Awaiting entrance into the trade show. I'm third row, second from left.
Another Digital Signage Exposition has come and gone. Last year I spent all my time in the sessions. This year, I spent all my time on the floor. Instead of giving you the top five things I learned (as was my habit with shows I attended last year), I will just drop some thoughts on you. Take ‘em or leave ‘em. (Or hold ‘em or fold ‘em, as Mr. Rogers would have you do if you’re the gambling sort.)
The industry is selling to the wrong audience and doesn’t know it.
The real audience for the exhibitors was upstairs in the conference sessions. The conflicting schedules kept many of them from diving deep into the trade show floor. And the buyers that walked the floor had more questions than answers after leaving. I know. I ran into two of them.
The sessions were well attended…
I did the opening keynote session and a final session of the conference, and both were well attended. I heard most sessions had good crowds.
…but there are too many of them.
Day One had three full day seminars, a half day seminar, and a half-day tour of Vegas. Days two and three had 43 sessions. This is too much, and I’m certain there is a lot of redundancy. I hope that over the next 11 months, the DSE will find a more efficient way to make sure everyone has the opportunity to learn, network, and explore without having to decide between one session or another.
The DSF was on people’s minds…
One of the interim DSF board members asked me if I thought it was the right thing to do. It is, if you take this opportunity to do what the industry needs. If not, the DSF and the DSA will battle themselves into apathy while the NRF, InfoComm, and other shows continue to lure away the exhibitors and experts.
…but not on all minds.
One executive told me, “The companies in there [the trade show] couldn’t care less about these boards. They care about landing clients and buyers.” Ouch. But I see his point.
#dse2010 was pretty cool…
Many screens throughout the show floor displayed the Twitter hashtag tweets, and it’s really great to see so many engaged with a community tool to spread the cheer of the show. There were over 1,200 tweets.
…but not very cool
So we all tweeted. Big deal. The DSE promoted that session attendees could use Twitter to ask questions of the session moderators and panelists before the conference. I was in two sessions and never got a question. Did anyone else? I doubt it. Was anyone not at DSE really “following” what was going on? Twitter is here and will be a great tool for communication, but we’re trying too hard to jam this into the ecosystem without allowing it to grow organically.
Good Rumor.
There is a deal for PRN on paper in the range of 80 million. That’s a song compared to what Thompson paid for them, but I believe PRN is doing a lot of good stuff. They are refining their business model, breaking apart their bundled services, and partnering with key companies to offer better solutions. What I mean is: They ain’t Walmart’s bitch anymore. I hope that continues. There are good people there working hard.
Bad Rumor.
One service provider told me his company learned they lost a bid for a client to their competitor. They heard it from their competitor. Bad form, folks.
Everyone is busy…
Everyone I asked said they were busy. And many that I spoke with said they had the resources (read: money and people) to make traction in 2010. Let’s hope that’s true.
…so don’t waste their time.
One guy wrote to me and asked me to meet with him. He wanted to talk to me about some “new retail initiatives” his company was working on. I was excited to hear this news and made it a point to connect with this gentleman. After shaking hands, he proceeded to tell me how drunk he got the night before. Then he walked away from me. That was the meeting. Oh, and he did this in front of his CEO. Classy.
Shoes, Socks, and Business Cards
Adrian Cotterill, of DailyDOOH.com fame, has a small list of suggestions for your next show visit.
Want to read more? Head over to these blogs and get more first-hand accounts of the show. Lots to read, but all of it worthwhile.
Dave Haynes, Sixteen-Nine
DSE Impressions…So Far
More DSE Impressions
Mike Cearley, 11th Screen
2nd (and last) Official Session of the Day #40
Cutting Through The Clutter at DSE 2010
Top 5 Moments of DSE 2010
Adrian Cotterill, DailyDOOH.com
#dse2010 – The Gossip
David Weinfeld, DS Insights
Thoughts from Digital Signage Expo 2010
Ken Goldberg, Broad Thinking. Narrowcasting
Themes from DSE
Finally
The UMA Motorcoach Expo was taking place at the same time as our little shin-dig at the Convention Center. I snuck into their show and checked out a few of their rides. There was a huge banner that said, “We’ll see you next year in Tampa!” I don’t know about you folks, but I’m liberating one of those moving condos and going on a road trip to Tampa next year. Right now you should be hearing the theme song to Vacation.
Online banking has taken the need to visit the physical bank almost completely out of my routine. However, when I need to hit the safe-deposit box, I’m there.
I had not visited my bank in a few months when I entered and was greeted with two new features. One was plexiglass spanning the teller windows from the counter to the ceiling.
The second was the brand-spanking new monitors that book-end the teller counter.
The screen on the left, showing you the left side of...you.
The screen on the right. Showing you...well...you get it.
The screens are showing a constant feed of the security cameras. It very much has that feeling like a market that hangs a screen right over the front door, showing you walking in, with a little sign that says, “We are watching you! We prosecute shoplifters and hooligans to the fullest extent of the law! Think thumbscrews!”
As if the plexiglass and half-dozen cameras behind the teller counter don’t convey the “don’t even think about it” message enough, you get to stand in line and watch yourself, or others, wait.
Just to the left of the teller window is a table with the wares of a local business. The table is provided to the bank patronage as an opportunity to promote the small businesses around the area. Sometimes you’ll see a diorama of pictures, like you find at someone’s high school graduation party, promoting the local insurance agents who have 157 years of experience between the husband and wife team and their dog. (I’m not sure if the dog is an agent, but they have the dog wrapped in one of those little doggie neckties.) Sometimes it’s some goofy little wood contraption with sawdust sprinkled around it, promoting the local handyman (who apparently doesn’t own a broom). During my recent visit, the table was covered with fruit baskets.
Next to the table is this sign:
It says, in brilliant non-trained handwriting: FREE BUSINESS ADVERTISING. Ask How Your Business Can Be Next!!!
Call me crazy, but I would think there would be a better application of the screens that are aimed right at you while you’re in line, totally captive, and waiting for a teller, instead of proving the obvious, which is that the cameras are so good that I can see the blot of food stuck in my teeth.
And if you ever ask where fruit baskets come from. Now you know: South Minneapolis.
The D.S. Lights, are big and bright...
Last week, Texas State Technical College made a minor splash in the industry by introducing a degree available for students interested in pursuing a career in the Digital Signage industry. The press release is woefully inadequate in providing detail on the courses available for a degree — three different certifications are available. Reading that the students “…will take courses in Adobe Photoshop, Flash and Premiere which will allow them to create graphic content for delivery through Digital Signage Systems,” I thought Sacre Bleu! Tools do not make the artiste! Knowing Adobe products will not make you good at Digital Signage.
I went to TSTC’s Digital Signage Degree site and perused the coursework to see if this degree has merit.
The first semester in the first year emphasizes an overview of multimedia. There is no mention of Digital Signage until the second semester with a course in “Digital Signage Systems: a compare and contrast of different digital signage systems and the selection as needed for environment, lighting, and purpose. Topics cover resolution and network considerations, as well as the computer system and digital storage media for digital signage systems.”
The third semester has a strong focus on digital signage content management including mobile devices. The lone semester in the second year has one course relating to Digital Signage, “Advanced Digital Signage Content Management.”
Out of 20 total courses, only five are focused on Digital Signage, and three of those in one semester. If you remove the third semester, this could very easily be degree coursework in digital imaging and graphics. TSTC knows marketing, mixing together a few courses and adding the moniker “digital signage” to make a new degree that would attract students. I have no doubt that every effort will be made to make sure this degree is worth the $5,000 the student will pay to get it (or $12,000 if you’re out-of-state).
But, I see potential issues. Training on Digital Signage must include education on viewer marketing, research, and measurement. It is a “Digital Signage Technology Associates Degree,” but knowledge of your audience is crucial education for anyone who wants to be a part of this industry. Why talk about advertising and sales promotions if you’re not going to understand who’s watching? This becomes even more important if the student learns about content playlist creation and scheduling (available in Year 2, Semester 1 – Advanced Digital Signage Content Management).
In the final semester, TSTC offers a course in job search skills, “to seek and obtain employment in business and industry.” Do the TSTC faculty members have connections in the industry that will allow the students to get a job quickly, or does graduation come with, “Here’s your degree. Don’t let the door hit ya…”
With all of this, three questions are stuck in my head:
1. Who will teach the Digital Signage courses? Industry veterans who can provide the real-world background that makes a technical college a valuable place to learn? Or an expert in technology with no real background in the industry? I would feel much more comfortable if I knew that the educators are (or were) in the trenches.
2. This industry, and the technology utilized, is evolving so fast that the degree will be like the computers in the classroom – obsolete the day the students start using it. Will the degree provide the students with the capability to adapt the day they leave the school?
3. Would you, Mr. or Mrs. Digital Signage Industry Company Executive, hire a student with this degree?
Reading through the course offering, this appears to be a good foundation of knowledge that a student could carry into the industry.
But, like all college degrees, students should be prepared to unlearn and relearn everything for this industry. We’re still writing the textbooks as we grow.
