The World of Digital Signage Explained

Digital signage is perhaps the largest media revolution since the Internet with more and more companies and businesses turning to this new medium as a method of raising awareness of products, services and brands.

Digital signage has many other terms with it often being referred to as digital out-of-home (DooH) media, narrowcasting, screen media, digital advertising and digital media networks but the basis of the medium is that it is the use of LCD, plasma or LED screens for use as signage rather than entertainment.

There are numerous applications of digital signage, including:

Advertising, Brand Awareness and Information; both public and internal, including news, weather, corporate messages and health & safety information (such as fire exits).

The current digital signage market is still growing with an increase of 33% in the last year alone. The industry is set to be worth over $3.5 billion in the USA alone by 2011. Currently China has the most number of digital signage systems deployed but it is becoming increasingly popular in almost every nation.

There is also a growing trend of digital signage applications being placed outside. Outdoor digital signage is made possible thanks to waterproof LCD TVs and protective LCD enclosures that house conventional screens but allow their use in outdoor or harsh conditions.

The benefits of this new media over traditional two-dimensional signs are many-fold:

*The content can be exchanged more easily.
*Moving images can be used
*Sound can be implemented
*The signage can be interactive thanks to the implementation of touch screens
*It can be adapted and altered to meet specific requirements at specific times (such as displaying special offers at the end of the day in a retail environment)