Smile if you know what this is.
Recently, Richard Lebovitz, Editorial Director with Digital Signage Expo, asked, “What can digital signage content developers learn from other media?” Based on an article by Vern Freedlander, Mr. Lebovitz wanted to know, “…what can we take away from other media (pro and con) that can make a significant difference in the creation of digital signage content that works?”
And this got me to thinking.
The comment “It’s not TV” makes my ears burn a little because it seems we (the DOOH people) are the only ones saying this. I always want to ask, “Is it so bad if it is?” It’s not television in the classical broadcast sense, but it’s still televised messaging. Let’s not confuse nomenclature with purpose. (We use these mobile devices to do just about everything but actually call people. We still call it a “phone.”)
I continue to run into people who think that Best Buy’s HD Program is simply a broadcast channel that the stores tune to, a DirecTV or cable channel.
Mr. Freedlander’s comments are accurate. They are principles I consider every day when working with clients and creating content of any kind. But perspective on the medium forces me to consider the form, not the function.
So what can we take away from other media? Everything. Take it all. Learn what broadcasters do right and wrong that may suit your environment. Worry less about comparisons to “TV” and worry more about how you can create engaging programming for your audience.
I care less about whether someone thinks it’s a broadcast channel and more about whether they like what they see. The ultimate compliment to me would be, “Hey, I feel like everything on that channel is my favorite program!”
Think of is this way: Not one of us cut our teeth in “digital messaging,” we all came from TV in some way, from media planning to running a Chyron (which I have done in a previous lifetime). It would be hard to set aside five decades of broadcast knowledge and reinvent the televised wheel.
It is TV. Sometimes that’s okay.
