away from home where they are being exposed to increasingly more outdoor messages instead of in-home media.

Digital signage has likely had an impact on this growth.

Results were especially strong in some fast-growing categories:
-- communications +31.8 percent
-- insurance and real estate +16.4 percent
-- retail +11.7 percent

UF Study on In-Store Environments

A new study poses questions for retailers considering digital signage. Many relevant benefits and disadvantages were identified. We believe the disadvantages can be mitigated with a proper digital signage software system and the retailer's understanding of their customers. Here are some highlights.

A new University of Florida study finds that buyers want stores to be turn-ons when they browse for fun but prefer sedate environments when seeking mundane merchandise for everyday life.

In the brick-and-mortar world, retail stores may need to resort to satisfying their customers’ competing demands by tailoring design schemes by department, Weitz said. In Circuit City or Best Buy, for example, the section of the store carrying cables and connectors, where shoppers are not likely to want to spend much time, might be quite starkly decorated, while the home entertainment department could be more elaborate, he said.

Or stores could change digital signage to suit customers’ needs at different times of the day, using full motion videos in the morning if early shoppers like to be entertained and simpler messages in the evening if the priority is on saving time, Weitz said.

Unfortunately, many retailers hire interior decorators who are more interested in winning architectural awards than making stores useful to consumers, Weitz said. “I think these people lose sight of the fact that the reason for designing a store is to sell more stuff,” he said. “Sometimes making it more exciting and beautiful doesn’t help.”

Michael Levy, a marketing professor at Babson College, said Weitz’s research has significant implications for retail managers. “Past research has lumped all theories about how store environments impact the shopping experience into one bucket,” he said. “Professor Weitz’s research prescribes specific actions for retailers depending on the type of shopping trip they expect their customers to take or what types of products they are selling.”

Read the article here: UF study: Jazzy store environments not always best for consumers.

Digital Signage Photos

A digital signage photo gallery was recently added to our website. All of the digital sign installations in the gallery are operated using Webpavement products.

eBay to sell Media?

Some of the nation's biggest advertisers got a pitch from a surprise media buying "solutions provider"--online auction service eBay.

OnlineMediaDaily reports that eBay was invited by the Association of National Advertisers Television Advertising Committee to present ideas for building an electronic trading system for buying and selling media.

As you know, there have been some strange auctions at eBay in the past for advertising. Now - for eBay to seriously consider being a media buying solutions provider - this is serious business.

This may be good news for our smaller digital signage network owners. If eBay turns out to be a good platform for selling digital signage advertising, maybe we'll see more smaller regional networks implemented.

Google is dabbling in outdoor as well. An analyst at Jupiter research suggests that Google's Next Frontier is Outdoor. We have also hinted that Google may enter into digital signage.

We'll keep a watch on eBay and Google and it's effect on digital signage -- then post findings on this blog.

Here's hoping Congress keeps the pipes open

We ran into a very interesting article written by Andrew Kantor, USA TODAY on the push by high speed internet service providers to make money from the content that is carried across their pipes. It seems the large ISP's are not happy with the revenues generated by providing internet service alone; they also want to charge content providers for transporting that content to customers that already pay a monthly fee to them for internet service. Sounds crazy, huh?

This issue is one that is being introduced to congress by lobbyists for the large ISP's. If congress were to side with the large ISP's on this issue, there would be far reaching consequences for both consumers and businesses. The digital signage industry would also be a victim.

Read the article.

UK Digital Screen Count

According to the January 2006 release of a Samsung and POPAI digital survey, there are close to 100,000 digital signs installed in the United Kingdom. The purpose of the survey is to establish the number of digital screens in stores across the UK.

UK's population is about 60 million resulting in a ratio of 1 screen for every 600 people.

Read the study here: In-store screens increase by 63 percent (PDF File)

We wonder how many screens are in the United States.. If you know of any studies, please post a comment.